Douglas Hunter was born on the 2nd June 1895 in the Manningham area of Bradford.
On the 21st September1914 he answered Lord Kitchener’s call to arms by joining at his
Local recruiting office in Bradford, the 16th Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment later to become known as the “1st Bradford Pals”.
The Regiment became part of the 93rd brigade, which was in the 31st Division.
The Regiments making up the Brigade consisted of the 15th (Leeds Pals), the16th and 18th (Bradford Pals) West Yorkshire Regiment, and the 18th Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry (Durham pals).
His service number was 16/228, the prefix of 16 showing he was part of the 16th West Yorkshire Regiment. After initial training at Skipton and Ripon (North Yorkshire) the Regiment was sent to Egypt on the 6th December 1915 to take part in the Defence of Suez.
They first arrived at Alexandria, but later sailed to Port Said and finally to Kantara, which was on the east bank of the Suez Canal. They were encamped in an area known as “Point 70”.
The Regiment stayed in Egypt from 21st December 1915 until the 1st March 1916, finally arriving in Marseilles France on the 6th March 1916. From Marseilles they entrained for the journey to Pont Remy, finally marching to Mereleaasart.
