Career
He was commissioned into the Armagh and Down Army Cadet Force in May 1946 and resigned in March 1950 when he transferred to the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as a lieutenant. He was promoted to captain in 1952 and retired with the honorary rank of major in 1960. After leaving the army he worked as a mathematics lecturer in the Belfast College of Technology.
Bunting had his own Ulster loyalist strong-arm group which he dubbed the Loyal Citizens of Ulster.
As head of this group, Bunting led the protests against many civil rights marches, most notably the 1969 Belfast to Derry civil rights march organised by People"s Democracy, which resulted in a particularly bloody confrontation at Burntollet. In a fiery court case in 1969 Bunting was sentenced to three months imprisonment along with Paisley for his role in the disturbances.