Sir David (Wathen Stather) Hunt, K.C.M.G., O.B.E., M.A.

David Hunt, a clergyman’s son, was born on 25 September 1913, and educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, and Wadham College, Oxford, where he took a first in Literae Humaniores in 1936. In the following year he was awarded the Diploma in Classical Archaeology, a Studentship at the British School at Athens and a fellowship at Magdalen on the recommendation of Maurice Bowra, so seemed destined for a sound academic career.While at the British School he made a special study of the inscriptions of Chios and the Ionian cities and, with war looming, made the most of his studentship to explore the countryside which he did the hard way, making two long trips by pack-mule. 1940 saw him commissioned into the 1st Battalion, the Welch Regiment, but he was almost immediately transferred to the General Staff and posted to the Middle East to join Field Marshall Alexander. Hunt survived the war unscathed, though he took part in the whole of the North African and Italian campaigns, being mentioned in despatches three times and winning the US Bronze Star. He ended his active service in 1946 at Allied Forces HQ with the rank of colonel, whereupon he accompanied Lord Alexander, the newly appointed governor-general of Canada, to Ottawa. Together they worked on Alexander’s wartime despatches and Hunt wrote the first draft of the Official History of the Italian Campaign, a historian’s scrupulous account of events, rather than a soldier’s subjective interpretation of them. This project occupied Hunt for a year and, a decade after the award of his fellowship at Magdalen, he astonished his Oxford contemporaries by relinquishing it and joining the (then) Dominions Office in 1947. Having been at the centre of activity in a theatre of war and acknowledged to be a brilliant staff officer, he probably hankered after more responsibility and wider influence on world affairs than Oxford could offer, though his personality and judgement fitted him ideally for academic life. Hunt spent much of his diplomatic career in Africa.When he accompanied Harold Macmillan on his tour of western and southern Africa in 1960, it was Hunt who drafted the `wind of change’ speech delivered to the South African parliament. He served as High Commissioner in Cyprus 1965-7; in Nigeria 1967-9 and his final diplomatic appointment was as ambassador to Brazil in 1969. In 1968 Hunt had married his second wife, Iro Myrianthousis, a Cypriot with strong Greek connections, which gave added impetus to his intention to resume his Hellenic studies after retirement in 1973. Iro Hunt, with two Cypriot partners, founded a publishing company, Trigraph, which commissioned from Hunt, as editor, Footprints in Cyprus, the first authoratitive illustrated history of Cyprus, written by a panel of distinguished contributors headed by Sir Steven Runciman. Hunt assembled the illustrations and supervised the production of the book which covers the history of the island from the Stone Age through to independence in 1960 and the Turkish invasion of 1974. The book was published in 1982 and a revised edition came out in 1990. Hunt translated and edited Gothic Art and the Renaissance in Cyprus by Camille Enlart (1987); and with his wife edited Caterina Cornaro: Queen of Cyprus (1989). He was president of the Classical Association in 1981-2 and of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies 1986-90. Hunt and his wife were members of the group that represented the Hellenic Society on the centenary visit to Greece at the invitation of the Greek Ministry of Culture in 1979, he wearing both his diplomat’s hat and his scholar’s gown. Hunt was also a strong supporter of the international Save the Acropolis Fund and played a leading role in establishing the Friends of the new University of Cyprus. He never forgot his early years at the British School at Athens and valued his vice-presidency of its Managing Committee which, in turn, benefited from his worldly wisdom. Hunt became known to a popular audience in 1977 through his participation in the BBC’s Mastermind programme when he chose as his special subject the Roman revolution from republic to empire. Five years later he won the title Mastermind of Masterminds. He died on 30 July 1998.