Years of service 1903–1946 Commands held Royal Marines | Name Thomas Hunton Allegiance United Kingdom Died April 21, 1970 | |
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Born 30 October 1885Bristol, Gloucestershire, England ( 1885-10-30 ) Battles/wars World War IWorld War II Awards Order of the Bath, Order of the British Empire, Royal Victorian Order | ||
Battles and wars World War I, World War II | ||
General Sir Thomas Lionel Hunton, (30 October 1885 – 21 April 1970) was a Royal Marines officer who served as the inaugural Commandant General Royal Marines from 1943 to 1946.
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Early life
Hunton was born on 30 October 1885 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, the son on Theodore and Emma Maria Hunton.
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. 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 Marine Division was broken up between July and September 1943 to provide six new Commandos. 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. He died on 21 April 1970 at Lympstone in Devon, his wife had died before him. They had a son, T D F Hunton, who also joined the Royal Marines.