Peter Ungerer was born in London in 1882, the son of Charles and Margaretta Ungerer, who were of German heritage, born in Baden. The family had come to London in the early 1880s and ran a bakery and confectionery business in Mayfair. In 1903, Peter married Ada Faraway and they had two daughters, Dorothy and Elsie. Ada died in 1907, leaving Peter to bring up his daughters alone.

On 27th January 1916, Peter married Elizabeth Martha Riches, daughter of William and Annie, who was working as a domestic servant in a nearby house. Their time together was to be short though, as Peter enlisted in the Army Service Corps (ASC) in June 1916 and was sent to Aldershot Barracks and put to work as a baker.

Peter remained with the ASC until 14th March 1917 when he transferred to the Machine Gun Corps. After training, he was posted to France on 6th May 1917, joining 152nd Company Machine Gun Corps at St Omer. On 3rd July, the battalion was sent by “tactical train” to Poperinghe in Belgium and, two days later, found themselves on the front line at St Julien. It was while here, on the 9th July, Peter and two other men from the 152nd Company Machine Gun Corps were killed in action – he had only been overseas for ten weeks.

Upon hearing of her husband’s death, Elizabeth returned to her mother’s home, Tollgate Cottages, in Melton, bringing Peter’s eldest daughter, Dorothy, with her. Peter was buried in Gwalia British Cemetery in Belgium and, after the war, his grave marker was returned to Elizabeth in Melton. It now hangs on the wall in Melton Old Church.

For his war service, Peter received the British War and Victory Medals. In 1939, Elizabeth and Dorothy were living in Kensington London. Dorothy was working as a confectionary checker. Elizabeth died in 1967 at the age of ninety.