CAMBRIDGE NEWS | 1
THURSDAY APRIL 23, 2026
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APRIL 23, 2026
We will remember him By Viv Posselt
An unexpected window of sunshine doused Hautapu Cemetery on Sunday as a new headstone was unveiled for decorated WW1 soldier, Sergeant Adam Cunningham. The unveiling, more than 80 years after his death, marked the culmination of efforts by the New Zealand Remembrance Army
(NZRA) and Cambridge RSA to restore Cunningham’s name and story to public memory. Until Sunday, he lay in an unmarked grave. The highly decorated soldier served with the First Battalion, New Zealand Rifle Brigade. His courage during WW1 is said to have helped turn the tide of the war on the battlefields of France and earned him both the Military
Adam Cunningham
Medal (MM) and the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM). NZRA man, Cambridge’s Alan Sherris, said Cunningham was a man of extraordinary courage … “yet for decades his grave told nothing of who he was or what he gave. The headstone puts his name back where it belongs and ensures his service is never forgotten.” Cunningham earned the MM
at Heburterne, France, on July 15, 1918. On the night before an assault, he volunteered to patrol alone to map German positions and report back with critical intelligence that shaped the next day’s attack. When his platoon was pinned down, Cunningham ordered covering fire, crawled forward under heavy fire and confronted the enemy machinegun crew at bayonet point, forcing
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Standing at Sgt Cunningham’s new gravestone are, from left, Cambridge RSA vice-president George Pringle, Cambridge RSA president Graham Johns, RNZRSA district president (Waikato, King Country, Bay of Plenty) Jon Broadley, RNZRSA national president Tony Hill, and New Zealand Remembrance Army’s Alan Sherris and Rowan Miller. Photo: Viv Posselt
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their surrender. He then turned the captured weapon on retreating enemy troops, allowing his men to advance safely. Later the same year, he received the DCM after leading a bold charge with just 12 men against a heavily occupied trench following an enemy counterattack. His audacity caught the Germans by surprise, resulting in the surrender
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