Yearning for adventure and a change from the parochial monotony that characterised
Free State Ireland, Cunningham joined the British Army in 1943 in
Belfast. An experienced architectural
draughtsman, Cunningham entered the army as a second lieutenant in the
79th Armoured Division of the
Royal Engineers. He was immediately sent to Scotland where preparations for D-Day were nearing completion. Under the genial command of
Major General P.C Hobart, the 79th Armoured had rethought hitherto customary tank design in preparation for the beachhead onslaught against the German
Atlantic Wall in Normandy. With innovative tank designs specifically attuned to short range beach fighting, and new training methods, Hobart's division were soon famed in army circles. His esoteric tanks quickly earned the nickname
Hobart's Funnies. Although something of a laughing stock at the time, and refused by the American command, some of the tanks proved quite useful and the beaches where they were deployed suffered fewer casualties than others. After a furtive sojourn to some London pubs with a close friend on the night of 5 June, Cunningham landed in
Normandy the next morning as part of the first attack wave. Seasick, cold, and nursing a hangover, Cunningham landed at 07:00 on 'Queen Red' beach, the code name for
Ouistreham, with the rest of his unit. Almost immediately seeing his good friend Geofferey Desanges fall, Cunningham threw himself and his
tank into battle. His tank was hit within minutes of landing by heavy German mortar fire. He went on to fight in three further tanks that morning before reorganising the unit and clearing the mined beach. Army dispatches record Cunningham removing mines under heavy fire with his hands. With the mines cleared, he then led his men to the German defences and captured some 90 German soldiers. His quick thinking and selfless actions on D-Day and 7 June, when he supervised the capture of the lock at Ouistreham, allowed the infantry from the 2nd Battalion of the
Royal Ulster Rifles to push inland. His bravery on D-Day and D-Day+1 was recognised with the Military Cross award. He was awarded a bar to his cross later that year at
Nijmegen in the
Battle of the Scheldt, where he led an assault on German positions, capturing some 200 prisoners. It was there that Cunningham received the shrapnel wounds which he was to carry with him for the rest of his life. He was further awarded a Croix de Guerre by the Belgian government for his part in rescuing civilians in
Antwerp following a German
V1 attack on the centre of that city. ==Post-war==