North Irish Horse - Gallery - In memoriam

In memoriam

Private Thomas Ernest Cundy

Thomas Ernest Cundy was born around 1882 in Polstead, Suffolk, one of at least six children of agricultural labourer Charles Alfred Cundy and his wife Elizabeth (née Kedge). His father died when he was about seven years old.

Cundy enlisted in the 1st (Royal) Dragoons in London in the late 1890s (No.4807 – later Corps of Dragoons No.20666), serving with that regiment in the Boer War.

On 17 April 1909 he married Mary Ann Colston at St Cuthbert's Church in Darlington, Durham. The couple had three children over the next seven years. By the time of the 1911 Census they were living at Redlynch, Bruton, Somerset, Thomas working as a domestic coachman. They later lived at 15 Backhouse Street, Darlington.

Cundy was called up from the reserves on the outbreak of war, embarking for France on 16 August 1914. He was later posted to the 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), where he was attached to No.1 Advanced Remount Depot.

At some point Cundy rejoined the 1st (Royal) Dragoons, and was then attached to the North Irish Horse – probably as part of the headquarters of the 2nd NIH Regiment formed in France in June 1916.

Cundy later rejoined the 1st (Royal) Dragoons. On 24 March 1918 the regiment took part in a charge against German infantry in an attempt to slow their advance south of Ham during the Kaiserschlacht Offensive. The regimental war diary for the following day reads:

Men of all three Regiments returned in early morning with wounded horses from the mounted party and said the 6th. Cav. Bde. Sqdn. had had a mounted charge the previous afternoon ... near Flavy-le-Meldeux and killed about 60 and captured about 100 Germans.

Casualties among the other ranks were reported as two killed, 21 wounded and six missing. Cundy was one of the missing. Over the following months enquiries were made in Germany through the Red Cross, but it was later concluded that he had died 'on or since' 24 March.

Having no known grave, Cundy is commemorated on the Pozieres Memorial, Somme, France, Panel 2.