The UK photographic company known as R.F.Hunter was formed by Robert Forgie Hunter (1880-1955). He was born in Newton Stewart in southern Scotland. He came from a large family and his father, named William Hunter, was a photographer.

Robert Hunter was in the Army with the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) at the time of the Second Boer War (or Second South African War) (1899-1902). He subsequently married Maud May Clayton (1887-1937) on 29th October 1906. Maud was born in Alkborough, Glanford Brigg, North Lincolnshire. She grew up in Buxton in her Uncle's household. She and Robert had two sons, William Clayton (1908-1943; William was Andy Hunter's father) and Cyril Robert (1910-1994).

The Hunter family set up a photographic shop in Buxton, which was later sold to Boards (circa 1920), a company that was still trading in the 1970's. Maud was a confectioner and had another shop in Buxton.

During the First World War (1914-1918) Robert Hunter was a sergeant with the Army Supply Corps while Maud stayed at home looking after the family businesses.

Soon after the war (circa 1920) the Hunter family moved to Doughty Street in London where they set up business trading as R.F.Hunter Ltd. They gave this as their address in 1930. Arthur Blackburn (affectionately known as 'Blackie' and god-father to Andy Hunter) was with the company from its early days.

Later the company moved to Celfix House 51/53, Gray's Inn Road, London WC1 (see left) with premises on both sides of the road. There was also a projection screen manufacturing factory in Leighton Buzzard, managed by a Mr. Baker.

Andy believes that 'Blackie' may have owned "The Starlight Screen Company" and merged this enterprise into R.F.Hunter Ltd.

The two sons, William and Cyril, were educated at Sutton Valance in Surrey. William went up to St John's in Cambridge and became a school master and documentary film maker at Dartington Hall. Cyril joined the family firm and learned German (possibly with Franke and Heidecke of Rollei fame, as this was about the time that Paul Franke and Robert (Bob) Hunter are believed to have had a conversation along the lines of "if I make these can you sell them?"

R.F.Hunter famously became the UK distributor for the prestigious Rollei camera range. In 1962 this range consisted of the 2.8F, the 3.5F, the Tele and Wide Angle Rolleiflexes, the 4x4 'Baby' Rollei and the automatic Rolleimagic. About this time the Rolleicord Va became the Vb.

Maud May died in 1937 and Robert (Bob) Hunter then married Ella Braun, who had been his secretary at Hunters. They had three children.

During World War 2, William Clayton was with the RAF Photographic Interpretation Unit at Medmenham. He died in 1943 and is buried in the war graves part of Halton church yard. Cyril was with the Army and saw service in Italy. He left the army with the rank of Major.

Robert and Ella returned to Newton Stewart, Scotland, sometime during the war, leaving Blackie to run the firm until Cyril came back after the war ended.

By the late 1940's Donald Paterson and Cyril were firm friends. Donald Paterson had qualified as a Dentist and then as a Lawyer. His connection with R.F.Hunter Ltd was as an inventor of do-it-yourself (DIY) developing and printing equipment, which he marketed through R.F.Hunter under the brand name of Paterson Products. Donald had a small workshop in Hunter's premises opposite Celfix House in Gray's Inn Road, where the camera repair workshops were managed by a Mr Sampson. Here Donald employed his own toolmaker, by which means he kept ownership of all the tools and dies for the injection moulding processes. The rest of Donald's production was subcontracted.

In 1951, Andy's mother, Margaret Mary Hunter, widow of William Clayton, joined R.F.Hunter Ltd as export director.

In the early 1950’s Margaret Mary Hunter lived at 49 Fitzroy Road NW1, next door to Geoffrey and Theodora Gilbert, who lived at No.47. The Gilbert's had twin girls (born in late 1940’s?). Geoffrey Gilbert was a photographer and on at least one occasion worked on advertising shots in Andy's house. The one Andy especially remembers was for furniture polish, which used lots of tricks with reflecting layers to enhance the impression of shininess. Geoffrey Gilbert designed a simple box style camera around 1953, which was called The Gilbert Camera and was distributed by R.F.Hunter. Geoffrey Gilbert later (1955) moved to a house on Haverstock Hill at the junction with Parkhill Road, where he had a garden with over 1000 different species of plants, especially alpines. Andy reports that 'Google street view' shows that this house has since been replaced by a block of flats.

Robert Forgie Hunter died in 1955 and in 1960 R.F.Hunter was 'floated' on the London Stock Market underwritten by Old Broad Street Securities, becoming R.F.Hunter (Holdings) Ltd. Jim Selby, Blackie's son-in-law and an accountant, then joined the company.
In 1964, Margaret Mary Hunter retired.

In 1965/6, Johnsons of Hendon purchased R.F.Hunter (Holdings) Ltd. Stanley Houghton was the chairman of Johnsons at that time. Cyril and Blackie were retained in their previous posts for a short period before they both retired.
Following the Hestair take-over of Johnsons in 1972, Stanley Houghton left the company.
In 1975, Donald Paterson drowned trying to rescue a youngster while on holiday in Scotland.

As a footnote, Andy adds:
I think it is unlikely that Robert Hunter lived in Exeter. However there is a strong Exeter connection within the family.
The parents of Margaret Mary Hunter (née Reid), Andy's mother, were Church people and Grandfather Reid was a Vicar and Prebendry of the Cathedral in Exeter. William Clayton Hunter and Margaret Mary Reid were married in Exeter Cathedral in 1936 in rather a grand ceremony.

Andy continues "My parents were both on the staff of Dartington Hall School, Totnes, where they met. Andy was born at St. Mary Arches Rectory in Exeter in 1938. After William Hunter died in February 1943, Margaret Hunter returned to her parents home in Exeter, where she and Andy lived for a year. A daughter, Joanna was born to Margaret in May 1943.

Perhaps the above connections with Exeter explain why R.F.Hunter is sometimes believed to have lived there in 1943.

Andy believes that Robert Hunter and his second wife Ella moved to Egremont, Nr. Newton Stewart, Scotland direct from London in the early part of WW2. While Cyril Hunter was in Italy with the army, his wife Polly and their daughters lived with Robert (Bob) Hunter and Ella in Scotland.