Page 122 - They Also Served

on 23rd December 1914. Too young for service at the front, Hunter was stationed in the UK when he was involved in a serious motorcycle accident. In July 1915, after developing sepsis, his right leg was amputated above the knee. Fitted with a prosthetic leg, he was known as ‘Sticky’ thereafter; his party trick being to remove the leg and swing it around his head during boisterous nights in the mess.
Passed fit for home duties only, he served in the War Office for a while, then rejoined his regiment in September 1916. However, knowing that service
in the trenches was impossible, and using knowledge of the army system gained at the War Office, he successfully applied for secondment to the RFC. Such was the desperate need for pilots that he received his Royal Aero Club Aviator’s Certificate (4516) on 18th April 1917, the first disabled trainee pilot in the world.
Posted to 66 Squadron RFC in France, and flying the Sopwith Pup, he shot down German aircraft on 12th, 27th, and 28th July and another on 3rd September. Converting to the famed Sopwith Camel, he added another on 8th November to become an ‘ace’. Promoted to captain, he accompanied the squadron to Italy. However, on 5th December his aircraft collided with another Camel over the front line and ‘Sticky’ Hunter was killed.
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