Cunningham, A. E. : my Army recollections (August 17, 1978)
Interviewer: Main, Chris D.
An interview/narrative of A. E. Cunningham's experiences during World War II. Major Cunningham served with the Royal Canadian Artillery. Interview took place on August 17, 1978.
Rank: Major.
ABSTRACT: Maj. A.E. Cunningham Royal Canadian Artillery Cunningham_A_0037_01.mp3 Born in 1906 in Sydney, N.S. of an old (1701) Nova Scotia family who were early settlers in Antigonish. As a young man he went to work in the coal mines of Glace Bay where he studied electricity and became a mine electrician, leaving in 1937 to become an electrical contractor in Sydney. Joined the 9th (Cape Breton) Searchlight Battery as a provisional second lieutenant in Sept. 1939. The Signal Corps, with whom he often worked, requested that he organize the laying of a telephone cable across Sydney harbour which they accomplished very inexpensively by first laying it over the frozen harbour, then cutting through the ice. Much work on coast defence guns which he describes. (15:00) Installed the then new mag-slip gunnery control system and comments on the fire-direction table, a mechanical "computer". (25:00) Posted to Newfoundland to construct telephone facilities. Promoted to lieutenant. (35:00) Returned to Sydney due to his low physical category. Transferred to Matane, Que. for communications work on the Gaspe peninsula. (45:00) This was important due to the submarine threat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Posted to Ottawa to the Directorate of Artillery (1944) as a captain. Travelled to both coasts inspecting electrical and mechanical installations. (10:00) Comments on the improvements made and the purpose of coast defence. In Oct. 1945 he received his discharge in Victoria, B.C. Employed by the British Columbia Power Commission. Joined the 66th Light Anti Aircraft Battery in Nanaimo, B.C. (formerly part of the Canadian Scottish Regiment) in 1946. Promoted to major when he later took command of a battery in Duncan, B.C. (22:00)
Interviewee: Cunningham, A. E., b. 1906
- In Collection:
- Coast defenses--Canada
- Cunningham, A.E. (Albert Edmund), 1906-1979--Interviews
- World War, 1939-1945--Personal narratives, Canadian
- Canada--Canadian Army
- Canada--Canadian Army--Royal Canadian Artillery
- Canada--Canadian Army--Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
- Telephone cables
- Canada--Canadian Army--Searchlight Battery (Cape Breton), 9th
- Canada--Canadian Army--Canadian Scottish Regiment.
- Fire control (Gunnery)
- War wounds
- Communications, Military
- 1 sound recording (MP3)
- 60.10867, -113.64258
- One original sound tape reel (ca. 60 min.) : 1 7/8 ips, 2 track, mono. ; 1 sound cassette copy : standard, mono. in Special Collections.
- Canadian Military Oral History Collection
- CAE_037
- Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/reginald-herbert-roy-fonds
- May 23, 2007
- Digital sound recording in .wav format at 16 bits and 22 kHz. In .mp3 format at 64 kbps and 22 kHz. Digitized by AN, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Transferred from audio reel to audio cassette between 1987-1997. Interview migrated to digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
- Rights
- This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
- DOI
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