Gunner Reuban Cunningham
| Date of Birth | 16/11/1893 |
|---|---|
| Age at Death | 26 |
| Date of Death | 20/02/1919 |
| Service Number | 35277 |
| Military Service | Royal Garrison Artillery/Australian Corps of Heavy Artillery |
| Merton Address | |
| Local Memorial | Streatham Park Cemetery |
Additional Information
Reuban was the fourth of twelve children. He and his siblings, Frances, Benjamin Walter, John William, George, Elizabeth, Mary, Charles, Kate, Ruth, Arthur and Louisa all grew up in Battersea where is father was a “horse keeper” in 1901 and a Carman by the 1911 census. In 1911 all the children were still living at home with their parents, Walter Benjamin Cunningham and his wife Frances in a six room house in Ascalon Street, Battersea and Reuban was a Vanguard on the Railways.
Reuban signed a short term Attestation to join the Army in June 1911. He was 18 years and 6 months old, 5ft 6.5ins tall and weighed 121lbs. He had a fresh complexion and brown hair and eyes. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery, spending the first nine months at home before being posted to Malta from 21 March 1912 to 8 July 1915. He then came home for a short spell before being sent to France on 5 October 1915 with the British Expeditionary Force.
During his early days in the Army he completed his 3rd class certificate of education and was described as sober, steady, responsible and a good groom who had worked with polo ponies.
He was posted to the Australian Corps of Heavy Artillery on 16 November 1918.
He was taken ill on 13 January 1919 and sent home to England. He was eventually admitted to the Fulham Military Hospital in Hammersmith with influenza and bronchial pneumonia. He died on 20 February 1919 and is commemorated on Screen Wall 1.7149 in Streatham Park Cemetery