Peter Brooke

Bank: Westminster Bank

Place of work: Bognor Regis West branch

Died: 24 March 1944

Peter Upton Brooke was born on 24 August 1923, the son of the Reverend Walter Edward Brooke and his wife Ethel. He was educated at Chichester High School for Boys where he was a keen member of the school orchestra. Upon leaving school in 1940 he joined the temporary wartime staff of Westminster Bank, working at its Bognor Regis West branch.

The following year Brooke left the bank to complete a six-month RAF short course at Durham University as part of the newly-formed Durham University Air Squadron. After qualifying as a pilot he began active service in the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. 

Flying Officer Brooke died on 24 March 1944, when the Lancaster bomber he was flying crashed in Germany on the way back from a raid over Berlin, killing all on board. He was 20 years old. 

Peter Brooke is commemorated on a bank war memorial at NatWest Bognor Regis branch.