News from Buckmaster

Newsletter - Winter 2011 - MEET THE TRUSTEES - 1 Sir Alistair Hunter – Chairman

MEET THE TRUSTEES - 1 Sir Alistair Hunter – Chairman

Sir Alistair Hunter comes from a nomadic family, and spent some of his childhood in the Middle East after his father became headmaster of the British School in Jerusalem. In 1942, when he was 6 years old and by then living in Egypt, he and his mother were evacuated as Rommel and the Afrika Korps advanced, and were torpedoed in the South Atlantic.  So it's probably no surprise that he joined the Diplomatic Service when he grew up. He stayed a diplomat for 35 years, serving in Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Rome, Bonn and Duesseldorf.  When he was in Beijing, during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, the Red Guards burnt down the British Embassy and prevented him leaving for more than a year. His final job was in New York, where he was British Consul-General and also in charge of the Government's trade and investment services throughout the USA. He was knighted in 1994. After retiring at the age of 60 he worked for 10 years in the music industry, mainly on music copyright issues.

Alistair and his German-born wife, Helge, have lived part-time in Broadstairs since 1980, and full-time since 1996. His only previous connection with East Kent was through his grandmother, who lived on the Romney Marsh. Nevertheless, they both feel thoroughly at home here and can't think of anywhere they would rather live than Broadstairs. They have five children between them, and eight grandchildren.  Over the past 15 years, he has been deputy chairman of Kent's inward investment agency, chairman of Manston airport's consultative committee and chairman of the Margate Theatre Royal Trust.  He is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Kent. He has been chairman of the Buckmaster trustees since 2009, and is proud of its wonderful building, its staff and the service it provides.

Posted on: Monday, 7th November 2011
Return to: latest news or archive for November 2011