Major Peter Weaver was a leading member of the SAS, a “loyal teammate and a highly trained killer”.
The incredible events Weaver was involved in during World War II will feature in the next series of the BBC’s SAS Rogue Heroes drama.
His wartime exploits stretched from secret bunkers in Dorset to deep behind enemy lines in France, culminating in the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
“My father was very brave, completely reliable and had high expectations of people,” reflects his daughter Joanna Burri-Weaver, who lives near Swanage in Dorset.
Joanna Burri-Weaver described her father as “very brave, very honest and completely reliable” [BBC]
At the start of the war, Major Weaver served in the Dorsetshire Regiment, helping to establish the Special Auxiliary Force.
Author Dr. Will Ward has released a new book titled SAS Rogue: The Secret Life of Peter Weaver.
His research drew on extensive family archives, which include “remarkable wartime photographs”.
“I think what’s fascinating is how he went from being very athletic to parlaying that fitness into military service,” he said.
Major Weaver played hurling for the Army and twice played first-class cricket for Hampshire in 1938.
Major Peter Weaver (center platoon) with members of Churchill’s Secret Army East Dorset Reconnaissance Force [Joanna Burri-Weaver]
A network of secret bunkers was established to house soldiers trained in sabotage and silent killing.
It was these skills that led Major Weaver and other members of the Auxiliary to be recruited by the Special Air Service (SAS) in preparation for the D-Day invasion, the start of the 1944 campaign to liberate occupied Europe.
“They need trained personnel and the Auxiliary Forces provide the ideal source,” Dr Ward said.
Major Peter Weaver (pictured wearing a beret) served in the SAS during World War II [Joanna Burri-Weaver]
Major Weaver parachuted into enemy-occupied France before D-Day and miraculously escaped when the Germans attacked an SAS camp.
Joanna said: “Only eight people escaped. Thirty-four were captured. Three days later, thirty-one were killed. Murdered. He told me how lucky he was and how he escaped.”
After his escape, Major Weaver participated in more operations and in April 1945 participated with the Allied forces in the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp near Hannover, Germany.
Dr Ward said: “The SAS were the first troops to enter Belsen and they were absolutely shocked by what they saw.
“There was no preparation for this.”
Author Dr. Will Ward is writing a biography based on Major Weaver’s personal diary [BBC]
Joanna remembers her father describing Bergen Belsen as “terrible” and having a “terrible smell”.
Recalling her father’s experience in the concentration camp, she was filled with emotion.
She explained that her father told her about driving past some old gates and that he “didn’t like what happened behind them.”
After investigation by the troops, it was discovered that this was a concentration camp.
Major Weaver took photos to recall the horrors he witnessed.
“I think it definitely affected him, but he never talked about it,” she added.
[1945年5月，韦弗少校在飞往挪威之前被拍到[Joanna Burri-Weaver]
After leaving the army, Major Weaver eventually returned to Dorset, choosing to live not far from one of the secret bunkers he had helped to set up. He died in 1991.
