This is the fascinating life story of the longest serving Government Car Service Driver (47 years), who for several years drove an armoured protection car in the company of Special Branch protection officers. From humble beginnings in a miner's cottage in County Durham to his own office in No.11 Downing Street with friends at the highest level of Government, this story wends its way from Peter's impoverished childhood, through anxious times during World War 2, followed by an exciting life in the RAF in Malaya, to a gradual progression through the ranks of the Government Car Service where he enjoyed a very eventful career as a protection driver before becoming the senior driver. Peter offers his own unique insight into some of the most important events in modern British history, including the Brighton bomb at the Conservative Conference, Geoffrey Howe's relationship with Margaret Thatcher and the dangers posed by the IRA. He gives a revealing 'behind the scenes' account of his time with Government Ministers at the highest level, including Harold Macmillan, Sir Geoffrey Howe, Sir Alec Douglas Home and Richard Crossman. He also recounts interesting meetings with famous people such as Sir Winston Churchill, Selwyn Lloyd and Margaret Thatcher as well as important foreign personalities including President John Kennedy, President Gorbachev and the Aga Khan. Finally, Peter achieves his ambition of becoming the permanent driver for the Foreign Secretary (Sir Geoffrey Howe), who he drove for 24 years when he served in Thatcher's cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and then Deputy Prime Minister and subsequently when he entered the House of Lords. This is the first book to be published which offers the unique insight of the inner workings of Government from the viewpoint of a GCS driver. An entertaining and informative book, which will appeal to a wide range of readers.
About the Author: Peter Smithson was born in Surrey in 1933 but spent his formative years during World War 2 with his grandparents in a miner's cottage in County Durham. His life, with humble beginnings and a childhood of poverty and little education, wends its way through deprivation and anxious times during the war, followed by an austere yet exciting life in the RAF in Malaya, to a gradual progression through the ranks of the Government Car Service, where he enjoyed an exciting and eventful career. Finally he achieved his ambition of becoming the permanent driver for the Foreign Secretary (Sir Geoffrey Howe), who he drove for 24 years when he served in Thatcher's cabinet as Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and then Deputy Prime Minister and subsequently when he entered the House of Lords. Eventually he became the senior driver for the GCS following 47 years of unblemished work record. Along the way he was awarded the BEM and the Imperial Service Medal for meritorious service. More importantly, he felt honoured to have worked for some remarkable high ranking gentlemen and ladies, many of whom remained friends for years afterwards. Peter has four sons and eight grandchildren and lives with his second wife, Angela, in Surrey. He continues with his great interests of restoring and enjoying classic Jaguar cars, membership of classic car clubs, oil painting and active membership of RAF 7 Squadron Association.