Captain Hunt

[Fuzeman]

Hi everyone I,m trying to locate the museum that houses Captain Hunts collection !
I believe it’s a museum in East Anglia /Norfolk area
thanks in advance

steve

 

[millsbomber]

Good luck iv looked for collections, all disappeared the best one i wanted to find had been turned into a wedding venue and every thing gone.

 

[Alan1]

Hi Steve,
Think it originally went to Flixton, and they had several of the commoner German fuzes on display some many years ago. Not sure if they still have a section of such or whether they have amalgamated with other collections of Brit and American fuzes.
Hunt's medals and a suitcase of paperwork came on to the open market some years back, Patrick Swadling may have dealt with that aspect.
You will be familiar with Bombs and Booby Traps (sic), and the butterfly bomb mentioned in Chapter 9 eventually came to me, together with an original log of incidents in the London area; all from a friend and in those days a fellow collector, who knew Hunt personally as a teenager.
He had always coveted a butterfly bomb, and Hunt retrieved it from the museum and gave it to him.
Alan1

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Steve,
Think it originally went to Flixton, and they had several of the commoner German fuzes on display some many years ago. Not sure if they still have a section of such or whether they have amalgamated with other collections of Brit and American fuzes.
Hunt's medals and a suitcase of paperwork came on to the open market some years back, Patrick Swadling may have dealt with that aspect.
You will be familiar with Bombs and Booby Traps (sic), and the butterfly bomb mentioned in Chapter 9 eventually came to me, together with an original log of incidents in the London area; all from a friend and in those days a fellow collector, who knew Hunt personally as a teenager.
He had always coveted a butterfly bomb, and Hunt retrieved it from the museum and gave it to him.
Alan1

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Alan
many thanks for that most interesing information , I will keep trying to track it down !
some years ago I was contacted by a neighbour of captain `hunt , and I bought some original frames photographs of 5 BD company which covered my local area .
I also purchased some parachute mine components I still have his geographical A-Z of London .
I would love to see what incidents he attended in my Area Alan

kind regards

steve

 

[TimG]

See here -

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt with his team from Bomb Disposal , preparing to blow a 1000 lb enemy bomb at Richmond Park , London 22 February 1945 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal , down a shaft with 250 kg enemy bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt , Royal Engineers , Bomb Disposal , with 1800kg and 1 kg bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) The collection of shells made by Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal - 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

Alan or Steve - have you got his service number or date of award?

TimG

 

[Fuzeman]

See here -

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt with his team from Bomb Disposal , preparing to blow a 1000 lb enemy bomb at Richmond Park , London 22 February 1945 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal , down a shaft with 250 kg enemy bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt , Royal Engineers , Bomb Disposal , with 1800kg and 1 kg bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) The collection of shells made by Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal - 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

Alan or Steve - have you got his service number or date of award?

TimG

Hi Tim
I’ve asked a friend who is writing a book on Royal Enginners bomb disposal awards for any information
these were his collection displayed in a museum somewhere unfortunately they were behind glass which distorts the pictures

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Tim
I’ve asked a friend who is writing a book on Royal Enginners bomb disposal awards for any information
these were his collection displayed in a museum somewhere unfortunately they were behind glass which distorts the pictures

See here -

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt with his team from Bomb Disposal , preparing to blow a 1000 lb enemy bomb at Richmond Park , London 22 February 1945 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal , down a shaft with 250 kg enemy bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt , Royal Engineers , Bomb Disposal , with 1800kg and 1 kg bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) The collection of shells made by Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal - 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

Alan or Steve - have you got his service number or date of award?

TimG

 

[Fuzeman]

See here -

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt with his team from Bomb Disposal , preparing to blow a 1000 lb enemy bomb at Richmond Park , London 22 February 1945 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal , down a shaft with 250 kg enemy bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) Captain Hunt , Royal Engineers , Bomb Disposal , with 1800kg and 1 kg bomb in 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

TopFoto

UXB - defusing unexploded bombs ( UXBs ) The collection of shells made by Captain Hunt of Bomb Disposal - 1940 ©TopFoto

www.topfoto.co.uk

Alan or Steve - have you got his service number or date of award?

TimG

Hi Tim his medals were sold at Spinks in December 1990estimated price was put at £3000 but I can’t find what they actually sold for but here is the auction catalogue entry

 

[Alan1]

Hi Tim and Steve,
He was in the Brigade of Guards in the Great War (usual pair of medals) , and in the TA subsequently, and Ch 12 of his book - actually notes subsequently transcribed and edited by Swadling - entitled The King and I (!) - an extract from the London Gazette is shown dated 18 November 1941 for his MBE. He is listed as Captain Herbert James Hunt (135515) Corps of Royal Engineers.
One or two of the pics Tim shows are included in the book as well.
I remember seeing the racks of fuzes in the museum, but cannot recall the rest of the items, grandly titled The Hunt Collection, and I am certain that I would have remembered if I had.
Perhaps the display was not complete when I saw it.
Not sure what happened to the rest of his "lecture room", probably disposed of at the end of the war like so much else.
And not sure where his collection is now, may be in store somewhere or possibly broken up or incorporated into other accumulations.
And I suspect that the "neighbour" may well be my old friend, clearing out a bit more from the back of the cupboard!
Alan1

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Tim and Steve,
He was in the Brigade of Guards in the Great War (usual pair of medals) , and in the TA subsequently, and Ch 12 of his book - actually notes subsequently transcribed and edited by Swadling - entitled The King and I (!) - an extract from the London Gazette is shown dated 18 November 1941 for his MBE. He is listed as Captain Herbert James Hunt (135515) Corps of Royal Engineers.
One or two of the pics Tim shows are included in the book as well.
I remember seeing the racks of fuzes in the museum, but cannot recall the rest of the items, grandly titled The Hunt Collection, and I am certain that I would have remembered if I had.
Perhaps the display was not complete when I saw it.
Not sure what happened to the rest of his "lecture room", probably disposed of at the end of the war like so much else.
And not sure where his collection is now, may be in store somewhere or possibly broken up or incorporated into other accumulations.
And I suspect that the "neighbour" may well be my old friend, clearing out a bit more from the back of the cupboard!
Alan1

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Alan
thanks for that information I found out the medals were sold by spinks in December 1990 but what they actually sold for or to whom I’ve no information .
i can’t remember the neighbours name but as a school boy he was Captain hunts neighbour I drove a fair distance to see what he was selling and came back with the gyro scope from a mine, plus his A-Z and some scrap book information , plus two period photographs now hanging in my office .

 

[Alan1]

Morn Steve,
H/w poor pics of some pages from Hunt's record book - I am rubbish at photography - giving an idea of his activities.
Circular stamp on cover shows Dec 1945, and this is Book 1. It seems to jump around a bit and leaps from 1940 to 1943 etc, but this reflects the state of play at the time.
It also seems to be his comprehensive official summary of what was going on, as he has countersigned entries etc.
I have picked a couple of pages showing 5 BD as this is yr particular interest.
Alan1.

 

[TimG]

@Alan1

I wouldn't be concerned about the cover being stamped December 45, the book was printed in November 39. However, he's shown himself as MBE which wasn't awarded until end of '41 and also shown himself as a substantive Captain.

TimG

 

[Fuzeman]

Morn Steve,
H/w poor pics of some pages from Hunt's record book - I am rubbish at photography - giving an idea of his activities.
Circular stamp on cover shows Dec 1945, and this is Book 1. It seems to jump around a bit and leaps from 1940 to 1943 etc, but this reflects the state of play at the time.
It also seems to be his comprehensive official summary of what was going on, as he has countersigned entries etc.
I have picked a couple of pages showing 5 BD as this is yr particular interest.
Alan1.View attachment 192602View attachment 192603View attachment 192604View attachment 192605

That’s fascinating thanks Alan I’ve got the log book that is held at the Royal Engineers museum they allowed me to copy

 

[Fuzeman]

@Alan1

I wouldn't be concerned about the cover being stamped December 45, the book was printed in November 39. However, he's shown himself as MBE which wasn't awarded until end of '41 and also shown himself as a substantive Captain.

TimG

Hi Tim Captain Hunts medals are incorrect too the foreign award he was given yes but he. Never got permission to wear the oak leaves on his MBE we’re not correct as it’s pre 1958 there is no record of his MID his TFEM medal is renamed to an officer they weren’t awarded at the time , he probably thought he could wear them

 

[Fuzeman]

Hi Tim Captain Hunts medals are incorrect too the foreign award he was given yes but he. Never got permission to wear the oak leaves on his MBE we’re not correct as it’s pre 1958 there is no record of his MID his TFEM medal is renamed to an officer they weren’t awarded at the time , he probably thought he could wear them

 

[Alan1]

Certainly when I looked at the group when it was on the open market and prior to consignment to Spinks I had reservations, and not just about the renaming etc.
Sometimes funny things happen to medals, particularly if they reflect a fair bit of service. Steve is almost certainly correct, and I don't believe that there is anything more to it than that.
And I thank Tim for his comment re the date stamp. The whole contents are far too neat and regular, in my view, to be daily entries, but would reflect a drawing together of, probably, several sources when time and opportunity allowed.
From memory - and its a long time ago - the book held at Chatham was similar. Can't remember what else they held that originated with Hunt, but I seem to recall a small display cabinet showing the book and probably one or two other items.
Alan1.

 

[Fuzeman]

Certainly when I looked at the group when it was on the open market and prior to consignment to Spinks I had reservations, and not just about the renaming etc.
Sometimes funny things happen to medals, particularly if they reflect a fair bit of service. Steve is almost certainly correct, and I don't believe that there is anything more to it than that.
And I thank Tim for his comment re the date stamp. The whole contents are far too neat and regular, in my view, to be daily entries, but would reflect a drawing together of, probably, several sources when time and opportunity allowed.
From memory - and its a long time ago - the book held at Chatham was similar. Can't remember what else they held that originated with Hunt, but I seem to recall a small display cabinet showing the book and probably one or two other items.
Alan1.

Hi Alan
I was the EODRep for the friends of the museum for many years , we had a complete Bomb Disposal display it’s still there plus the cabinet , nothing specific to Captain Hunt though although there maybe items in the storeroom relating to him.
When I first was invited to take over the role from my late friend Major Arthur Hogben , the curator wasn’t interested in the `bomb disposal section , luckly on his retirement , the new curator had more interest and the display was expanded and now houses a V2 rocket .

 

[Alan1]

I knew Arthur vaguely and, of course, Sandy - I spent some time vainly trying to wriggle his V2 nose fuze out of him with various tempting offers but a conspicuous lack of success!
And I am STILL looking for a V2 nose Fuze. As well as Smith Gun ammunition.
As to the Chatham display, I was still serving then and on a course so the museum was nearby. As I remember it, the cabinet was a square, fairly shallow affair, and it held one of Hunt's logbooks, similar to the one I have, and I seem to recall a gag and discharger as well.
Old men forget etc etc.
So as not to clutter up this medium with non tech reminiscences of friends long dead continue via other means if you wish. aordg@yahoo.co.uk.