Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A good Great War ‘Western Front’ M.C. group of four awarded to Major R. D. Cunningham, 2nd in Command, 10th (Scottish) Battalion, Liverpool Regiment, who was three times wounded in action

Military Cross, G.V.R., reverse inscribed ‘Captn., 1/10th Bn., Liverpool Scottish, T.F.’; 1914 Star (Lieut., L’pool. R.); British War and Victory Medals, with M.I.D. oak leaf (Major) nearly extremely fine (4) £800-1000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, Medals to the Liverpool Regiment from the Collection of Hal Giblin.

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M.C. London Gazette 3 June 1916.

M.I.D. London Gazette 1 January 1916.

Major Robert Danson Cunningham was born in Liverpool on 25 February 1889, and educated at Rugby 1903-08. On completion of his education he became a partner in the cotton brokerage firm, Cunningham and Hinshaw of the Cotton Exchange, Liverpool. A pre-war volunteer, he accompanied the first draft of the Liverpool Scottish to France aboard the Maidan in November 1914 with the rank of Lieutenant.

The following is extracted from The Liverpool Scottish 1900-1919, by A. M. McGilchrist:

‘It has been said that the enemy showed no great activity in this sector [Riviere sector] but he did occasionally remind the battalion of his presence by shelling the trenches or villages. On one such occasion, 29 February [1916], he shelled a new machine-gun emplacement with a 5.9 inch gun. The first shell wrecked the emplacement, killing two men and wounding another. In endeavouring to remove the wounded man to a place of safety, Captain Cunningham, who had been wounded at Hooge [on 16 June 1915] and had not long rejoined the battalion, was again severely wounded. He received the Military Cross, and two men, Privates C. Taylor and J. Furlong [see lot *** for his medals], who afterwards assisted, under heavy shell-fire, in getting the wounded man away, received the Military Medal, as did Private J. S. Parkinson who, though himself entangled in the wreckage caused by the first shell, removed the debris from on top of the wounded man before freeing himself...

On 12 July [1918] a Brigade Horse Show was held in Vaudricourt Chateau grounds... It is probable, however, that the proceedings had been observed by the enemy for the next morning a salvo of 4.2 inch high velocity shells suddenly arrived on the road behind the huts and the shelling continued at intervals until 9 p.m. The battalion spent the night in trenches near the camp. Luckily there were only four casualties, one of them Major R. Cunningham, M.C., who was wounded in the arm. His place was taken the following month by Major J. Gray, M.C., 1/4th Royal Scots.’