Thomas Hunton

General Sir Thomas Lionel Hunton, 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.

Sir Thomas Hunton
General Sir Thomas Hunton in 1943
Born(1885-10-30)30 October 1885
Bristol, England
Died21 April 1970(1970-04-21) (aged 84)
Lympstone, Devon, England
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchRoyal Marines
Years of service1903–1946
RankGeneral
Commands heldCommandant General Royal Marines (1943–46
Portsmouth Division, Royal Marines (1938–41)
Battles/warsFirst World War
Second World War
AwardsKnight 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

Early life

Hunton was born on 30 October 1885 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, the son on Theodore and Emma Maria Hunton.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] He was the first Commandant General Royal Marines from January 1943 until he retired in 1946.[2]

Family life

Hunton married Margaret Mary France Steele on 8 September 1919 in Clifton, Bristol; they had a son and a daughter.[1] He died on 21 April 1970 at Lympstone in Devon.[1]

References
  1. "Thomas Hunton". Unit Histories. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  2. Sir Thomas Lionel Hunton Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  3. Badge, formation, Royal Marine Division & 116th Infantry Brigade, Royal Marines
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