The fonds consists of 137 handwritten letters from Robert Hunter Dunn, detailing his wartime service as an officer with the Canadian Armoured Corps in England, Italy and Western Europe from May 1942 to December 1945.
Robert Hunter Dunn was born in Montreal on 5 February 1918. In December 1939 he joined the McGill Canadian Officer Training Corps (COTC) and was commissioned (infantry) in August 1940. After attending a Small Arms School at Connaught Ranges, Ottawa, he spent ten months as a basic training instructor at Farnham and Huntington, Quebec.
In August 1941 Dunn was sent to Brockville and then Camp Border for Armoured Corps training. In May 1942 he was sent to England as a reinforcement officer.
In June 1942 Dunn joined the 8th New Brunswick Hussars. After training with Ram tanks, his unit was sent to Italy in November 1943. Dunn took part in the battles of the Melfa River and Liri Valley in May and June 1944. He was promoted to battle captain during the battle of the Gothic Line and Coriano Ridge in September 1944. He took part in actions with Porter Force and on the Lamone River.
In February 1945, Dunn was sent with the 1st Canadian Corps to Belgium. He took part in the second battle for Arnhem and fought to the town of Putte near the then Zeider Zee. He ended the war in the fighting around the town of Delfzijl.
In September 1946 Dunn entered McGill University and graduated as a civil engineer in 1950. Dunn worked first for Domtar Construction Materials and subsequently spent ten years with the National Research Council of Canada. He and his wife Eleanor Suzanne Hornback had three children.
