Hunter, David
3491 Private David Hunter - 16th Battalion AIF
David Hunter was born in Dumfries Scotland on the 28th December 1897 to David and Annie Hunter. He was educated and grew up in Glasgow Scotland. In his teens David travelled out to Australia and took up residence in Western Australia. He took up work as a labourer and was living in Reuben Street Beaconsfield.
On the 28th July 1915 David enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 5 inches tall;
Weight - 122lbs;
Chest Measurement - 31-33 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Brown.
After his successful enlistment David was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was initially assigned to the infantry training depot. After a few weeks of training there David was assigned to the 11th reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF. He trained with this unit for another month then on the 27th October 1915 David and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Benalla. The ship then set sail for Egypt, arriving there just over three weeks later in October 1915.
David and his group were sent to the reinforcement camp near Cairo. The 16th Battalion were currently at Gallipoli but as plans were now underway to evacuate the Dardanelles, the reinforcements were retained in Egypt. David would not end up joining the 16th Battalion till March 1916. However a few days later he was evacuated ill and was found to be suffering from venereal disease.
He was then sent to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital. David would spend several weeks in hospital and by the time he had recovered the 16th Battalion had already left for France so he was instead sent to the 4th Division reinforcements.
He left for England in June where he was sent to the 4th Training Battalion at Rollestone. He soon got into trouble for refusing to obey and order and using obscene language to a superior officer. Fortunately for David the punishment was not too severe, being only seven days of detention in camp.
On the 29th July 1916 David was sent to France and was initially sent to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples. He had a few weeks there and was officially taken on strength of the 16th Battalion on the 19th August 1916.
When he joined them the 16th Battalion were on the Somme battlefield. On the 30th August 1916, the 16th battalion took part in an action against the Germans positions at Mouquet Farm. They were initially successful but the Germans were able to recapture the Farm. During the action David was blown up by a shell and suffered concussion and shell shock. He was buried before being dug out by fellow soldiers. He was unconscious for half and hour and then managed to crawl back on his hands and knees, with severe pain in his back and legs.
He was evacuated to the Casualty Clearing Station where he was put under observation till the 9th September 1916. He was then transferred to the 7th Canadian General Hospital at Le Treport. On the 22nd September 1916 David was then transferred to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot.
It appears that during his previous stay in hospital, they did not diagnose his health issues, as on the 30th September he was returned to the 26th General hospital where he was diagnosed with spinal concussion. After a further six days in hospital David was sent to England for further treatment.
On arrival in England David was sent to the 4th London General Hospital at Denmark Hill. He spent a month there and on the 26th October 1916 was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. On the 18th November 1916 David was then transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. He was diagnosed with 'Hysteria' but it seems to have been a harsh diagnosis of his shell shock condition.
David would remain at No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth for the next few months. In December 1916 he got into trouble for missing a roll call parade for which he had to forfeit one days pay and was admonished by the CO.
On the 24th February 1917 David was transferred to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Wareham. After a month in this camp he was transferred to the newly created 70th Battalion of the 6th Division AIF. This was a new division being created in England from reinforcements. David would train here for a few weeks but was soon returned to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Codford. On the 3rd July 1917 he took a few days unauthorised leave and was awarded four days of field punishment No.2 and was fined 10 days pay. This did not stop David leaving camp again without a leave pass on the 9th July 1917 and he was absent without leave till the 12th July. This time he was awarded 14 days of Field Punishment No.2 and was fined 26 days pay.
David had a few more weeks here but on the 18th August 1917 was transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverell. On the 10th September 1917 David was sent back to France and was sent to the 4th Australian Division Base Depot Camp at Le Havre. David was taken back on strength of the 16th Battalion on the 25th September 1917.
When he rejoined them the 16th Battalion was in action near Polygon Wood in Belgium. On the 3rd October 1917 David got into trouble for hesitating to obey and order and was given seven days of Field Punishment No.2. However it appears David continued to serve with the 16th Battalion at Broodseinde Ridge, Zonnebeke and Passchendaele.
On the 16th November 1917 David again got into trouble for using obscene language to a NCO. He was punished with 28 days of Field Punishment No.1. David was sent to the Field Compound on the 3rd December 1917 and was there till the 4th January 1918.
The 16th Battalion were then holding the front line in Belgium south east of Ypres near Hollebeke and would be here till March 1918. As a result of the German offensive of March 21st 1918 which broke through the British front line further south, the Australian Divisions were sent towards the Somme to help stop this German advance.
The 16th Battalion, as part of the 4th Infantry Brigade, moved to Hebuterne where they joined New Zealand and British units in stopping the German advance in this sector. They also started putting the Germans on the back foot by conducting raids on their positions. In April 1918 the 16th Battalion moved to the Somme River and Villers-Bretonneux sector.
On the 7th May 1918 David went absent without leave and only reported back in to his unit on the 23rd May 1918. He was charged with desertion and was sentenced to 2 years indentured hard labour, however David was still with the 16th battalion when the Hamel action took place on the 4th July 1918. David was wounded in this action being shot in the knee.
David was treated at the 13th Field Ambulance and then the 5th Casualty Clearing Station. He was then sent to an ambulance train and sent to the French town of Rouen where he was admitted to the 12th USA General Hospital. While he was here the news came through that his 2 year imprisonment punishment had been suspended.
On the 25th July 1918 David was transferred from the 12th USA Hospital to the 2nd Convalescent Camp Depot at Rouen. On the 6th August 1918 David was transferred to the 1st Australian Convalescent Camp at Le Havre. He remained there for the next month and rejoined the 16th Battalion on the 12th September 1918.
David saw action on the 18th September 1918 during the 16th Battalion's last battle of the war at Le Verguier. He came through this unscathed and after this action the 16th Battalion was sent for a rest period out of the line. On the 23rd October 1918 David was granted a two week furlough to England. He was due to report back on the 7th November 1918 but never reported back. David was arrested by Military Police in Glasgow on the 13th December 1918.
He was taken back to London where he had to face a court martial on the 31st December 1918. He was given a six month detention in a military prison and was then sent to Wormwood Scrubbs. On the 7th June 1919 he was transferred to a Military Prison at Lewes. He would only spend a few weeks here as he was then released to return to Australia.
On the 2nd August 1919 David went aboard the transport ship HMAT Argyllshire and set sail for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 22nd September 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on the 25th September 1919.
After returning to Fremantle, David moved to the Northwest of the State and spent much time around Carnarvon and Wyndham.
In what seems a harsh decision, when David applied for his war medals after the war, due to his going AWOL at the end of the war, the medals board stated that David's war service had been 'unsatisfactory' which is a severely wrong decision for a soldier that had been severely shell shocked in 1916 but came back to action despite his condition and was wounded again in 1918.
In the 1930's David moved to Darwin and was still there when World War Two began. He had been working as a Car Driver in Darwin. Despite his experiences in the last war David again offered his services in January 1940. He was accepted for service and given the service number D301629 and was assigned to the 14th Garrison Battalion. In 1941 he was transferred to the Darwin Infantry Battalion.
After two years of service David was discharged medically unfit in November 1943.
David Hunter died in the Northern Territory on the 13th July 1958.