Peter Penfold was born on 27 February 1944, the son of Alfred Penfold and Florence (née Green). He was educated at Sutton County Grammar School and married 1st, in 1972, Margaret Quigley (the marriage was dissolved in 1983); 2nd, in 1992, Celia Dolores Koenig.

Penfold joined the Foreign Service in 1963 and his career included: American Division and United Nations Division; Bonn [West Germany, later part of Germany], (1965-68); Registry Officer, Kaduna [Nigeria], (1968-70); Latin American Floater, (1970-72); Passport Officer, Canberra [Australia], (1972); Desk Officer, Pacific and Dependent Territories, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, (1972-75); Second Secretary: Addis Ababa [Ethiopia], (1975-78); Port of Spain [Trinidad and Tobago], (1978-81); First Secretary, FCO, (1981-84); Deputy High Commissioner and Head of Chancery, Kampala [Uganda], (1984-87); First Secretary and Deputy Head of West Indian and Atlantic Department, FCO, (1987-91); Governor, British Virgin Islands, (1991-95); Special Drugs Adviser to the Caribbean, FCO, (1995-96); High Commissioner, Freetown [Sierra Leone], (1996-2000); Senior consultant and conflict adviser, DFID (Department for International Development), (2001-2).

He died on 1 October 2023.