Gordon Cunningham
Gordon Cunningham (c1877-1932)
1932 Obituary[1]
"THE LATE MR. GORDON CUNNINGHAM.
The death occurred in Glasgow, on the 8th inst., of Mr. Gordon Cunningham, who retired from the post of Chief Mechanical Engineer to the Bengal Nagpur Railway in April, 1931. Mr. Cunningham, who was 55 years of age, joined the railway in question as an assistant locomotive superintendent in 1906. Most of his time was at first devoted to work in the locomotive shops, Khargpur, as assistant manager during a period of reorganisation and reconstruction. He served with the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Force between early in 1917 till early in 1919, and while engaged in this way was promoted district locomotive superintendent in 1918. Between 1925 and 1927 he was, in turn, Acting Superintendent (Mining), Acting Superintendent (Carriage and Wagon), and Acting Superintendent (Headquarters). Early in 1928 he was permanently ranked as Superintendent, Locomotive Department, with the title of Deputy Chief Mechanical Engineer. After only a month in this position, he became Acting Chief Mechanical Engineer, and, in July, 1930, was confirmed as Chief Mechanical Engineer.
When volunteering for service on the Military Railways in Mesopotamia he was given the relative rank of Captain, and on Kut being recaptured by the British Forces, was sent up river to take charge there of the locomotive sheds and workshops on the Kut-Hinaidi section of the system as this was rapidly extended towards Baghdad. Mr. Cunningham was thus responsible for the equipment and organisation of the temporary shops at Kut and for the reconditioning there of rolling stock, &c. Subsequently he was transferred to Hinaidi as Mechanical Assistant to A.D.R., and was promoted to the relative rank of Major. For his work at Kut he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the M.B.E. (civil)."