Fonds F0625 - Douglas Cunnington fonds

Col. Douglas G.L. Cunnington, 1885-1973, was born in Bridgenorth, Shropshire, England. At sixteen he became a farm labourer, and served as a trooper with the Shropshire Imperial Yeomanry from 1901-1905. He went to British Guiana in 1905 to supervise on plantations. In 1910 he emigrated to Canada, living in British Columbia for a year and then settling in Calgary, Alberta to operate a dairy. In 1913 he married Elsie May Wightman and they had two children, Betty (Parsons) and Douglas W. Serving in First World War, he enlisted in the 191st Battalion and commanded a draft of 50th Battalion as a lieutenant. He was awarded the Military Cross in 1918, and returned to Canada in 1919 after spending time as a POW in a German hospital. Until 1926 he worked on the Calgary Herald advertising staff; he then opened an insurance agency in which he was active well into the 1960s. He was promoted to colonel in 1930 and commanded the 24th Infantry Brigade for five years. He served as city alderman from 1934-1939, and was Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Calgary West in 1939. In 1940 he reverted to the rank of major and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel the following year. He was commanding officer of the 19th Field Brigade RCA, and honorary colonel of the 19th Medium Regiment RCA. He was also active in a number of community organizations.