Jock Cunningham

Joseph Wallace "Jock" Cunningham (20 December 1902 – 22 February 1969) was a British volunteer in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. He became a battalion and brigade commander and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He played a key role in the Battle of Jarama, one of the principal military actions of the Spanish Civil War.

Early life Jock Cunningham was born along with his twin brother Thomas Michael Cunningham on 20 December 1902 at 17 Balgray Road, Glasgow, to John Cunningham, a Stationary Engine Keeper, and Mary (Annati) Cunningham, who married in 1890 in Malta. He was one of a family of twenty-two with military tradition. His father was a Second Boer War veteran and six of his brothers also served in the British Army. As a young boy, the family moved around Lanarkshire before settling in Coatbridge, Scotland. He was brought up in "The Whifflet" and lived at 77b Whifflet Street, Whifflet, Coatbridge.

He arrived in Spain 19 October 1936 and was involved in the early defence of Madrid after joining the Machine-Gun Company of the Commune de Paris Battalion, part of the XI International Brigade. He rapidly rose to Captain. In December 1936 he fought at Lopera as a section commander with the British and Irish Company of the XIV International Brigade. He was made a Major and Commander of the British No. 1 Company and as a Lieutenant Colonel he was in charge of the entire English-speaking brigade. Cunningham was hospitalised from 15 March 1937.

He later served as Chief of Brigade Staff of the XV Battalion, but after the battle of Brunete the Communist Party of Great Britain recalled all the leaders of the British volunteers back to London. Spanish Government supporters praised Cunningham's military skill and en route to London, he was welcomed back to Glasgow on 31 August 1937 by 2,500 Communist Party members. In The Spanish Civil War, Hugh Thomas, explains the reference to Chapaev. Speaking of Cunningham he said: "He was a man of great physical strength and possessed marked qualities of leadership. He was nicknamed the "Chapaev" after the guerrilla leader of the Russian Civil War – and there could not at that time have been a greater compliment."

After differences arose in the CPGB, Pollitt decided Cunningham and fellow Scot Commissar George Aitken were not to return to Spain. It was a controversial decision because it was the two most capable and respected men who were not allowed to return to Spain.

Writing of Jock Cunningham to The New York Times in April 1937 Ernest Hemingway said "For what he had done he would have had a V.C (Victoria Cross) in the last war. In this war there are no decorations. Wounds are the only decorations…"

In the 1990s the Scottish playwright, Hector MacMillan, wrote a play about Jock Cunningham entitled "A Greater Tomorrow", focusing on his service in the Spanish Civil War and speculating about his later years. Cunningham was portrayed by Derek Anders.

In 2010 he was subject of a BBC Radio Scotland documentary.