Thomas Hunton
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2018}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Sir Thomas Hunton
|image= Thomas Hunton.jpg
|image_size=
|alt=
|caption= General Sir Thomas Hunton in 1943
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1885|10|30|df=yes}}
|birth_place= Bristol, England
|death_date= {{death date and age|1970|04|21|1885|10|30|df=yes}}
|death_place= Lympstone, Devon, England
|placeofburial=
|allegiance= United Kingdom
|branch= Royal Marines
|serviceyears= 1903–1946
|rank= General
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= Commandant General Royal Marines (1943–46
Portsmouth Division, Royal Marines (1938–41)|battles= First World War
Second World War
|awards= Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Member of the Royal Victorian Order
Mentioned in Despatches (2)
Legion of Honour (France)
Knight of the Order of the Star of Romania
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
General Sir Thomas Lionel Hunton, {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|sep=,|KCB|OBE|MVO}} (30 October 1885 – 21 April 1970) was a Royal Marines officer who served as the inaugural Commandant General Royal Marines from 1943 to 1946.
Early life
Hunton was born on 30 October 1885 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, the son on Theodore and Emma Maria Hunton.{{cite web|url=http://www.unithistories.com/officers/RM_officersH.html|title=Thomas Hunton|publisher=Unit Histories|accessdate=15 February 2019}}
Military career
Hunton joined Royal Marines in 1903 and served in the First World War before becoming Deputy Assistant Adjutant General of the Royal Marines in 1930 and Assistant Adjutant General of the Royal Marines in 1935.[http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/HUNTON.shtml Sir Thomas Lionel Hunton] Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives He served in the Second World War as Commander of the Portsmouth Division of the Royal Marines from 1938 and then as Adjutant General Royal Marines (and Commander of the Royal Marine Division) from 1941: it was under his guidance that the Royal Marines Division was broken up between July and September 1943 to provide six new Commandos.[http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30076394 Badge, formation, Royal Marine Division & 116th Infantry Brigade, Royal Marines] He was the first Commandant General Royal Marines from January 1943 until he retired in 1946.
Family life
Hunton married Margaret Mary France Steele on 8 September 1919 in Clifton, Bristol; they had a son and a daughter. He died on 21 April 1970 at Lympstone in Devon.
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://generals.dk/general/Hunton/Thomas_Lionel/Great_Britain.html Generals of World War II]
- [https://www.unithistories.com/officers/RM_officersH.html#Hunton_TL Royal Marine Officers 1939−1945]
{{s-start}}
{{s-mil}}
{{s-bef|before=Sir Alan Bourne
(as Adjutant-General Royal Marines)}}
{{s-ttl|title=Commandant General Royal Marines|years=1943–1946}}
{{s-aft|after=Sir Dallas Brooks}}
{{s-end}}
{{RM Commandant General}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunton, Thomas}}
Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour
Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
Category:Knights of the Order of the Star of Romania
Category:Members of the Royal Victorian Order
Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Military personnel from Bristol
Category:Royal Marines generals of World War II