Roll of Honour
Captain
Bentley Moore Hunter
MB ChB
Bentley Moore Hunter was born on the 28th April 1888 in Glenluce, Wigtownshire. He was the 5th child of Charles Hunter (1855-1902) and Susan Hunter (née Riddell) (1855-1902). Bentley attended Stranraer High School before coming to the University to study Medicine in 1904. An excellent student he passed all his exams with ease, winning prizes in Ophthalmology and Clinical Medicine. He graduated MB ChB on the 13th July 1909. Bentley married Gladys Maud Starkey (1886-1961) and had a son, John Starkey Hunter (1912-2008). Gladys was originally from Egbaston, Warwickshire, England, and was an Insurance Clerk before marrying Bentley around 1911.
He practised medicine in Consett, County Durham and Stevenston, Ayrshire before obtaining a commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps on the 15th May 1915. He was attached to the First Battalion the Cambridgeshire Regiment and was first sent to the Greek Island of Lemnos and to Egypt. He was then sent to France and Belgium where he was killed on the 31st July 1917 near Ypres (Ieper). He was buried at Steenbeek, north of Ieper, Belgium.
His Commanding Officer wrote to his family:
"Your son was killed trying to save the lives of others, as he had done so many times before. I, fortunately, had the satisfaction of telling him some few days before that I had recommended him for some sort of award."
His Chaplain recorded that:
"His staff say they will never have another like him. He was so generous-minded and willing to help others. I shall never forget the way he carried on down south when the other medical officer was killed. He was simply splendid."
Captain Bentley Moore Hunter is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ieper, Belgium.