Ullrich 'Ulli' Hunger

By Jonathan Planner

It is with huge sadness that I have to announce our dear friend Ulli Hunger has passed away.

Ulli was a truly dedicated Red Special enthusiast, one of the early builders who made multiple different home builds, each one either getting closer to the original or pushing the design even further.

Born at a point in history where Germany was torn apart, Ulli grew up in East Germany. Although not born at war time he vehemently opposed the war and resulting split of Germany, so he and his family escaped to safety and headed into West Germany as the communist rule in the East made it very difficult and dangerous for those opposing the military regime.

One of his many passions was building and flying model aircraft, he was an exceptionally talented builder which is why his home build Red Specials are such wonderful creations that he and his family treasure.

He has supported the RS community for many years sharing knowledge and passion with everyone he met. Sadly a while ago he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, a battle that he fought hard but eventually lost today, but not until he'd persuaded many of our fellow RS enthusiasts to get tested and get early treatment should they discover the worst.

He was unable to attend the recent Red Special meet up, however we did our best to include him and he watched videos and saw many photos from his hospital bed during the day. As a mark of how passionate he was about the community he wanted to know everything when Marcus returned in great detail.

We will miss him immensely but his memory will live on and he will be honoured as the years go forward.

Raise a glass to a wonderfully kind intelligent caring man tonight

Ulli we will miss you.

Below is a statement from Ulli from his hospital bed to the Red Special community

"Do not allow the spirit of the meetup to be lost in any way. Do not allow disputes, know-it-all attitudes, or hurt pride to divide you in any way. Maintain the attitude of not keeping the expert knowledge of individuals to yourselves, but always sharing it with others, with the world. Together, we have achieved so much more than any of us could have achieved alone. Continue to be so generous and open-hearted. Pass on the torch of fascination and enthusiasm for music to the next generation!"

Ulli Hunger October 2025