 Hunter joined the Royal West Kent Regiment of the British Army in December 1903, rising through the ranks to lance corporal by February 1906.He served in Malta, but was found guilty of theft and receiving stolen goods by court-martial in December 1906 and served 140 days hard labour before being discharged in May 1907.Over a year after the outbreak of the First World War, Hunter enlisted in the Royal Sussex Regiment in September 1915 and served in the 10th (Reserve) Battalion until June 1916.