Peter Hilton (British Army officer)

Colonel Sir Peter Hilton, (30 June 1919 – 30 May 1995) was a senior officer in the British Army and a businessman.

Early life and career
A son of Major General Richard Hilton and his wife Phyllis Woodin, he was educated at Malvern College. He was born into a County Durham family whose country home was Hylton Castle, near Sunderland. He later entered the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, from where he received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 26 January 1939.

In the Second World War, he served in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1939–1940. After being evacuated from Dunkirk, on 1 January 1941 he was promoted to lieutenant and served in the Western Desert with the 7th Armoured Division from 1942 to 1943, seeing action at El Alamein. He then joined the U. S. Fifth Army in the Italian campaign from 1943 to 1944, returning to England in 1944 to join the Normandy invasion with the Royal Horse Artillery, where he was badly wounded.

In 1950, Hilton was posted to Greece as an instructor, but he was recalled, due to the Korean War. He was awarded the Military Cross and two bars.

After retiring from the Army, Hilton took over running nurseries at Tansley, Derbyshire, from his wife's family. In March 1959, he bought Alton Manor, Idridgehay, in the same county, which was then occupied by a life tenant, Brigadier General E. C. W. D. Walthall, but on his death in 1962, Hilton moved into the house, with his wife and two sons.

In 1972, Hilton was made an honorary colonel. From 1978 to 1994, he was Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire, and was created a Knight of the Order of St John on 18 December 1980.

Hilton invested in Britannia Park, an ill-fated venture to build a theme park in Derbyshire. The company became bankrupt in 1985, only ten weeks after its opening, leaving him with debts of £28,000. He was forced to sell his garden nursery business as a result.

Private life and honours
He married Lady Winifred Smith in 1942 and they had two sons, Andrew and Richard. On 12 June 1993, he was made a Knight Commander in the Royal Victorian Order in the Birthday Honours List. He died in 1995 and is buried at Idridgehay.

Sir Peter Hilton Court at the University of Derby is named in his honour.