Peter Ellis, who was born in 1942, spent his formative years in Yorkshire, Scotland, South America and East Africa.
He graduated from The Army Apprentice College and shortly after this was commissioned into the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. This was duly followed by two tours of duty in Germany with the British Army on the Rhine and, on the second tour, he commanded an Armoured Engineer Regiment Workshop. There followed two years in Allied Command Europe Mobile Force (Land) defending the flanks of NATO. He undertook three emergency tours of duty in Northern Ireland and also spent time in the Ministry of Defence in London, both as a captain and a major, in staff officer roles. Throughout his last seven years he worked with UK and European Industry on research and development for new equipment projects including the Challenger Tank, Warrior Armoured Personnel Carrier and a tri-national weapons system. During his service he obtained an external degree.
Peter took early retirement from his military commission to start a second career in civilian life and joined Heron Corporation working for the highly successful entrepreneur Gerald Ronson. Following this he became a founder director of the Korean multi-national company Daewoo Cars, as it expanded into Europe and the UK, eventually presiding over the transfer of the company to General Motors. He then founded Ssangyong UK, another Korean car company, before retiring in 2008. He now holds non-exec roles in two companies and has a company secretary role in another.
He is married to Lynette and has a married daughter Zoe. His son-in-law, David Bamber, is a Liveryman of the Turners Company. He also enjoys the constant company of his grandchildren, Eleanor and Lucas, as they all live in the same village of Crowthorne. Peter is a keen golfer, who has been a member of the East Berks Golf Club since the early seventies and watched his handicap increase over the years. He is also a skier and an enthusiastic amateur wood turner and supporter of the craft.