Mitch Peeke

Mitch Peeke was born in South London in 1962. As a young lad, he was very much into aviation and enjoyed being an Air Cadet, especially with the opportunities for flying that went with it! He was also a flying member of the Kent Gliding Club.

Following a career in the photographic and print trades, he spent 15 years driving a Black Cab, before becoming a Driving Instructor in 2007.

His first book was a biography of Captain W T Turner, the last master of the Cunard liner RMS Lusitania, which he co-wrote with Kevin Walsh-Johnson. It was published in 2001. His next project was a biography of the Lusitania, which first came out in 2002 and was re-published as an updated centenary version in 2015.

Book three was something of a departure from the maritime theme. Lost Souls of the River Kwai was a survivor's account of being a POW of the Japanese in WW2.

His latest project is the story of 1940. This has been a labour of love spanning some thirty-odd years! 1940: The Battles to Stop Hitler is now out as an e-book, published 24/6/2015.

All Author's royalties from his books are paid directly to the Medway Queen Preservation Society's restoration fund, to help preserve the ship that became known as "the Heroine of Dunkirk".

Mitch currently writes for numerous journals, magazines and web blogs. He has also acted as a Historical Adviser to film and television companies.

Mitch is married with one daughter and one son. He and his family have lived here (with his wife's menagerie of rescued animals!), since 1995. In 2019, Mitch raised a memorial here to the crew of a B 17 bomber which crashed on his local beach in June of 1944.

As you can see from one of his profile pictures, Mitch loves nothing more than riding around on his rather unique 1450cc custom Harley-Davidson! The other picture on this page shows him sitting in the cockpit of a Mk IX Spitfire. A rare opportunity and frankly, a dream come true! If only he had the keys!!!!