Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The outstanding Boer War C.B., Great War C.B.E., Nandi 1895-96 operations D.S.O. group of fifteen awarded to Brigadier-General G. G. Cunningham, Derbyshire Regiment, late Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and onetime attached Uganda Rifles and West African Rifles, whose extensive campaigning in Africa led to numerous wounds, ‘mentions’ and a quite unique combination of medals and clasps

The Most Honourable Order of The Bath, C.B. (Military), Companion’s neck badge, converted from breast wear, silver-gilt and enamel; The Order of the British Empire, C.B.E. (Military), 1st type, Commander’s neck badge, silver-gilt and enamel; Distinguished Service Order, V.R., silver-gilt and enamel, with tailor’s copy upper suspension brooch; Egypt 1882-89, 2 clasps, Toski 1889, The Nile 1884-85 (Lieut., 2/D.C.L.I.), contemporary re-engraved naming; Central Africa 1891-98, no clasp (Major, Derby R.); East and West Africa 1887-1900, 2 clasps, Niger 1897, Sierra Leone 1898-99 (Bvt. Maj., D.S.O., Derby R.), minor official correction to rank; Royal Niger Company’s Medal 1886-97, 1 clasp, Nigeria 1886-1897, silver (Brevet Lieut.-Col., D.S.O., Derbys. Regt.); Queen’s South Africa 1899-1902, 4 clasps, Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Johannesburg, Diamond Hill (Brig. Genl., C.B., D.S.O., Staff); King’s South Africa 1901-02, 2 clasps, South Africa 1901, South Africa 1902 (Brig. Genl., C.B., D.S.O., Staff); British War and Victory Medals (Brig. Gen.); French Legion of Honour, Commander’s neck badge, gold and enamel; Turkish Order of Osmanieh, 4th class badge, gold, silver-gilt and enamel; Turkish Order of the Medjidie, 5th class badge, silver, silver-gilt and enamel; Khedive’s Star 1882 the first with refixed centre-pieces and badly chipped central surround wreaths, the Legion of Honour chipped in places and with usual arm point damage, so too the Osmanieh and Medjidie badges, otherwise generally very fine and better (15) £6000-8000

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Richard Magor Collection of Medals Relating to India and Africa, and other Fine Awards.

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C.B. London Gazette 19 April 1901: ‘In recognition of services during the operations in South Africa.’

C.B.E. London Gazette 3 June 1919: ‘For services rendered in connection with the War.’

D.S.O. London Gazette 3 November 1896: ‘In recognition of services during the recent operations against slave-trading Arabs in the Central African Protectorate.’

Note: On the 10 November 1896, The London Gazette published a correction, stating that Cunningham’s D.S.O. was actually for operations in the Uganda Protectorate.

Mention in Despatches London Gazette 19 September 1882 (Kassassin); 2 November 1882 (Egypt); 6 September 1889 (Toski); 11 June 1897 (Niger); 29 December 1899 (Sierra Leone); 16 April 1901 (South Africa); 20 December 1918 (France).


Note: Cunningham was additionally ‘mentioned’ for his services in the Unyoro Expedition of 1895 and in the Nandi Expedition of 1895-96, but neither of these were published in The London Gazette.

Legion of Honour London Gazette 14 July 1919.

George Glencairn Cunningham was born in Rangoon in July 1862, the second son of Major William Cunningham, Madras Staff Corps. Educated at Wellington College and at Sandhurst, young George was commissioned into the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry in October 1881.

Quickly seeing action out in Egypt in the following year, where he was present with the 2nd Battalion at the engagements at El Magfar, Tel-el-Mahuta and Kassassin, Cunningham was severely wounded in the latter action by guns shots to the shoulder and thigh. Notwithstanding the first of these wounds, he fought on until felled by the second one, a display of dogged determination and courage that received appropriate recognition in Sir Garnet Wolseley’s despatch of September 1882, written on the back of Major-General Graham’s report from Kassassin:

‘The conduct of the soldiers of all arms was excellent, and many gallant deeds were done throughout the action. Two recent instances have come to my notice of men, who, being painfully wounded early in the day, continued to do their duty until severely wounded later on. One, on the 28th ultimo, was that of Lieutenant G. G. Cunningham, of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry; and the other, on 25th ultimo, was that of Gunner Joseph Knowles, of N Brigade, A Battery, Royal Horse Artillery. As it is by soldier-like courage of this nature that the British Army has always maintained its high reputation, I have great pleasure in bringing these names to your notice.’

A second ‘mention’ followed in Sir Garnet’s subsequent despatch which was published in The London Gazette on 2 November 1882, in addition to a 5th class Medjidie.

Cunningham was back in action in the Gordon Relief Expedition 1884-85, when he accompanied the River Column, and in the operations of 1887-89 in the Sudan, where he was attached to the Egyptian Army with the Sudan Frontier Field Force and fought at Sarras, Arguin - where he was again wounded - and Toski. He was subsequently mentioned in despatches for good services at the latter action by Major-General F. Grenfell, and awarded a 4th class Osmanieh.

Having been given the Brevet of Major towards the end of the Sudan operations, Cunningham transferred to the Sherwood Foresters in the summer of 1889. But this new regimental association was all but in name, for an opportunity of further active service beckoned in the form of attachment to the Uganda Rifles.

And so it transpired, for between April and May 1895, he commanded the Unyoro Expedition, his force consisting of ‘6 companies of Sudanese (500 men), 20,000 Walanda, 2 Hotchkiss guns and 3 Maxim guns’, with which he forced the Nile and defeated rebel chief Kaberega’s army. In so doing, he collected another wound and another ‘mention’, in addition to the Central Africa Medal.

But greater reward was to follow, for in October of the same year, and still as a Major, he found himself leading the first ever expedition against the Nandi, the latter having pushed their luck too far by consistent raids on British caravans and the mail. With around 1000 men under his command, Cunningham fought at least one major action against the belligerent tribesmen. At one point some 500 WaNandi charged to within 30 yards of Cunningham’s Sudanese troops, but the superior fire power and discipline of the latter won the day, the enemy sustaining heavy loss. British casualties amounted to just 14 men. Cunningham was duly mentioned in despatches and awarded the D.S.O., receiving his insignia from the Queen at Windsor on 24 November 1896.

Returning to Africa, where he had more recently acted as Assistant Commissioner and Commandant of Troops, Uganda, Cunningham was quickly back in action in the Niger operations of 1897, when he led No. 2 Company of the Royal Niger Constabulary in the expeditions to Egbon, Bida and Ilorin. He was also senior ranking Officer present, but command was actually given to Lieutenant A. J. Arnold, 3rd Hussars, who had local rank of Major. Cunningham received a brace of ‘special mentions’ for these operations, one of them for the action near Bida in late January, when the advance was held up by masses of Fulani horsemen, estimated at between 20-30,000 in number. Magor takes up the story:

‘The Fulani attacked again and again until they had been driven back to the great ten foot high crenelated red mud wall of Bida. It was obvious that although the Nupes attacked the square recklessly and with great gallantry, they could not succeed against the fire of the artillery, maxims and rifle volleys of the Constabulary, who stood firm against the charges of the cavalry. Bida was shelled and the Nupes fled in panic ...’

Cunningham’s second ‘special mention’ was for the the attack on Ilorin in February, when once again our square was submitted to frequent charges from the gallant Fulani horsemen, all of whom continued to show complete disregard for their foe’s superior weaponry. It was only after two days of bitter fighting, and having suffered horrendous casualties, that the horsemen fled, and Ilorin taken after being bombarded.

In addition to this brace of mentions, both published in The London Gazette of 11 June 1897, Cunningham was given the Brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel. He also received two new ribands to add to his tunic, those for the East and West Africa and Royal Niger Company Medals. And in the following year, he added the ‘Sierra Leone 1898-99’ clasp to the former.

In the Sierra Leone operations, while on attachment to the Royal African Regiment, Cunningham commanded a column in the Mendiland Expedition, and was mentioned in despatches by Colonel E. Woodgate for his leadership and energy, not least in putting down a tribal rising in Bandajuma for ‘slight loss by a few police and troops, many of whom had been but recently enlisted’. But Cunningham had to follow up this early success by proceeding up the Jong River to Mafwe, a trading and missionary post that had been sacked and most of the Europeans killed. Magor takes up the story:

‘Here a force of 1000 Mendes attacked him and they were driven off with 130 casualties. Cunningham then advanced to Bumpe where two stockades were captured. These stockades were made of logs up to six feet high backed by boulders and rocks to the thickness of four feet which were impervious to 7-pounder shell or rifle bullets. It is absolutely impossible for European eyes to discern them by any outward sign; occasionally an exceptionally quick-sighted native would discover the location of a stockade by some indication such as a dead twig or leaves dropping overhead. Generally, the first anyone knew was a volley of fire at a few yards range which inevitably caused casualties, particularly amongst Officers ...’

These advances successfully accomplished, Cunningham was given command of the Karene District and latterly served as ‘O.C. Protectorate Expeditionary Force’, services that won him the Brevet of Colonel.

But there was still to be no respite from active service for the gallant Cunningham, his obvious leadership qualities being quickly required in South Africa, where he served on the Staff and in command of a portion of the Lines of Communication, latterly in the temporary rank of Brigadier-General. And nor did these appointments keep him out of direct contact with the enemy, a case in point being the engagement at Diamond Hill, where his horse was hit by enemy fire. Indeed Cunningham also fought in the actions at, or near Vet River, Zand River, Johannesburg and Zilikat’s Nek, in addition to participating in more minor operations in Cape Colony, Orange River Colony and the Transvaal between 1900-02. Mentioned in despatches for his command of a Brigade in the Rustenburg District, where he acquitted himself well, Cunningham was gazetted for a C.B. in April 1901.

From 1914-16, he served as a Brigadier-General, Plymouth General Reserve, but in 1917 he was given special employment out in France and by the War’s end he was serving as Base Commandant at Brest. For these latter services Cunningham was awarded the French Legion of Honour, in addition to adding a C.B.E. and a final ‘mention’ to his already unique array of Honours and Awards.

The General retired to Hythe, Kent, where he briefly served as Mayor in the late 1920s, and died in July 1943.