Philip Walford Peters

This is an edited extract from a recent post of assorted photos and stories. This edit features the story of a local hero that many people may not realise is buried at Sherford Church. It is ironic in some ways that this man played a major role in the evacuation of Dunkirk, when the war was nearly lost, and yet is buried here in Sherford where the military planning took place in a nearby house, only a few metres away, to invade France on D-Day, which proved the turning point in winning that same war.

This is the wall outside Sherford Church in Devon and a lovely thing it is too. Many years ago someone decided to insert these few stones vertically and why not?

The wall holding up the lych gate started to migrate west many moons ago. It has a greater lean than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but rather than knock it down and rebuild it, someone built a buttress, just out of view, to prop it up and I'm so glad they did. Was it the same wall builder who went vertical in the photo above. I like to think so.

In the cemetery, in a prime location lie the mortal remains of Philip Walford Peters and his wife Judy. I noted the D.F.C. and the A.F.C. and thought this could be an interesting story. Why is he buried here and what did he do to win this medal? I was to discover that he was a legendary British hero.

Mitcham Advertiser - Thursday, 25 June 1942

SUTTON

BELMONT D.F.C. - Flight-Lieut. Philip Walford Peters, of Belmont. who received a D.F.C. in June for his gallantry in a fight against nine Messerschmitts, has married Miss Frances Joan Giles, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Giles, of Sherford Down, Kingsbridge. Devon.

So that answers why he is buried here. He married a local lass.

In June 1940 in an announcement by the Royal Air Force, Philip Walford Peters was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross or D.F.C. as a Pilot-Officer during operations in the Battle of Flanders and the evacuation of Dunkirk. When the flotilla of little boats were saving the British Army soldiers trapped on the beaches of Northern France under enemy fire, one of those British planes in the dogfights above was flown by this local hero, and in an extraordinary manner, because he was fighting top ranked, heavily armed German fighters with a reconnaissance aircraft. In one recorded incident his plane was actually hit and his parachute saved his life in an unintended way.

Anson I N9732. Hit by fire during an attack by Bf 109s during a low-level patrol over the Channel off Dunkirk beginning from 10.40 a.m. One bullet lodged in the pilot’s parachute pack, also one bullet each through the metal flaps in the port mainplane and port engine cowling. 42259 P/O Phillip Walford Peters (Pilot), 740155 Sgt. Deryk Cobham Spencer (Nav.), AC Pepper (WOp/AG) and 812071 Acting Corporal Lewis George Smith (AG) all unhurt. Aircraft MK-V damaged but repairable.

P/O Peters, Sgt. Spencer and Act. Corp. Smith all received Immediate awards of the DFC or DFM for this action, during which the crew claimed two Bf 109s shot down and two more damaged. Martin aviation pages.

Dunkirk Dogfight (June 1, 1940): Piloted by Pilot Officer Philip "Pete" Peters with crew members Sergeant Deryk Spencer and LAC Pepper, Anson N9732 famously shot down two Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighters over the English Channel while patrolling the Dunkirk beaches during Operation Dynamo.

Why did Phillip Walford Peters also receive the award of A.F.C.? He received the A.F.C. eight years later on 28th October 1948 for his exceptional devotion to duty, flying skill, and contributions to non-combat military aviation.

As a Pilot Officer with 500 (County of Kent) Squadron, Peters famously piloted a twin-engine Avro Anson reconnaissance aircraft. On 1 June 1940, during a patrol over the English Channel amidst the Dunkirk evacuation, his crew was attacked by three Messerschmitt Bf 110 fighter-bombers. Showing immense tactical skill, Peters and his gunners remarkably shot down two of the heavily armed German fighters, a rare and legendary feat for a comparatively slow, lightly armed reconnaissance plane. This action initially earned him the Distinguished Flying Cross. The AFC was concurrently used to reward extraordinary achievements, piloting excellence, or high-stakes development work during non-routine, non-combat flights. Peters' award in late 1948 recognized his high standard of operational execution and leadership during this critical early Cold War reconstruction era.