Peter Walls - Military Service

Military Service

Born in Rhodesia, Walls trained at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst, England, and fought for the British Empire in World War II. After the war he served in the Black Watch, but later resigned. On 16 March 1946 he was promoted from Cadet to Second Lieutenant in the Black Watch. He joined the Southern Rhodesian Army as a corporal and commanded the all-Rhodesian "C" Squadron of the Special Air Service in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. He became the commanding officer of the Rhodesian Light Infantry in November 1964. In December Brigadier General Rodney Putterill reproached Walls for letting his men wear paper hats at a Christmas dinner with the words, "RLI for UDI." Walls became the General Officer Commanding the Rhodesian Security Forces in 1972. In 1977 he became the Commander of Combined Operations, the head of the Rhodesian Army.