Event to honour Romany Gypsy awarded the VC
THE heroism of the first Romany Gypsy to be awarded the Victoria Cross is to be marked at an event in Durham.
On November 13, 1916, John “Jack” Cunningham took part in the opening day of the Battle of the Ancre, the final offensive of the Battle of the Somme.
He was awarded the VC for his “magnificent” bravery shown in an attack on enemy trenches.
The Jack Cunningham exhibition will take place at County Hall in Durham on Wednesday, May 18, from 1pm to 3pm, where visitors can hear a talk on Jack’s participation in the war, which will also be broadcast live on YouTube from 2pm to 3pm.
Durham County Council’s Gypsy, Roma, Traveller (GRT) service, Community Cohesion and Safer Communities teams will be hosting the event with the authority’s Durham County Record Office.
Jack served in the East Yorkshire Regiment, enlisting at the age of 17.
His link to the North East is that Billy Welch, the Shera (Head) Rom of the Romany Gypsy community, is from County Durham and related to Jack.
Mr Welch first raised awareness of Jack to the GRT service when he attended a Holocaust Memorial Day event at County Hall.
Jack’s relatives from County Durham will attend the Durham event and Mr Welch said: “I’m proud to have a man like Jack in the family.”
A description of the action in which Jack took part, to seize German trenches and form a defensive flank north of Serre, reads:
“After the enemy’s front line had been captured, Private Cunningham went with a bombing section up a communication trench where much opposition was met and all the rest of the section were either killed or wounded.
Collecting all the bombs from the casualties,
“Private Cunningham went on alone and when he had used up all the bombs he returned for a fresh supply and again went up the communication trench and cleared the trench up to the new line. His conduct throughout the day was magnificent.”
Jack was awarded the Victoria Cross from King George V at a ceremony in Hyde Park.
He continued to serve until 1918, where he was wounded and retired from active service. He died in 1941, aged 43.
Coun Alan Shield, Durham County Council Cabinet member for equality and inclusion, said: “John Cunningham’s story is a tale of heroism, and we are delighted to be able to host this event and share with people the courage and determination he showed throughout his service. “The event aims to raise awareness of the positive contributions that gypsies and travellers made in respect of historic war efforts.
“It is also important to highlight how the GRT community was affected by the war as all communities were, with the tragic stories of persecution during the Second World War.”
To register interest in attending the event, contact grtservice@durham.gov. uk. For those unable to attend, the talk can be watched live at www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VZnE_p95r4