East Surrey Regiment - Laurence Hunt

Discussion in 'British Army Units - Others' started by stephen.r, Sep 25, 2022.

  1. stephen.r

    stephen.r Member

    Hi all,

    I have recently come across a photo of my relative, Laurence (born Lawrence) Henry Hunt on Ebay. Unfortunately it was bought by somebody else but I managed to get a screenshot.

    The photo shows him in an ESR uniform. This makes sense given that his father was a serjeant with the 1st ESR who died in 1914. Laurence would've travelled from Dublin to Surrey to join, most likely to follow in his footsteps.

    As a child I was told Laurence fought and was injured on a beach in France and that's all I know, he didn't talk much about the war.

    I've no idea what the photo was doing in the UK as we have no family where it was found, the seller told me it came from a house clearance but wouldn't say anything else. Would any of the kind members here have any information on him? Maybe this would lead me to find more photos.

    Larence Hunt in Uniform WW2.jpg
     
  2. minden1759

    minden1759 Senior Member

    My money would be on 2/6 East Surreys in France in 1940. Get hold of Gary Tankard on this site and ask him to get the War Diary for 2/6 East Surreys for the period Apr-May 40. It will include the monthly Manning Return which includes the names of all the Officers - he was a Second Lieutenant, in the battalion in those two months in the build up to Dunkirk.

    Infantry Officers were often posted to other Regts so he may have served in another Regt on commissioning but looking at 2/6 East Surreys would be a good starting point.

    The alternative is to get his Service Record from Glasgow via the www.gov.uk but that can take 6-8 months.

    Regards

    Frank
     
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  3. BFBSM

    BFBSM Very Senior Member

    From the 2/6 East Surrey's War Diary for 25 May 1940.
    P1860451.JPG

    The Hunt listed is an L. C. Hunt.
     
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  4. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    Although not WW2, forum members may be interested in this link to the Hunt brothers originally from Chertsey, Surrey for WW1 background to his fathers service, death & birth of Lawrence.

    The Hunt family: Three women, three babies, and four soldiers

    Could the photo have been in a Uk branch of the Hunt family, esp if taken following his commissioning as an officer in the UK, when he may have made contact. Chertsey may not have been far from where he enlisted and trained.

    Have not found the commissioning of a man with his name in The London Gazette, nor any LH Hunt's in The Army List for East Surrey Regiment in WW2.

    The closest is a LC Hunt commissioned Aug 1939 into a Territorial Battallion of the East Surrey Regiment.

    There are two possibles in the Surrey Enlistment books (on ancestry) who joined as privates.

    Lawrence Henry Hunt
    Military Enlistment Date: 2 Jan 1942
    Military Enlistment Place: Surrey, England
    Regiment: East Surrey
    Regiment Number: 6153642
    Transferred to S.L.I. (probably Sommerset Light Infantry) 21.6.43 serial 424.


    Name: Laurence Henry Hunt
    Military Enlistment Date: 20 Jun 1940
    Military Enlistment Place: Surrey, England
    Regiment: Queen's Royal West Surrey
    Regiment Number: 6098152
    to Z (T) Reserve 15.3.46

    There is another another Lawrence Henry Hunt that shows on ancestry (born 23.7.1914, died 1999, lived Guildford in 1939, mother ?Edith), but not 18 until July 1942.

    Travers
     
  5. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    E. Surrey R.
    Pte. Leslie Charles HUNT
    (107038)
    to be 2nd Lt. 2nd Sept. 1939.
    Page 7634 | Supplement 34732, 10 November 1939 | Lo...

    Surreys
    TERRITORIAL ARMY RESERVE OF OFFICERS
    Lt. (Hon. Capt.) L. C. HUNT (107038) having
    exceeded the age limit, ceases to belong to the TA. Res. of Offrs., 8th Aug. 1959, retaining the hon. rank of Capt.
     
  6. stephen.r

    stephen.r Member

    That's him yes, I've done quite a bit of research on his father. The only surviving Hunts in UK would have been his uncles, but I was never able to trace them after WW1 so not sure. He was orphaned in 1921 and had no contact with the UK as far as I knew.

    He is registered as Lawrence Henry Hunt at birth but spelt it differently later in life, presumably the non-uk spelling as he lived in Dublin until he died in the 1980s. Maybe he used Lawrence again when enlisting?

    The only detail I have is that he was injured by a German grenade, there was an embroidered ESR crest in my Grandparents house that he supposedly made while recovering.
     
  7. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    The photo shows him as a 2nd Lieutenant & I have also tried the fold3 website for any ref to his commission with no luck. The London Gazette where his commission would be even if it was a peacetime one has a quirky search system so it could easily be missed.

    I would have expected him to use Lawrence if enlisting in England as thats what his UK birth registration said.

    I notice he was born in 1915 so if he joined the army from age 18 this could have been in the 1930's.

    One of the trees on ancestry has his marriage in Dublin as Feb 1940, could this fit with the enlistment into the West Surreys of 6098152 in June 1940, maybe prompted by the defeat of the BEF in France. However this leaves us with the issue that the Recruitment book does not show any commission for that man. Does the marriage cert or the birth certs of any children show his occupation as a soldier ?

    Looking at ancestry trees there is quite a bit of info on the uncles or one of their widows post WW1 & they lived in London & Surrey, so the photo could easily have originated from there.

    I'm not sure if any of the East Surrey Battalions were at the Normandy landings in 1944, but that could also explain the comment about fighting and being injured on a beach in France. 6153642 is shown on a casualty list from 1944 on the findmypast website but I don't have access to the full entry.
    Second World War | findmypast.co.uk

    Travers
     
  8. stephen.r

    stephen.r Member

    Hi Travers,

    Really do appreciate your help on this. That tree is mine, I found his marriage cert on Irish Geneology, 6th of Feb and his occupation is listed as carpenter which is what his father, the ESR serjeant was, and his father before him. I can't find any of the birth certs of his 3 sons, most likely because they are still under wraps until enough time passes.

    His uncle Frederick Hunt died in the 1960s, that would only leave Archibald Thomas Hunt of the 4 Surrey brothers left in the UK but I was never able to trace him. His uncle Herberts widow did remarry but have contacted that family and they didn't know much, her one son for Herbert also fought in WW2 but chances are slim that his family return contact.

    Screenshot_20221004-143453_Samsung Notes.jpg
     
  9. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    Its possible he is recording his profession rather than his current job on the marriage cert. Not sure if would be reluctant in Ireland recording he was in the British Army.

    Could it be that he joined the army direct from the Boy's Home he was brought up in, I know this happened in the UK with boys going direct from Industrial schools etc to the Army, Navy, merchant Navy etc.

    I have traced Archibald Thomas HUNT & its not good news.

    He shows on four pension cards on the fold3 website that are also available through the Western Front Association, where his mother Eleanor of 33 Grove Road, Chertsey is claiming a dependents pension after his death. The cards record this as 1.12.1921 from heart failure while serving as 1404213 Sgt in the Royal Garrison Artillery, a single man. It looks like he is in India with the RGA in 1911 as the census shows a Gunner Archibald Thomas Hunt, age 22, born Chertsey with No 8 Mountain Battery RGA at ?Luetta (poss Quetta).

    His record should be at the MOD as he served after 1920. I can't for sure find his WW1 medal records, but by coincidence there is a medal card for a Sgt Archibald Thomas Hunt 30521/1403174 where his death is also marked as 1.12.1921 & was No 8 Mountain Battery, with service on North West Frontier in 1919. So a poss mix of records or two post 1920 numbers issued to the same man ?. As this is a WW2 forum if you wanted help with that you could try the greatwarforum web site.

    Travers
     
  10. stephen.r

    stephen.r Member

    Hi Travers,

    Worth noting that Laurences brother Richard Jr. served in the Irish army at the same time so that theory does make sense to me.

    Devestated to hear about Archibald, certainly the right man as their mother was Eleanor Hunt, she died in 1924. Frederick's probate was left to an Archibald Hunt in the 60's so this could possibly be his son rather than his brother which gives me hope. Seems the Hunt story has always been a sad one.
     
  11. stephen.r

    stephen.r Member

    Hi all,

    Another development, a kind soul was able to find that find my past record for L H Hunt: https://imgur.io/a/QtusYbR

    Shows a soldier injured in the 2nd Btn. Of the Devonshire Regiment
     
  12. travers1940

    travers1940 Well-Known Member

    The service number of this soldier 6153642 Pte L H HUNT (reported injured12.8.1944 in NW Europe) was issued to him by the East Surrey Regiment & this is his entry in their recruitment register held on ancestry.co.uk.
    Screenshot 2022-10-23 at 23.23.12.png

    No hits for this number in the London Gazette for any subsequent commission.

    My first reading of the regiment he was transferred to was SLI ? What do others think.

    Travers
     

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