[1] George Edward Hunt was born in Milton of Campsie, East Dumbartonshire, Scotland, where his family owned a calico printing works in the town, but he was raised in Kampala in the British Protectorate of Uganda until the age of seven, where his father John was a chartered accountant in the Colonial Service.

His parents then sent him back to Scotland to live with relatives and study at St Ninian's Preparatory School in Moffat until he was 13 and a half.

There he met his future wife, Phoebe Silson, who had been born in South Africa and was in Scotland furthering her studies in physiotherapy.

After gaining his second mate's certificate, he joined the Blue Funnel Line, on the SS Leomedon voyaging to the Far East.

Hunt trained as a sub-lieutenant on board the cruiser HMS Sheffield for several months in 1937 culminating in being invited to transfer from part-time service in the RNR to permanent commission in the Royal Navy, which he accepted, later applying for and being accepted for the Submarine Service, commencing training in HMS Dolphin on 1 January 1939.

After the ship's arrival in Bermuda later the same year, he received the temporary promotion to commodore and the title Senior Naval Officer, West Indies (SNOWI), remaining in that appointment until 1958.