St. Andrew's Cemetery, grave of Sir G B Hunter

Sir George Burton Hunter (1845-1937) was a shipbuilder. He was the son of a Sunderland ship owner and sea captain. George Burton Hunter formed a shipbuilding partnership of Austin and Hunter on Wearside. He was head hunted by the Swan family when he was in his mid 30s and left Wearside to form a new firm at Walker with the widow of Charles Sheriton Swan, which became known as C.S. Swan & Hunter. In 1903 the company merged with J. Wigham Richardson. They won the contract to build the luxury liner Mauretania for Cunard. Hunter married Ann Hudson, neice of George Hudson MP, the 'Railway King'. George and Ann lived at Wallsend then moved to Clayton Road, Jesmond, around 1890. He gave land for St. Luke's Church in Wallsend. In 1914 he bought Wallsend Hall and gave it to the Borough for civic use two years later. It is the Civic Hall today. The Sir G.B. Hunter Memorial Hospital stands alongside. In 1918 Hunter received a knighthood for services rendered during the First World War.