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Name: HUNTER, Wilfred Clare
Nee: father of Geofffrey Scott Hunter
Birth Date: 7 Aug 1875 Bow, London
Death Date: 1969 Towcester
First Date: 1906
Profession: Started W.C. Hunter, accountants, later bought by Dalgetys. KFA Secretary of Unga Ltd. 1908. President of the Oxford & Cambridge Society 1935
Area: Box 96, Nairobi, played important part in life of country, retired 1934
Married: In Epsom 15.9.1900 Dorothy Muriel Grogan, b. Dec 1878 Kensington, d. 10 Oct 1962 Sussex (eldest sister of Ewart Grogan)
Children: Patrick Grogan (2.6.1902 Putney-1996 Cirencester); Geoffrey Scott (17.7.1905 Putney- 22.3.1995 Hounslow)
Book Reference: Gillett, SE, HBEA, KFA, O&C, Shadows, Cranworth, Today, KAD, Red 25, Red 31, Playne, EA & Rhodesia, Drumkey, Red 22, O&C, Gazette, EAHB 1907, Mills, Leader14, Red Book 1912, Red 19
School: Clifton College and Clare College, Cambridge 1894-97
General Information:
SE - W.C. Hunter - Aug 1907
Cranworth - Among our friends too was Wilfred Hunter and Mrs Hunter, sister of Major Grogan. When we first arrived he was managing the affairs of his brother-in-law. Later he set up his own office, and later still joined the firm of Dalgetys. He enjoyed a continually increasing measure of success, mainly, I think, fdor two reasons. He was, and is, a man whom everyone felt that they could instinctively trust, and he possessed a large fund of shrewd common sense, a quality somewhat rare in the Protectorate. These two qualities and others not only elevated him to the position of a Legislative Councillor, but caused him to render services in that position far more real and lasting than those of some at least of his more flamboyant colleagues. ...........…..
The one man to whose advice Delamere paid some attention as far as his personal affairs were concerned was Wilfred Hunter, and it would have been better for him financially if he had paid much more. Hunter had an enviable reputation for shrewdness and integrity. He was more than once a member of Legco, and a tower of strength to the many who, like myself, leaned on his judgement.
Today - Director of EA P&L in 1934
Red 25 - Chartered Secretary, Estate Agent and Accountant; senior partner in W.C. Hunter & Co.; Deputy Mayor of Nairobi
Playne - Mr W.C. Hunter came to BEA in 1906, from London, and started as manager for Messrs Grogan and Lingham, and also as accountant for Lord Delamere. An associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, and MA, Cambridge, he is open to all kinds of accountancy work. At present Mr Hunter is manager and secretary to the Upper Nairobi Township and Estates Ltd., secretary to the Kilindini Harbour, Wharf and Estates Co. Ltd., Chairman of Directors, Longonot Ltd., and agent for Mr E.S. Grogan
East Africa & Rhodesia - 21/9/50 - Mr & Mrs W.C. Hunter (a sister of Colonel Ewart Grogan) will have received many congratulations on their golden wedding, for few of the old-timers in Nairobi are more widely known or so universally respected as they. Forty four years have passed since Mr Wilfred Clare Hunter went to Kenya after leaving Cambridge, and throughout the intervening years he has been prominent in the public life of the Colony. He was at one time a nominated non-official member of the Legislative Council, and among the many offices he has held have been the chairmanship of the Kenya Sisal Association and the presidency of the Nairobi Chamber of Commerce and the Muthaiga Club. He is also a director of many local companies.
Soon after his arrival in Kenya, finding that the pioneer settlers rarely bothered to keep books of account, he decided to offer them secretarial, accountancy, and similar services, which were later expanded to handle the produce of his clients. In that way was W.C. Hunter and Company begun and developed until it attracted the attention of the City merchant house of Dalgety & Co., Ltd., which later acquired the concern. Today the general manager in London of that great business, which has immense interests in Australia, New Zealand, and Africa, is Mr Geoffrey S. Hunter, son of those who have just celebrated 50 years of married life.
Gazette - 7/4/15 - Liable for Jury service, Nairobi District - Wilfred Hunter
Mills - Muthaiga Country Club - At the 1932 AGM, W.C. Hunter was unanimously elected as President of the Muthaiga Country Club, after the death of Lord Delamere.
Mills - At the Committee meeting of 18th October 1950, W.C. Hunter announced his intention of resigning as Chairman of Committees at the end of the year, an office he had held continuously since 1920. This was really the end of an epoch. Wilfred Hunter was to continue as President for a few more years ……….
Mills - Wilfred Hunter eventually sold his accountancy firm to Messrs Dalgety & Co. in 1927, but he remained a senior partner until his retirement in 1934
Red Book 1912 - W.C. Hunter - Nairobi
Gazette - 12/11/1919 - Register of Voters - Nairobi, South Area - Wilfred Clare Hunter - Estate Agent, Mtoni, Clement Road and Mrs Dorothy Muriel Hunter - Mtoni, Clement Road
Red Book 1919 - District Committees - Nairobi - W.C. Hunter
Shadows - Karen Blixen - my old firm of solicitors Messrs W.C. Hunter & Co. Of Nairobi
Muthaiga - One of the 7 original subscribers to Muthaiga Club
Gazette - Voters List 1936 - Wilfred Clare Hunter, Chartered Secretary, Box 96, Muthaiga and Mrs Dorothy Muriel Hunter, Muthaiga
Gazette 5 Mar 1963 wife's probate