Like his father, Peter made a career as a soldier in the Inniskilling Dragoons – by the time he joined, the regiment had been known as the 5th Inniskilling Dragoon Guards for a number of years, but to his father Louis they were still the 6th Dragoons.  He grew up hearing tales of his father's first combat in South Africa, then to Egypt, India and later France where he was wounded and mentioned in dispatches.  He finished in 1919 as Regimental Sergeant Major and a qualified Rough Rider responsible for breaking in both new horses and recruits as well as being a riding instructor.  To mention such detail of his father should foreshadow the sort of career Peter was getting into when he enlisted thirty years later.

From the boy scouts to the Sherwood Foresters Army Cadet Force, Rafferty finally joined the Regular Army in late October 1949.  He signed for a three-year engagement that quickly took him from Bovington to Paderborn on the Rhine before the regiment was selected for Korea.  It was at that time the regiment became broken up as members who were ineligible for combat service were posted elsewhere and the Skins adopted many troopers from other armoured regiments to fill their places.  Many long-serving members were posted elsewhere and replaced by an influx of National Servicemen from various armored regiments in Germany. This massive restructuring required weeks of intensive training to bring the new arrivals up to standard before deployment to Korea.

The regiment took over from the 8th Hussars on December 6th and B Squadron took up their reserve posting south of the Imjin River for the month.  At that time, they moved to the front and immediately understood the unusual use of tanks in Korea.  Perhaps they had been spoiled by the open frontiers and rapid offensives of the last war, but the Korean stalemate and terrain limited them to dug out pits.  They realized it was not a tanker’s war and were very limited to their defensive positions.  In the winter especially, the freezing temperatures thickened oil and hydraulic fluids, metal components became brittle, and weapons misfired.  The Centurion’s perches on steep hilltops were so precarious and the slopes so frozen that there was no inclination to move them anyway and the troopers lived among the infantry in their bunkers.  

Rafferty’s B Squadron became known for two costly incidents in which a 1st Troop tank slid down such a hillside and tumbled several times before reaching the bottom.  Suffering a similar tank casualty, 2d Troop became known as the “£38,000 Troop” when one of their tanks also slipped and, after rolling twice and passing through a minefield, dropped into a 100-foot ravine.  The squadron’s 3d Troop events were less catastrophic, only having one tank splash into a rice paddy in reverse at high speed, and by comparison 4th and HQ Troops had a rather dull experience until 4th Troop supported the Black Watch during their November battle on the Hook.

After a year in Korea, which was decidedly not a tanker’s war, the regiment handed off to the Royal Tanks and sailed for Egypt.  The regimental journal made mention of the posting not being their first, and Rafferty’s father would certainly recall their 1906 duties with similarity to the security situation nearly fifty years later.  The barracks were not pleasant, but by comparison to the too cold, too wet, or too hot rat infested dug-outs of Korea, it was a welcome accommodation.  Their vehicles, however, had significant milage and the craftsmen and fitters were disgruntled with their new fleet in comparison to those they left behind in Korea which were arguably in better condition upon departure than on their arrival.

A unique opportunity came to B Squadron when they were tasked to play the most fun part in a war game they would likely ever participate in.  They were to be ‘wild and woolly Inniskillies of barbarous habits whose tactics were most unorthodox’ and when not actively engaging their enemy tasked themselves with sabotage and havoc.  Exercise Longbow was, for B Squadron, a moment for them to fight as they wished without much supervision beyond the umpires merely observing.  It was the highlight of the year.

By the late 1950s, he was a fixture in the Sergeants’ Mess, known for his good humor and steady leadership. Proudly sporting campaign ribbons from Korea, he jovially and regularly had a glass of beer or some other spirit.  As the regiment rotated through postings in Germany, Libya, and the Far East, he took on increasing responsibility. His time as Technical Quartermaster Sergeant saw him stationed at Sek Kong and Benghazi, where he was known for his meticulous record-keeping and an ever-present can of insecticide on his desk—a necessity in those climates [65]. His ability to manage logistical challenges efficiently made him a respected figure within the regiment, and his input was frequently sought when it came to planning operations and supply chain improvements.

By 1973, after twenty-four years of service, Rafferty had risen to Regimental Sergeant Major. He remained fresh faced but no longer with a boyish appearance.  Only his waist had changed (expanded) and his glasses had changed most to match the style of the decade.  He was not a man of bluster or intimidation but rather one who led through competence and respect. His final years in uniform saw him excel in management training, culminating in his successful efforts to double student throughput at the Royal Armoured Corps Signal School without additional staff. 

His tenure as Regimental Sergeant Major was characterized by a focus on modernizing training methods and improving efficiency within the regiment. He believed that the key to effective leadership was understanding the needs of his men and ensuring they were met with fairness and discipline.  Rafferty remained a studious type, ultimately finishing his career as best pupil in a management course at Poole Technical College.  He demonstrated to both the Army and the civilian world the value of soft skills in leadership. The Inniskilling Dragoons and the Army as a whole had changed since he first enlisted, an evolution as dramatic as his father had seen over his career, and he too held a place in regimental history.