April 2025 - Donation of Children's Books from Author John F. Cunningham
These charming books were written between 2014 and 2018. They are ‘The Last Leaf to Fall’, ‘The Hole in the Wall’ and ‘How Giraffes got Long Necks’. The first is about a leaf which was found by a young girl, far away from the tree that shed it. She then had a dream in which the leaf told her the story of its travels. The second book is in rhyme. It is about Peter who found a hole in a wall, and then he discovered a whole new world on the other side. With the third book, the clue to the content is in the title.
The books are beautifully presented and extensively illustrated. ‘The Last Leaf’ was produced in collaboration with the illustrator and designer Marnie Bragg, ‘The Hole’ with Kemi Athene Pennicot and ‘Long Necks’ with Jan Thompson. The line drawings are meant to be coloured in by the children reading the stories. The first is large booklet size and the other two are A4 size. They all have easy to read print and are suitable for young children......... of all ages.
The books are being passed by the Friends to the Royal London Hospital Children’s Department Play Team, the Hospital School, the Paediatric Dental Outpatient Department and to primary schools.
The author John F. Cunningham, a personal friend for forty years, recently celebrated his 90th Birthday. He was born in London to a Scottish father and an Irish mother; he played Hockey for Scotland and earned a Blue while at Cambridge. After his military service he had a fascinating career with the World Bank based in the USA but he spent his early years in Iraq, updating Sumerian irrigation. Subsequently he managed much bigger global problems. During his career he recalls writing numerous technical reports which he said were ‘as exciting to read as dry dog biscuits are to eat’. This motivated him to write the children’s stories.
He retired from the World Bank in 1996 and then had a new and very successful career renovating and developing property. He owns the world’s largest solar powered art machine called ‘Daisy’, and he enjoys sailing ‘Clorinda II’ in the Ionian Sea with his family & his many friends. John and wife Elena have four children and six grandchildren. His family acknowledge that he is great company but accuse him of making bad jokes.
However, the commonest words used by his friends refer to his unstinting hospitality and his generosity. That generosity was on display once again with this remarkable donation of dozens of his books which are destined for children in the hospital & in the community. For that the Friends and the Hospital, thank him most sincerely.
Prof. Trevor Beedham. President. Friends of the Royal London Hospital
April 2025