Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Life Before War

Arthur Edward Cunningham was born in Dawson South Australia in July 1898 and was a Roman Catholic. His father was a railway plater and his next of kin, while his mother was not mentioned in any of his documents. Before listing into the army on the 24th of March 1916 he was a cleaner and lived in Petersburg. He was not listed in any previous military service and his relationship status was single.

Life in War

Arthur Edward Cunningham enlisted on the 24th of March 1916 in Adelaide. He embarked on the 9th of June 1916 on the HMAT Afric 19 from Adelaide to France. A year later the ship he boarded that was bound for France was torpedoed by the German and sunk in the English Channel. He was placed in the 11th Field Company, Australian Engineers. During his service time spent in France Arthur was neither wounded nor sick. However, he was involved in the Battle of Messines and provided defence at the Battle of Amiens. They worked with the 3rd Australian Division and the 1st Australian Division and battled against Germany for 2 years. The Battle of Messines was fought between the 7th and 9th of June 1917 on the Western Front near a village in Messines. The purpose of this battle was to drive Germany out of the main battlefront Messines, so they could secure the Wyshaete-Messines Ridge. This ridge was sought after by allied forces as it provided tactical advantages on the Western Front. This battle was important to win as it gave the allied forces a significant advantage to an important and decisive area in World War 1. The Battle of Amiens was the turning point in World War 1 as it was an offensive determined to end Erich Ludendorff’s hopes for any further attacks. This offensive by the allied forces caused a massacre over a few days and had convinced the German high command that the war was must be ended and any chances of winning were futile. Although the allied force had over 19,000 troops that were injured or killed, the Germans had lost over 30,000 people. After the massacre at Amiens, the German was convinced and hence the end of World War 1 as a result of this battle.

Life After War

Arthur Edward Cunningham stayed aboard after the war in Halstead, which is a small town in England. While staying in Halstead on the 20th of May 1919 he was married to Victoria Alberta Williams. They are listed as bachelor and spinster. This is because newly married couples and women who have not been married before are labelled as spinster and bachelor. On the 8th of October Arthur and Victoria returned to Adelaide. 21 years after his marriage he enlisted into World War 2 and his occupation had changed from a cleaner to a boilermaker. Boilermakers is a tradesperson that fabricates iron or steel into containers or boilers. Arthur was 41 years old upon enlisting and was placed in the 2nd Railway Construction Bay R.A.E. However, 3 years following enlistment he was discharged from Wayville on the 8th of March. The reason was that he was unfit for service but fit for employment in civil life. Arthur was 45 years old when he was discharged and this was a factor that led to him being unfit.