Peter Whiteley (Royal Marines officer)


Sir Peter John Frederick Whiteley, was a British Royal Marines officer. He served as Commandant General Royal Marines and then as Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe.

Early life

Whiteley was born on 13 December 1920 in Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex. He was educated at Bishop's Stortford College, then an all-boys independent school in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, and at Bembridge School, a now closed all-boys independent school on the Isle of Wight.
Whiteley was awarded a Newspaper Proprietors' Association scholarship to study at the University of London. However, with the outbreak of World War II, he decided to join the military rather than continue his studies.

Military career

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Whiteley volunteered for the Royal Air Force. However, they rejected him citing his poor eyesight. He then applied to the Royal Marines, who did accept him, and he began his officer training. He was commissioned as a probationary second lieutenant on 1 January 1940. On 20 March 1942, his commission was confirmed and he was given the rank of lieutenant with seniority from 14 June 1941. During the war, he served aboard, a battleship, and aboard, a light cruiser. During the latter part of the war, he served with the British Pacific Fleet which was fighting against the Japanese. He could claim to have fired some of the last shots of the war: on 15 August 1945, during an attack by a Japanese aircraft on his ship, he was attempting to shoot it down when the news of the ceasefire with Japan was received.
He was selected to become commanding officer of 42 Commando in 1965. He was then appointed Commander of 3 Commando Brigade in 1968. He became Commandant General Royal Marines in 1975 and Commander-in-Chief Allied Forces Northern Europe in 1977.

Later life

He served as Lieutenant Governor of Jersey from 1979 to 1984.
He died on 2 February 2016.

Honours

He became Deputy Lieutenant of Devon.