Charity Taxi Driver Takes WWII Veteran, 101, To 2nd Covid Inoculation in Lancing

On Friday (April 9), 101-year-old WWII veteran Major Edwin 'Ted' Hunt MVO was taken to have his second Covid inoculation by a driver from the Taxi Charity.

He was driven to Lancing Parish Hall to complete his vaccinations by Taxi Charity volunteer and London cabbie Mike Hughes.

He was welcomed by Andy McGregor, Chairman of Adur Council who said:

"I was delighted to meet Ted, a true hero who is doing the right thing to protect the NHS, save lives and to, of course, soldier on." 

According to the Taxi Charity, Major Hunt commanded 15 Rhino ferries on D Day and, after the war, became a Royal Waterman and was appointed Queen's Bargemaster in 1978.

He retired from royal service as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1990.

Ted said, on Friday, he was deeply saddened to hear the news that Prince Philip had died that day, as he had known him very well.

Dick Goodwin, Vice President, Taxi Charity for Military Veterans, said: 

"The Taxi Charity has been supporting veterans since 1948 and in all that time we have never had a year like the last one.

"During the pandemic, our amazing volunteer cabbies have been so very generous with their time and assisted the veterans by doing food shopping or driving them to hospital appointments as well as making regular phone calls to stay connected.

"The veterans and the volunteer cabbies often become lifelong friends through the charity and London cabbie Mike Hughes, who took Major Ted for his second vaccination today are a perfect example of the type of fabulous friendships that develop."  

About Major Edwin 'Ted' Hunt MVO

Born in Canning Town Major Edwin 'Ted' Hunt MVO was apprenticed as a River Thames waterman and lighterman.

Following the outbreak of WWII, he enlisted with the Royal Engineers and served at the Battle of Narvik in Norway.

He later worked in London and East Anglia, preparing defences in case of a German invasion, and by 1944 he was a captain commanding 15 Rhino ferries on D-Day.

He said that in four months, 64 of these landing craft put ashore 93,000 units of tanks, lorries, and other vehicles as well as 440,000 tons of military stores.

Major Hunt saw out the war in Europe working on the engineering of water crossings in the Netherlands.

Demobilised as a Major he returned to civilian life as a college lecturer in navigation and watermanship at the City and East London College in London from 1948 until 1988.

He became a Royal Waterman and was appointed Queen's Bargemaster in 1978 and retired from royal service as a Member of the Royal Victorian Order in 1990.

The Taxi Charity is run by volunteer London licensed taxi drivers and has been supporting hundreds of veterans since 1948.

The charity arranges free trips to, the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and days out to museums, concerts, or fundraising events in the UK, to catch up with friends and comrades. 

For the last twelve months, pandemic restrictions have meant their events have had to be cancelled so the Charity reports it has made a huge effort to ensure veterans have received regular contact; sending out a greeting card each month, gifts to mark the 75th anniversaries of VE and VJ day, stockings at Christmas and arranging Guards of Honour at veteran's funerals.

Volunteers have also helped with regular phone calls, food shopping, transport to hospital appointments, and more recently taking veterans for their Coronavirus injections. 

To fund and facilitate their work, the charity is reliant on generous donations from members of the public, businesses, and trusts.

https://www.taxicharity.org