Rex Hunt

Rex Hunt KCMG
Rex Hunt in governors' uniform
Governor of the Falkland Islands
In office 25 June 1982 – 16 October 1985
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Chief Executive	David G. P. Taylor
Preceded by	Jeremy Moore (as Military Commander)
Succeeded by	Gordon Jewkes
In office 1980 – 2 April 1982
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Preceded by	Sir James Parker
Succeeded by	Mario Menéndez (as Military Commander)
Personal details
Born	(1926-06-26) 26 June 1926 (age 85)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	St Peter's College, Oxford
Occupation	diplomat and colonial administrator

Sir Rex Masterman Hunt KCMG (born 29 June 1926) is a British diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor, Commander-in-Chief and Vice Admiral of the Falkland Islands (and concurrent High Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory) between 1980 and September 1985.

Career

After attending Coatham School, Redcar and St Peter's College, Oxford, Rex Hunt joined the Royal Air Force as a cadet in 1941 and was enlisted as an airman in 1944 and commissioned as a pilot in 1945.^[1] He transferred to No 5 Squadron in India in August 1946 where he flew Spitfires, before transferring to Germany with No 26 Squadron in August 1947. He left active service in 1948, but remained in the reserves until 1951 where he reached the rank of Flight Lieutenant.

In 1952 he joined the Colonial and Diplomatic Services and went on to serve on postings in Uganda, Sarawak, Brunei, Turkey, Indonesia, South Vietnam, Malaysia and the Falkland Islands. Hunt was appointed the Consul-General at the British Embassy in Saigon in 1974^[2] and was there at the time of the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. From 1980^[3] to 1985 he was Governor of the Falkland Islands.

The Falklands War

Hunt became a household name during the Falklands War after the Argentine invasion of the islands. He was captured by the Argentinian invasion force and expelled from the islands to Uruguay.

During the invasion he had made his official residence, Government House in Port Stanley the operational headquarters for the Royal Marines. He sent his family and domestic staff away to safer houses with only their most valuable possessions. His housekeeper took a picture of the Queen and a bottle of gin.^[4]

Government House quickly became the site of an engagement between the Royal Marines garrison and the Argentine navy's commandos. Hunt gave the order to lay down arms, before going to Stanley town hall, wearing his governor's plumed hat, to meet the Argentine General. "You have landed unlawfully on British territory and I order you to remove yourself and your troops forthwith," said Hunt. Four hours later Hunt was on a plane to Montevideo, Uruguay.^[4] He remained away during the occupation.

Sir Rex Hunt wrote about his time in the Falklands in his book My Falkland Days. He was chairman of the Falkland Islands Association for many years. He retired as chairman in 2004 and moved to Yorkshire.^[5]

Cultural references

Rex Hunt was portrayed by Ian Richardson in the 1992 BBC television drama An Ungentlemanly Act, depicting the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands.^[6]

References