A rare aircrew casualty General Service Medal 1918-1962, GVIR 1st type bust, 1 Clasp: Palestine awarded to Pilot Officer B. Hunter, Royal Air Force who was killed on 3rd September 1936 when his Hawker Hart aircraft came under heavy ground fire and the aircraft was seen to glide down and crash into a Wadi, quickly bursting into flames. His body and that of his Air Gunner Aircraftman 1st Class E.G.W. Lincoln were recovered and a funeral held the next day.
General Service Medal 1918-1962, GVIR 1st type bust, 1 Clasp: Palestine; (P/O B. HUNTER. R.A.F.) Court-mounted for display.
Condition: court-mounted for display, Extremely Fine
Thomas Barry Hunter who originated from Wantage, Berkshire had a very short, but active operational Royal Air Force career. Enlisting on a Short Service Commission on 14th September 1934, he was by September the following year serving with No.45 Squadron at Helwan in the Middle East. This posting was relatively short lived and he was posted to No. 6 (Bomber) Squadron, Ismailia and detached to Ramleh in Palestine. The squadron, operating with Hawker Hart aircraft (single-engined day bombers) was very quickly involved in operations as evidenced by the unit’s Operational Record Book.
The Operational Record Book for 21st June 1936 records Hunter’s participation in a nine aircraft action against armed Arabs attacking an army convoy. Three of these aircraft were forced to land due to enemy rifle fire and aircraft were hit 13 times. One of these aircraft was repaired on site next day and flown to Ramleh. The other two were so damaged that they had to be dismantled and transported to base.
On 3rd September 1936, an emergency call was made to No.6 Squadron to the effect that insurgents were barricading the Nabuls-Talkurm Road and that a detachment of British Army troops were in danger. Two aircraft were despatched, one piloted by Pilot Officer Hunter. Both aircraft came under heavy ground fire and Hunter’s aircraft was seen to glide down, with the airscrew turning slowly and crashed into a Wadi. Within 3 minutes it had burst into flames. The other aircraft was hit 5 times and sustained damage which forced it to return to Ramleh. In follow-up operations - which lasted throughout the day – Squadron Leader H.M. Massey, who earned the DSO for the campaign, was wounded and hospitalised on return to base.
Hunter’s aircraft (K4473) was located later in the day and the bodies of the pilot and his Air Gunner 565272 A.C.1. E.G.W. Lincoln were record. The Operational Record Book shows that their funerals took place at 06.00 hours the following morning in the Ramleh War Cemetery. Hunter’s grave is marked by a service headstone erected by the Ministry of Defence but maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
