Have You a Tiger In Your Family?

Rank : 2nd Lieutenant

Army Number : 417240

Unit : Royal 1st Bn

Biography :

Educated at Malvern School, Peter Holmes was commissioned as 2nd Lieutenant (National Service) in The Royal Leicestershire Regiment on 23.6.1951, and joined 1st Bn in Hong Kong. Awarded the M.C. for his actions in Korea as a Platoon Commander in C Company Oct 1951-Jun 1952 (L.G. 10.10.1952). Demobilised in 1952. Then read History at Trinity College, Cambridge, whereafter in 1955 he set off to the Himalayas where over two years he climbed 14 virgin peaks. In 1956 he joined the Shell Oil Company, with whom he served in Sudan, Libya, Dubai and Nigeria. From 1985-93 he was Chairman of Shell Transport and Trading, the British arm of Royal Dutch Shell, for which work he was awarded Knight Bachelor on 11.6.1988. A keen traveller, mountaineer, fisherman and photographer, he wrote three books based on his explorations: "Mountains and a Monastery" (1958), "Nigeria: Giant of Africa" (1985) and "Turkey: A Timeless Bridge" (1988). From 1993 he was President of the Hakluyt Foundation, a discreet new outfit that provided intelligence for big corporations. He was also a trustee of the World Wide Fund for Nature (UK), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS), and a member of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, which in 2002 established the annual "Sir Peter Holmes Memorial Award" to encourage travel in Asia by young people.
He died in 2002, aged 69 years.

Date of Birth : 27.9.1932

Place of Birth : Athens

Date of Death : 6.3.2002

Place of Death : Wiltshire

Civil Occupation : Shell Oil Company (CEO)

Period of Service : 1951-52

Conflicts : Korea War

Places Served : Hong Kong, Korea