Information and reminiscences from George Cunnison
Contents
1 Family tree: George Cunnison, 1932–John Cunnison, 1756
plus two others
2 Census records, 1841–1881
3 About John Hume Cunnison, b. 1869
3.1 The children of JHC
3.2 Personal memories of JHC
3.3 Photographs of JHC
4 The death of my father, John Hume Cunnison, b. 1904
1 Family tree: George Cunnison, 1932 – John Cunnison, 1756
plus two others
1 George Cunnison, b. 5 June 1932, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh
2 (father) John Hume Cunnison, b. 1 February 1904 at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; d.
20 May 1973, Edinburgh. He married my mother on 18 July 1931.
(mother) Mae Jack, b. 30 September 1909; d. 4 December 2003
3 (grandfather) John Hume Cunnison, b. 8 September 1869, Edinburgh; d. 4 July 1939, Edinburgh. He married our grandmother, Belle, at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh on 8th
September 1896.
(grandmother) Isabella Dunn Clark, b. 1869; d. July 1948
4 (great grandfather) John Cunnison, b. 28 February 1830, Kirkmichael, Perthshire. He
married our great grandmother, Mary, in Edinburgh on 29 July 1850.
(great grandmother) Mary Hume, b. 1830, Campsie, Perthshire
5 (great-great grandfather) James Cunnison, b. 12 June 1786. He married our great-great
grandmother, Isabella, on 3 December 1809.
(great-great grandmother) Isabella Maxwell, b. 2 December 1789, Muriton of Ardblair,
Perthshire
6 (great-great-great grandfather) John Cunnison, b. 15 July 1756, Kirkmichael,
Perthshire. He married our great-great-great grandmother, Jean Young.
(Editor's note: What follows differs from the research carried out by Gordon MacGregor.)
7 (?) Father of # 6 Charles Cunnison, b. 1 April 1728, Kirkmichael. He married Girsel
Robertson at Kirkmichael in 1756.
8 Parents of # 7 Charles Cunnison and Janet Butter. (no dates)
2 Census Records 1841–1881
Information from the 1841 Scotland census
Our great grandfather, John Cunnison, was born in Kirkmichael village in the parish of
Blairgowrie on 28th February 1830. He was christened on
7th March 1830. He died on 25th December 1901 in Edinburgh.
John Cunnison married Mary Hume on 29th July 1850 at St Cuthbert's Church, Edinburgh.
Mary Hume was born at Campsie, Perthshire in 1830.
I have copies of the Scottish census records of 1851, 1861 and 1871. All are hand-written by
the census-takers. All record the family name as Cunnison.
1851 Scotland census (Blairgowrie)
John Cunnison, shoemaker aged 21, born Blairgowrie (Kirkmichael)
Mary Cunnison, aged 22, born Caputh, Perthshire
Living at Leslie (?) Street, Blairgowrie.
1861 Scotland census (Blairgowrie)
John Cunnison, shoemaker aged 31, (Muirton of Ardblair)
Mary Cunnison, aged 32, (Spittalfield)
Living at Martin's Lane, Blairgowrie.
A son and three daughters are listed. The son died early in life.
Note: Caputh and Spittalfield lie cheek by jowl with Muirton near by. These, with Kirkmichael
village and church are in the parish of Blairgowrie. It is unclear whether the dates listed in the
records of Kirkmichael Parish Church are births or christenings.
Clans sympathetic to the Jacobite cause mustered in Kirkmichael before marching south.
Cunnison involvement in the 1715 Jacobite Rising is listed later. (Editor's note: so far there is no
information on this.)
1871 Scotland census (Edinburgh, Canongate)
John Cunnison, shoemaker aged 42, (Muirton of Ardblair)
Mary Cunnison, aged 42, (Spittalfield)
Living at 38 New Street, New Canongate.
Three sons and four daughters are listed.
1881 British census (Edinburgh, Old Canongate Church)
John Cunnison, shoemaker, aged 51, (born Muirton, Perthshire)
Mary Cunnison, aged 50, (born Campsie, Perthshire)
Living at 246 Canongate (Pirrie's Close).
Children: Mary (married), envelope maker, aged 29 (born Blairgowrie)
Margaret, envelope maker, aged 28 (born Blairgowrie)
Thomas, printer, aged 16 (born Edinburgh)
John Hume, scholar, aged 11 (born Edinburgh)
William Garden, scholar, aged 7 (born Edinburgh)
3 About John Hume Cunnison, b. 1869
The John Hume Cunnison recorded above in the 1881 census became our grandfather. He and
brother William (Uncle Will) became soldiers and served with distinction. (See: Cunnison soldiers)
3.1 The children of JHC
John Hume Cunnison married Isabella Dunn Clark (born 1869) at St Cuthbert's Church,
Edinburgh on 8th September 1896. Their children in order of birth were:
Isabella (Isa), John (Jack), Mary (May), Bertha (Ber), David (Davie), Alice, Harry and Rose.
An old photo, taken outside their home at 32 Pitt Street (now Dundas Street) shows all but Harry
and Rose. A later studio photograph shows all but Rose.
All of these children left school early but did well. Isa married a naval officer (Reg Eccles) and
settled in Portsmouth. Isa and Reg had a son, also Reg, who was a diver in the navy.
May became a nursing matron. She married James Corbett and they had a daughter, Mary,
who was educated at Benenden. James Corbett died early in the marriage and Mary died aged
12 from meningitis. Aunt May and Mary stayed at our home when visiting Edinburgh. My father
was enchanted by Mary who would have his slippers warming by the fire for his arrival from
work. (Quite a difference from his three sons!) I have a photo of Mary, aged about 9. She was
a beautiful child.
My father, John Hume Cunnison, qualified to be educated at Queen Victoria School, Dunblane,
which educated the sons of serving soldiers. I have two pictures of him. One has him standing
with a school pipe band colleague, both wearing kilts. He is pictured with a drum, the other boy
with bagpipes. The second picture shows my father standing by Uncle Will who is seated. Will
is in his KOSB uniform on which are three of the six medals he was to win.
3.2 Personal memories of JHC
I go further back than anyone alive today. Latterly, I learned much of the family history from
Rose (died 18th April 2008) whom I visited regularly with my late wife, Hazel. I visited Rose for
the last time in 2006 with my son, Paul. We kept in touch thereafter by telephone until Rose
went into hospital at the beginning of 2008.
I also learned about the family from my father and I learned much from Grandad and Grandma
whom I visited on at least a weekly basis.
I sat on the knee of my hero Grandfather as he told me we were "descended from the Kings of
Cuny (sic), Strathardle, Blairgowrie". (Editor's note – this "Cuny" may be a typo. I can only find
information about a place called Cluny.)
http://www.scottish-towns.co.uk/perthshire/blairgowrie/history1.html
It was, however, the factual accounts of how my grandfather won his medals which fascinated
me. He pointed to the busts of Lord Roberts and Baden Powell on the mantel and showed me
his sword and a bloodstained kukri which was carried by a Gurkha who fell some feet in front of
him in a battle charge. My grandfather told me that the Gurkha continued to charge several
steps after being mortally wounded before falling. These items, with his medals and more, were
to be mine as his oldest grandson, even though he was disappointed that I had not been named
after him as was the tradition in the Cunnison family. My mother had persuaded my father to
name me after her father, George Chalmers Jack.
At the end of the day, after my grandfather's death, my Aunt Isa removed everything except the
medals. My cousin, Reg, told me afterwards that everything had been sold to a dealer. As for
the medals, they did not pass to me either as Bertha persuaded my mother to hand them on to
my brother, John Hume Cunnison. This does not grieve me at all today, unlike it did at the time.
Jack was a good son and continues to be a good and generous brother to me.
My grandfather was a good, kind and gentle man and my memories are not all about his military
life. Infirm in later life, I remember him taking my hand as we walked round Inverleith pond
where children sailed toy boats. He gave a coin to a young lad to secure a jar of minnows for
me, a coin which I now know he could ill afford (ca. 1936).
3.3 Photographs of JHC
I have been fortunate to acquire some very early photographs of him. The one in which he is
aged 17 is the earliest known picture of him in manhood. He joined the army aged 16 and this
photograph shows him in dress uniform, tartan trews, swagger stick in hand, with his KOSB
Glengarry on a side table. He won his first medal and bar in 1895, aged 16, for the relief of
Chitral. He won 2 medals, with 3 bars, for service in India and the Boer War and 3 more in the
Great War. His bars were won at Cape Colony and the fierce battle of Paardeberg in 1900. I
also have his book, "With the Chitral Forces", presented to soldiers who fought there. It is
inscribed in his own hand, "Pr John Cunnison, 2nd Batt K.O.S. Borderers, 2nd Brigade, Chitral
relief forces".
The second picture I have of my grandfather shows him in full dress uniform. He is sitting with
his arms around Isa; wife, Belle, is standing with the infant John. This studio photograph, taken
by Dover & Lydiard, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada is dated 1904, the year of my father's birth.
This clear, sharp image shows him wearing two medals, with Queen Victoria's head and three
bars. In owning this photograph, I have my medals.
The third picture I have was taken at a studio in Nicolson Street. The photo shows the same two
children as in picture two but with Grandad standing, hands on hips and Grandma Belle seated.
I also have a photograph inscribed by my father, "Grandfather Cunnison". (Editor's note: no further details)
4 The death of my father, John Hume Cunnison, b. 1904
My father was my hero, too. He volunteered aged 35 to fight in WW2 when he could have
stayed at home and sat it out. He died from horrendously painful carcenoma of the spine,
something I'll never forget.
The last I saw him in life was on visiting him with my children as he lay in hospital. He had
asked my mother to roll his sleeves down as he was so emaciated and wanted to spare my
children the sight of his condition. On leaving him, I reached the ward exit and, turning round,
saw him in the farthest bed on the left side, waving and giving, through his pain, a forced smile.
His face appeared full of teeth as I walked back to him and said, "You'll be home soon, pal,"
before kissing his forehead. He did come home eventually, to die in his own bed. Later, I told
Mother I thought I'd made a mistake in giving him that last kiss, knowing it was likely I would not
get the chance again to say goodbye. Her reply remains a lasting warm memory. She said,
"Your Dad was so happy you did that and said that was the first you had kissed him since you were a bairn." He died on 20th May 1973. I drove home from England to be with him at the end,
but missed him by about 20 minutes. He had been told that I was coming. I'm glad of that.