Euphemia Culbert Cunningham

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

BEM (later Baxter; 1892 – 2 August 1989) was a World War One

munitions Ammunition, also known as ammo, is the material fired, scattered, dropped, or detonated from any weapon or weapon system. The term includes both expendable weapons (e.g., bombs, missiles, grenades, land mines), and the component parts of ...

worker at

HM Factory, Gretna H.M. Factory, Gretna was Britain's largest cordite factory during the First World War. The government-owned facility was adjacent to the Solway Firth, near Gretna, Dumfries and Galloway. It was built by the Minister of Munitions, Ministry o ...

, who was the first person from

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

to be awarded a Medal of the Order of the British Empire for her bravery in rescuing injured workers, during an explosion in the

cordite Cordite is a family of smokeless propellants developed and produced in Britain since 1889 to replace black powder as a military firearm propellant. Like modern gunpowder, cordite is classified as a low explosive because of its slow burni ...

factory.

Life

Euphemia Cunningham was born in Edinburgh in 1892, and had four brothers. Her father was a Gordon Highlander. She worked in a printing factory in Edinburgh, but in October 1915, as three of her brothers had died in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, she chose to join the 11,000 women involved in secret war work at the munitions factory in Gretna.

The Gretna Girls The Gretna Girls was a collective nickname given to women munition workers at HM Factory, Gretna, HM Factory Gretna in World War I, World War One. Women came from all over the United Kingdom to work at the factory, but many were drawn from the su ...

was a collective nickname given to women munition workers at HM Factory Gretna in World War I. Her role in the factory was in the

nitroglycerin Nitroglycerin (NG) (alternative spelling nitroglycerine), also known as trinitroglycerol (TNG), nitro, glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane, is a dense, colorless or pale yellow, oily, explosive liquid most commonly produced by ...

section, which involved mixing dangerous chemicals nitric acid, sulphuric acid and glycerine with nitro-cotton to make cordite. Within a few months, she was made forewoman of her section. She worked there until the factory closed in 1919.

Factory explosion

In March 1917, there was an evacuation of workers, as an explosion risk was identified at the factory, but not all people could be accounted for and Cunningham promptly returned to search for missing women, despite the danger of explosion. She found and assisted a group to leave, just moments before a sudden explosion which killed one worker and injured nine others. Her action was recognised in the award of the

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Monarchy of the United Ki ...

(an honour later elevated to the OBE). She was given the medal in a ceremony in April 1918, by the

Lord Provost of Edinburgh The Right Honourable Lord Provost of Edinburgh is elected by and is the convener of the City of Edinburgh Council and serves not only as the chair of that body, but as a figurehead for the entire city, ex officio the Lord-Lieutenant of ...

, as the first recipient in Edinburgh to have this honour. The ceremony took place in the afternoon of Tuesday 2 April in the Edinburgh Council Chamber, in the presence of a number of magistrates and other dignitaries. The medal was awarded "for courage and high example in continuing her duties immediately after a severe explosion."

Personal life

Cunningham married Thomas Baxter of Annan in Edinburgh in 1921, and the pair emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in 1924. They lived in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

at first, moving to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in 1930. Euphemia Baxter died on 2 August 1989. She and her husband are both buried in the

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is the second-largest cemetery in New Zealand. It opened in 1891, and is located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it recei ...

Image

The Devil's Porridge Museum has an image of Cunningham with her medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Euphemia 1892 births Recipients of the British Empire Medal 1989 deaths 20th-century Scottish women Burials at Karori Cemetery Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire

Life

Factory explosion

Personal life

Image

See also

References