Cunningham was born in
Dublin, Ireland, the third son of Scottish Professor
Daniel John Cunningham and his wife Elizabeth Cumming Browne. He was educated at
Cheltenham College and the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich before taking a
commission in the
Royal Artillery in 1906. For two years after the war, he served as a staff officer in the
Straits Settlements. He went on to have a number of regimental duty posts, including a tour in Egypt in 1925. He was promoted to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel whilst conducting the post of Chief Instructor at the Anti-Aircraft Wing at the Small Arms School in Netheravon, and was appointed Commanding Officer of 1st Medium Brigade Royal Artillery in Portsmouth in 1935. After graduating from the
Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1925, followed by the
Imperial Defence College in 1937, Cunningham was appointed as the
Commander, Royal Artillery of the
1st Infantry Division. However, he never took up this post as he was promoted in 1938 to major-general and given the task of forming and commanding the
5th Anti-Aircraft Division. Cunningham's headquarters was in Reading and the division covered Bristol, Portsmouth and Southampton. This area of operation in South-West England was aligned with the RAF 10 Group. ==Second World War==