Colonel Peter Ormrod RIP

[Kyt]

Colonel Peter Ormrod - Telegraph

Colonel Peter Ormrod, who has died aged 85, won an MC in Korea at the Battle of the Imjin River.

The 8th King's Royal Irish Hussars (8KRIH), equipped with Centurion tanks, were sent to Korea in 1950 to form part of 29th British Brigade.

In April the following year, when the squadron leader was struggling to get back from leave, Ormrod commanded "C" Squadron for the first two days of the Battle of the Imjin River.

At one stage in the battle the crews had to bring down fire on each other's tanks to prevent the Chinese fixing explosives to the hulls with the object of disabling the tank tracks. Then, on April 25, Ormrod led a half squadron of tanks down a valley teeming with enemy in order to protect the withdrawal of 1st Battalion Northumberland Fusiliers and 1st Battalion Royal Ulster Rifles.

He got out of his tank several times in the midst of heavy fire in order to liaise with the infantry, and kept his Centurions in position long after he should have withdrawn.

When he was wounded in the head by a mortar, he continued to direct operations until he was evacuated.

The citation for his MC stated that his determination to get the infantry out at all costs was a major factor in the battle and saved a great many lives.

Peter Charles Ormrod was born on August 31 1922 at Pen-y-lan, his family estate on the River Dee, north Wales, and was educated at Harrow. After leaving school he worked as a trainee civil engineer with Sir Alfred McAlpine before enlisting in the Scots Guards in 1942.

He was commissioned and was in the advance party on D- Day when a shell landed on his tank as it was approaching the Normandy beaches and wounded him in the head. He was evacuated before getting ashore and on return to England went to hospital, where he lost his right eye. He did not return to the front line until the last stages of the war in Europe.

Ormrod left the Scots Guards in 1948 and transferred to 8KRIH as adjutant. On his return from Korea he was posted to Mons officer cadet school, Aldershot, as an instructor. He retired from the Army in 1954 to run his estate in Wales. Although he had not recovered from his injuries, he took up point-to-pointing and steeplechasing and was Master of the Border Counties Otter Hounds.

In 1960 he joined the Forestry Co-Operative, Flintshire Woodlands, of which he became managing director. Subsequently he became the forestry consultant to the Duchy of Lancaster's Needwood Estate and served as regional secretary of the Timber Growers' Organisation.

Ormrod was Honorary Colonel of 3rd Territorial Battalion Royal Welch Fusiliers. He served for many years as a JP and was High Sheriff for Denbighshire and Deputy Lieutenant of Clwyd from 1970 to 1980.

As chairman of the Dee Fisheries Association, he worked tirelessly to improve the salmon fishing and his holidays were spent sailing. He was a generous host and a devout churchman.

Peter Ormrod died on September 2. He married, in 1952, Barbara FitzRoy, who survives him with their two daughters.

[spidge]

Some would say he only did his job in Korea however the infantry might have another opinion.