208907 Pte. Samuel Cunningham British Army 1st Battalion Royal Scots Fusiliers from:Prestwick, (d.23rd July 1916) The Cunningham family were told by a mate of Samuel's that he died by a bullet in the back of the head. I think that he was only trying to spare Sam's mother the horrific truth about how he died. The circumstances surrounding Sam's enlistment into the army were tragic in themselves. He was one of 9 children, 4 daughters and five sons. Legend has it that his father Tom had no time for him, and was known to go into drunken rages and beat his wife and possibly sons. Sam must have lied about his age to get into the army, enlisting when he was only 15.
The saddest thing about Sam's death is that for 90 years, no one in the family ever enquired about or visited his memorial, until in April 2006, something compelled me to start searching for him, and I found him, thanks to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. He was killed in action, aged 17 years, his body never found. His memorial is on the Thiepval Memorial, Pier and Face 3C. I also found an article about his memorial online, in the Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald from 1916, with a photograph of him in uniform.
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