Page 121 - They Also Served

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The Hunter Brothers 1913/14.
Henry John Francis Hunter was born
in London on 29th December 1893.
Commissioned from Sandhurst on 5th
February 1913, he served as a subaltern
in the Rifle Brigade. He was wounded in
action on the Western Front and, whilst
convalescing, promoted to captain in
December 1915 and seconded to the
RFC. Gaining his Royal Aero Club
Aviator’s Certificate (2872) on 9th May
1916, he was posted to 34 Squadron, flying the two-seat BE2c observation aircraft.
In October 1916, Hunter was awarded the MC, the citation stating: ‘For conspicuous gallantry and skill. He has done fine work for the artillery and has accounted for many enemy guns. On one occasion, when a heavy storm drove all other machines back to their aerodromes, and the enemy guns took the opportunity to become active, he remained up and did fine work’. In June 1917, he was promoted to major and appointed commander of 9 Squadron and later 42 Squadron, flying the R.E.8. By the end of the war, he had been awarded two MIDs and transferred to the RAF.
Remaining in the RAF between the wars, he commanded the air wing on HMS Hermes, the world’s first ship designed as an aircraft carrier. A skilled tennis player, he played in the Wimbledon singles in 1924, 1927, and 1930. As a group captain, he commanded RAF Finningley before retiring in June 1939. Recalled a few months later, he served with Bomber Command in the UK, commanding RAF Driffield in East Yorkshire. On 15th August 1940, at the start of the Battle of Britain, 50 German bombers attacked the airfield. 17 Whitley bombers were destroyed in their hangars, and amongst the casualties was 19-year-old Marguerite Hudson, the first WAAF killed during the war. After further service in Sumatra and India, Hunter was awarded the OBE and two further MiDs. Henry Hunter finally retired as an air commodore in 1946 and died in 1966.
His younger brother, Thomas Vicars Hunter, was born in London on 2nd April 1897. Educated at Eton College, he left as a 17-year-old upon the outbreak of war to attend the first wartime course at Sandhurst. He was commissioned into the Rifle Brigade
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