Admiral of the FleetAdmiral of the Fleet is a rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10.The rank evolved from the ancient sailing days of the Royal Navy. The fleet was divided into three divisions and each designated a colour, that of Red, White, or Blue...
Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope,
KTThe Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the Order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland who asserted that he was reviving an earlier Order...
,
GCBThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
,
OMThe Order of Merit
is an order recognizing distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture...
,
DSOThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
(7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963), older brother of General Sir Alan Cunningham, was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
admiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above Vice Admiral and below Admiral of the Fleet/Fleet Admiral. It is usually abbreviated to "Adm." or "ADM"...
of the
Second World WarWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Cunningham was born in
RathminesRathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, about 3 kilometres south of the city centre. It effectively begins at the south side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east and Harold's Cross to the west.Rathmines has...
in the southside of
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
on 7 January 1883. After starting his schooling in Dublin and Edinburgh, he enrolled at a naval academy, at the age of ten, beginning his association with the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
. After passing out of
Britannia Royal Naval College, DartmouthBritannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, with...
, in 1898, he progressed rapidly in rank. He commanded a destroyer during the
First World WarWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
and through most of the interwar period. He was awarded the
Distinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
and two
BarA medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
s, for his performance during this time, specifically for his actions in the
DardanellesThe naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
and in the Baltics.
In the Second World War, as
Commander-in-ChiefA commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the...
, Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham led British naval forces to victory in several critical
Mediterranean naval battlesThe Battle of the Mediterranean was the name given to the naval campaign fought in the Mediterranean Sea during World War II.For the most part, the campaign was fought between the forces of the Italian Royal Navy , supported by other Axis naval forces, and the forces of the British Royal Navy,...
. These included the
attack on TarantoThe naval Battle of Taranto took place on the night of 11 November 1940 – 12 November 1940 during World War II. The Royal Navy launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea and attacking the Italian...
in 1940, the first completely all-aircraft naval attack in history, and the
Battle of Cape MatapanThe Battle of Cape Matapan was a World War II naval battle fought from March 27 to March 29, 1941. The cape is on the southwest coast of Greece's Peloponnesian peninsula...
in 1941. Cunningham controlled the defence of the
Mediterranean supply linesThe Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys to sustain the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II...
through Alexandria, Gibraltar, and the
key chokepoint of MaltaThe Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys to sustain the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II...
. The admiral also directed naval support for the various major allied landings in the Western Mediterranean littoral. In 1943, Cunningham was promoted to
First Sea LordThe First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
, a position he held until his retirement in 1946. After his retirement Cunningham enjoyed several ceremonial positions including
Lord High StewardThe position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, the Lord Chancellor was...
at the
coronationThe Coronation of the British Monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
of
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
in 1953. He died on 12 June 1963.
Childhood
Andrew Cunningham was born at
RathminesRathmines is a suburb on the southside of Dublin, about 3 kilometres south of the city centre. It effectively begins at the south side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to the south, Ranelagh to the east and Harold's Cross to the west.Rathmines has...
,
County DublinCounty Dublin , or more correctly today the Dublin Region , is the area that contains the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland as well as the largest city on the island of Ireland; and the modern counties of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Fingal and South Dublin. The Dublin Regional Authority is the...
, on 7 January 1883, the third of five children born to Professor Daniel Cunningham and his wife Elizabeth Cumming Browne, both of Scottish ancestry. His parents were described as having a "strong intellectual and clerical tradition," both grandfathers having been in the clergy. His father was a Professor of
anatomyAnatomy is a branch of biology and medicine that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy...
at
Trinity College, DublinTrinity College Dublin , corporately designated as the Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of...
, whilst his mother stayed at home. Elizabeth Browne, with the aid of servants and
governessA governess is a woman employed to teach and train children in a private household. In contrast to a nanny or a babysitter, she concentrates on teaching children, not their physical needs...
es, oversaw much of his upbringing; as a result he reportedly had a "warm and close" relationship with her. After a short introduction to schooling in Dublin he was sent to
Edinburgh AcademyThe Edinburgh Academy is an independent school. It is self-governed and financed, though it remains subject to inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education most recently in 2006....
, where he stayed with his Aunts Doodles and Connie May. At the age of ten he received a telegram from his father asking "would you like to go into the Navy?" At the time, the family had no maritime connections, and Cunningham only had a vague interest in the sea. Nevertheless he replied "Yes, I should like to be an Admiral". He was then sent to a Naval Preparatory School, Stubbington House, which specialised in sending pupils through the
DartmouthBritannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, with...
entrance examinations. Cunningham passed the exams showing particular strength in mathematics.
Early naval career
Along with 64 other men Cunningham joined the
Royal NavyThe Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of HM Armed Forces . From the beginning of the 18th century until well into the 20th century, it was the most powerful navy in the world, playing a key part in establishing the British Empire as the dominant world power from 1815 until the early...
as a cadet aboard the training ship
HMS BritanniaHMS Prince of Wales was one of six 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker line-of-battle ships of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 January 1860....
in 1897. One of his classmates was future Admiral of the Fleet James Fownes Somerville. Cunningham was known for his lack of enthusiasm for field sports, although he did enjoy golf and spent most of his spare time "messing around in boats". He said in his memoirs that by the end of his course he was "anxious to seek adventure at sea". Although he committed numerous minor misdemeanors, he still obtained a
very good for conduct. He passed out tenth in April, 1898, with first-class-marks for mathematics and
seamanshipSeamanship is the art of operating a ship or boat.It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including: navigation and international maritime law; weather, meteorology and forecasting; watchstanding; ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck...
.
His first service was as a
MidshipmanA midshipman is an officer cadet, or alternatively a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies.The word derives from the area aboard a ship, amidships, where these officers were berthed...
on
HMS DorisHMS Doris was an Eclipse-class masted cruiser of the Royal Navy. She was built at Barrow by Naval Construction and Armaments Company and laid down on 29 August 1894, being launched 3 March 1896, and completed for service 18 November 1897....
in 1899, serving at the Cape Station when the
Second Boer WarThe Second Boer War , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War , the Anglo-Boer War and in Afrikaans as the Anglo-Boereoorlog or Tweede Vryheidsoorlog , or the Engelse oorlog was fought...
began. By February, 1900, he had transferred into the
Naval BrigadeA Naval Brigade is a body of sailors serving in a ground combat role to augment land forces.-Royal Navy:Within the Royal Navy, a Naval Brigade is a large temporary detachment of Royal Marines and of seamen from the Royal Navy formed to undertake operations on shore, particularly during the mid- to...
as he believed "this promised opportunities for bravery and distinction in action." Cunningham then saw action at Pretoria and
Diamond HillThe Battle of Diamond Hill took place between 11 and 12 June 1900 during the Second Boer War. Fourteen thousand British soldiers squared up against four thousand Boers...
as part of the Naval Brigade. He then went back to sea, as Midshipman in
HMS HannibalHMS Hannibal was a Majestic class predreadnought battleship and the sixth ship to bear the name HMS Hannibal.-Technical characteristics:...
in December, 1901. The following November he joined the
protected cruiserProtected cruisers were a type of naval cruiser of the late 19th century, so known because their deck armour offered protection for vital machine spaces from shrapnel caused by exploding shells above...
HMS DiademHMS Diadem was the lead ship of the Diadem-class of protected cruiser in the Royal Navy. She was built at Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, Govan and launched on 21 October 1896. She served in the First World War with her sisters. In 1914 she was a stokers' training ship, and was...
. Beginning in 1902, Cunningham took
Sub-LieutenantSub-lieutenant is a military rank. It is normally a junior officer rank.In many navies, a sub-lieutenant is a naval commissioned or subordinate officer, ranking below a lieutenant. In the Royal Navy the rank of sub-lieutenant is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the British Army and of...
courses at
PortsmouthHer Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth , is one of three operating bases for the Royal Navy . Portsmouth naval base is located on the eastern shore of Portsmouth Harbour and is part of the city of Portsmouth and is situated north of the Solent and Isle of Wight...
and Greenwich; he served as Sub-Lieutenant on the
battleshipA battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of the largest caliber of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers or destroyers. There are currently no battleships in service....
HMS ImplacableHMS Implacable was a Formidable-class battleship of the British Royal Navy, the second ship of the name.- Technical Description :HMS Implacable was laid down at Devonport Dockyard on 13 July 1898 and launched on 11 March 1899 in a very incomplete state to clear the building way for construction of...
, in the Mediterranean, for six months in 1903. In September 1903, he was transferred to
HMS LocustHMS Locust was a B-class torpedo boat destroyer of the British Royal Navy. She was launched by Laird, Son & Company, Birkenhead, on 5 December 1896....
to serve as second-in-command. He was promoted to
LieutenantLieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police officer rank....
in 1904, and served on several vessels during the next four years. In 1908, he was awarded his first command,
HM Torpedo Boat No. 14A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to carry torpedoes into battle. The first designs rammed enemy ships with explosive spar torpedoes, and later designs launched self-propelled Whitehead torpedoes...
.
First World War
Cunningham was a highly decorated officer during the First World War, receiving the
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
and two
barsA medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
. In 1911 he was given command of the
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
HMS ScorpionHMS Scorpion was one of sixteen Beagle-class destroyers in service with the Royal Navy in the First World War. She was built by Fairfield Govan shipyards on the Clyde and was commissioned on August 30 1910...
, which he commanded throughout the war. In 1914,
Scorpion was involved in the shadowing of the
GermanThe German Navy The German Navy The German Navy (Deutsche Marine is the navy of Germany and part of the Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces).The German Navy traces its roots back to the Imperial Fleet (Reichsflotte) of the revolutionary era of 1848–1852 and more directly to the Prussian Navy, which...
battlecruiserBattlecruisers were large warships in the first half of the 20th century that were first introduced by the Royal Navy. The battlecruiser was developed as the successor to the armoured cruisers, but their evolution was more closely linked to that of the dreadnought battleships...
and
cruiserA cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas...
SMS Goeben and SMS BreslauThe pursuit of Goeben and Breslau was a naval action that occurred in the Mediterranean Sea at the outbreak of the First World War when elements of the British Mediterranean Fleet attempted to intercept the German Mittelmeerdivision comprising the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and the light cruiser SMS...
. This operation was intended to find and destroy the
Goeben and the
Breslau but the German warships evaded the British fleet, and passed through the
DardanellesThe Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosporus. It is located at approximately...
to reach
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the imperial capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire...
. Their arrival contributed to the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
joining the
Central PowersThe Central Powers was one of the two sides that participated in World War I, the other being the Entente Powers.-Member states:...
in November 1914. Though a bloodless "battle", the failure of the British pursuit had enormous political and military ramifications—in the words of
Winston ChurchillSir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of the United Kingdom during World War II. He served as Prime Minister from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. A noted statesman and orator, Churchill was also an officer...
, they brought "more slaughter, more misery and more ruin than has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship."
Cunningham stayed on in the Mediterranean and in 1915
Scorpion was involved in the attack on the
DardanellesThe naval operations in the Dardanelles Campaign of the First World War were mainly carried out by the Royal Navy with substantial support from the French and minor contributions from Russia and Australia. The Dardanelles Campaign began as a purely naval operation...
. For his performance Cunningham was rewarded with promotion to
CommanderCommander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service...
and the award of the Distinguished Service Order. Cunningham spent much of 1916 on routine patrols. In late 1916, he was engaged in convoy protection, a duty he regarded as mundane. He had no contact with German U-boats during this time, on which he commented; "The immunity of my convoys, was probably due to sheer luck". Convinced that the Mediterranean held few offensive possibilities he requested to sail for home.
Scorpion paid off on 21 January 1918. In his seven years as captain of the
Scorpion, Cunningham had developed a reputation for first class seamanship. He was transferred by Vice-Admiral Roger Keyes to HMS
Termagent, part of Keyes'
Dover PatrolThe Dover Patrol was a Royal Navy command of the First World War, notable for its involvement in the Zeebrugge Raid on 22 April 1918. The Dover Patrol formed a discrete unit of the Royal Navy based at Dover and Dunkirk for the duration of the First World War...
, in April 1918. and for his actions with the Dover Patrol, he was awarded a
barA medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...
to his DSO the following year.
Association with Cowan
Cunningham saw much action in the interwar years. In 1919, he commanded the
S class destroyerThe S class were a class of 67 destroyers built from 1917 for the Royal Navy. The design was based on the Admiralty modified R class and all ships had names beginning with S and T....
HMS SeafireHMS Seafire was one of 67 S Class destroyers built for the Royal Navy between 1916 and 1919....
, on duty in the
BalticThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
. The Communists, the
White RussianThe White movement , whose military arm was the White Army aka the White Guard , and as the Whites comprised some of the politico-military Russian forces who unsuccessfully fought the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution and...
s, several varieties of Latvian nationalists, Germans, and the
PolesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a Western Slavic ethnic group of Central Europe, living predominantly in Poland. Poles are sometimes defined as people who share a common Polish culture and are of Polish descent. Their religion is predominantly Roman Catholic...
were trying to control
LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
; the
British GovernmentHer Majesty's Government is the government of the United Kingdom. Under the Constitution of the United Kingdom, executive authority notionally lies with the monarch but is exercised in practice by her ministers...
had recognised Latvia's independence after the
Treaty of Brest-LitovskThe Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was a peace treaty signed on March 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk between the Russian SFSR and the Central Powers, marking Russia's exit from World War I....
. It was on this voyage that Cunningham first met
AdmiralAdmiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet. Royal Navy officers holding the ranks of Rear Admiral, Vice Admiral and Admiral of the Fleet are sometimes considered generically to be Admirals....
Walter CowanAdmiral Sir Walter Henry Cowan, 1st Baronet, KCB, DSO*, MVO , known as Tich Cowan, was a British Royal Navy admiral who saw service in both World War I and World War II; in the latter he was one of the oldest British servicemen on active duty.-Early days:Cowan was born in Crickhowell,...
. Cunningham was impressed by Cowan's methods, specifically his navigation of the potentially dangerous seas, with thick fog and
minefieldsA naval mine is a self-contained explosive device placed in water to destroy ships or submarines. Unlike depth charges, mines are deposited and left to wait until they are triggered by the approach of or contact with an enemy ship...
threatening the fleet. Throughout several potentially problematic encounters with German forces trying to undermine the Latvian independence movement, Cunningham exhibited "good self control and judgement". Cowan was quoted as saying "Commander Cunningham has on one occasion after another acted with unfailing promptitude and decision, and has proved himself an Officer of exceptional valour and unerring resolution."
For his actions in the
BalticThe Baltic Sea is a brackish inland sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and the...
, Cunningham was awarded a second bar to his DSO, and promoted to
CaptainCaptain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...
in 1920. On his return from the Baltic in 1922, he was appointed Captain of the
British 6th Destroyer Flotilla. Further commands were to follow; the
British 1st Destroyer Flotilla in 1923, and the destroyer base,
HMS LochinvarHMS Lochinvar was a minesweeping training "stone frigate" of the Royal Navy, sited at Port Edgar on the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It was established in 1939. From 1943 to 1946 it was temporarily transferred to nearby Granton Harbour while Port Edgar became a training centre for the 1944 Normandy...
, at
Port EdgarPort Edgar is a marina situated immediately to the west of the southern end of the Forth Road Bridge in the town of South Queensferry, Scotland. In previous years it had been the site of HMS Lochinvar. In the inter war period Port Edgar was the a destroyer base. under the command of the then...
in the
Firth of ForthThe Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, from 1927–1926. Cunningham renewed his association with Vice Admiral Cowan between 1926 and 1928, when Cunningham was
Flag Captain and Chief Staff OfficerIn the Royal Navy of the 1700s and 1800s a Captain of the Fleet could be appointed to assist an admiral when the admiral had ten or more ships to command....
to Cowan while serving on the North America and West Indies Squadron. In his memoirs Cunningham made clear the "high regard" in which he held Cowan, and the many lessons he learned from him during their two periods of service together. The late 1920s found Cunningham back in the UK participating in courses at the Army's Senior Officers' School at
SheernessSheerness is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the northwest corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island....
, as well as at the
Imperial Defence CollegeThe Royal College of Defence Studies is an internationally-renowned institution and component of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom.The RCDS Mission is:...
. While Cunningham was at the Imperial Defence College, in 1929, he married Nona Byatt (daughter of Horace Byatt, MA; the couple had no children). After a year at the College, Cunningham was given command of his first big ship; the battleship HMS
Rodney. Eighteen months later, he was appointed
CommodoreCommodore is a rank of the Royal Navy above Captain and below Rear Admiral. It is equivalent to a 1 star rank and has a NATO ranking code of OF-6...
of
HMS PembrokeNine ships and a number of shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Pembroke.-Ships: was a 28-gun ship launched in 1655 and lost in a collision off Portland in 1667. was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1690, captured by the French in 1694 and subsequently wrecked. was a 60-gun...
, the Royal Naval barracks at
ChathamChatham Dockyard, located on the River Medway and of which two-thirds is in Gillingham and one third in Chatham, Kent, England, came into existence at the time when, following the Reformation, relations with the Catholic countries of Europe had worsened, leading to a requirement for additional...
.
Promoted to Flag Rank
In September 1932, Cunningham was promoted to flag rank, and
Aide-de-CampAn aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
to the
KingGeorge V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 1910 through World War I until his death in 1936...
. He was appointed
Rear AdmiralRear Admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a Commodore and Captain, and below that of a Vice Admiral. It is generally regarded as the lowest of the "Admiral" ranks, which are also sometimes referred to as "Flag officers" and/or "Flag ranks"...
(Destroyers) in the Mediterranean in December 1933 and was made a
Companion of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
in 1934. Having hoisted his flag in the light
cruiserA cruiser is a large type of warship, which had its prime period from the late 19th century to the end of the Cold War. The first cruisers were intended for individual raiding and protection missions on the seas...
HMS
Coventry, Cunningham used his time to practice
fleetA fleet, or naval fleet, is a large formation of warships, and the largest formation in any navy. A fleet at sea is the direct equivalent of an army on land....
handling for which he was to receive much praise in the Second World War. There were also fleet exercises in the
Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
in which he learnt the skills and values of night actions that he would also use to great effect in years to come.
On his promotion to
Vice AdmiralIn the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, and the United States Maritime Service, vice admiral is a three-star flag officer, with the pay grade of...
in July 1936, due to the
interwar naval policyThe London Naval Treaty was an agreement between the United Kingdom, the Empire of Japan, France, Italy and the United States, signed on April 22, 1930, which regulated submarine warfare and limited naval shipbuilding.-Conference:...
, further active employment seemed remote. However, a year later due to the illness of Sir Geoffrey Blake, Cunningham assumed the combined appointment of commander of the
British Battlecruiser Squadron and second-in-command of the Mediterranean Fleet, with
HMS HoodHMS Hood was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, and considered the pride of the Royal Navy in the interwar period and during the early period of World War II...
as his
flagshipA flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, a designation given on account of being either the largest, fastest, newest, most heavily armed or, for publicity purposes, the best known. In military terms, it is a ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships...
. After his long service in small ships, Cunningham considered his accommodation aboard
Hood to be almost palatial, even surpassing his previous big ship experience on
Rodney.
He retained command until September 1938, when he was appointed to the
AdmiraltyThe Admiralty was formerly the authority in the United Kingdom responsible for the command of the Royal Navy. Originally exercised by a single person, the office of Lord High Admiral was from the 18th century onward almost invariably put "in commission", and was exercised by a Board of Admiralty.In...
as
Deputy Chief of Naval StaffThe First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
, although he did not actually take up this post until December 1939. He accepted this shore job with reluctance since he loathed administration, but the Board of Admiralty’s high regard of him was evident. For six months during an illness of
Admiral Sir Roger BackhouseAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse GCB GCVO CMG was an Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy and First Sea Lord of the British Admiralty from 1938 to 1939.-Family:...
, the then
First Sea LordThe First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
, he deputised for Backhouse on the
Committee of Imperial DefenceThe Committee of Imperial Defence was an important ad hoc part of the government of the United Kingdom and the British Empire from just after the Second Boer War until the start of World War II...
and on the Admiralty Board.
Second World War
Cunningham described the command of the Mediterranean Fleet as "The finest command the Royal Navy has to offer" and he remarked in his memoirs that "I probably knew the Mediterranean as well as any Naval Officer of my generation". Cunningham was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, hoisting his flag in HMS
Warspite on 6 June 1939, one day after arriving in
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
on the 5 June 1939. As Commander-in-Chief, Cunningham’s main concern was for the safety of convoys heading for
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
and
MaltaThe Malta Convoys were a series of Allied supply convoys to sustain the besieged island of Malta during the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II...
. These convoys were highly significant in that they were desperately needed to keep Malta, a small
British colonyThe British overseas territories are fourteen territories that are under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom itself....
and naval base, in the war. Malta was a strategic strongpoint and Cunningham fully appreciated this. Cunningham believed that the main threat to British Sea Power in the Mediterranean would come from the
Italian FleetThe Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
. As such Cunningham had his fleet at a heightened state of readiness, so that when Italy did choose to enter into hostilities, then the British Fleet would be ready.
French Surrender (June 1940)
In his role as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, Cunningham had to negotiate with the French Admiral
Rene-Emile GodfroyRené-Emile Godfroy was a French admiral. He died at Fréjus, southern France, in January 1981, aged 96.In June 1940, he commanded French naval forces at Alexandria, where he negotiated, with British Admiral Andrew Cunningham, the peaceful internment of his ships.The French squadron consisted of the...
for the demilitarisation and internment of a French squadron at
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
, in June 1940, following the
Fall of FranceThe Second Armistice at Compiègne was signed at 18:50 on 22 June 1940 near Compiègne, in the department of Oise, between Nazi Germany and France...
. Churchill had ordered Cunningham to prevent the French warships from leaving port, and to ensure that French warships did not pass into enemy hands. Stationed at the time at
AlexandriaAlexandria , with a population of 4.1 million, is the second-largest city in Egypt, and is the country's largest seaport, serving about 80% of Egypt's imports and exports...
, Cunningham entered into delicate negotiations with Godfroy to ensure his fleet, which consisted of the battleship
LorraineThe Lorraine was a French Navy battleship of the Bretagne class named in honour of the region of Lorraine in France.- Construction :...
, 4 cruisers, 3 destroyers and a submarine, posed no threat. The Admiralty ordered Cunningham to complete the negotiations on 3 July. Just as an agreement seemed imminent Godfroy heard of the British action against the French at Mers el Kebir and, for a while, Cunningham feared a battle between French and British warships in the confines of
Alexandria harbourThe Port of Alexandria is on the West Verge of the Nile Delta between the Mediterranean Sea and Mariut Lake in Alexandria, Egypt. Considered the second most important city and the main port in Egypt, it handles over three quarters of Egypt’s foreign trade. Alexandria port consists of two harbours ...
. The deadline was overrun but negotiations ended well, after Cunningham put them on a more personal level and had the British ships appeal to their French opposite numbers. Cunningham's negotiations succeeded and the French emptied their fuel bunkers and removed the firing mechanisms from their guns. Cunningham in turn promised to repatriate the ships' crews.
Battle of Taranto (November 1940)
Although the threat from the French Fleet had been neutralised, Cunningham was still aware of the threat posed by the Italian Fleet to British
North African operationsDuring the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 16 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers...
, based in
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
. Although the Royal Navy had won in several actions in the Mediterranean, considerably upsetting the
balance of powerBalance of power may refer to:* balance of power in international relations — when there is parity or stability between competing forces* balance of power — when an individual or minor group can exercise a decisive influence on legislation because evenly weighted major groups act in opposition to...
, the Italians who were following the theory of a
fleet in beingIn naval warfare, a fleet in being is a naval force that extends a controlling influence without ever leaving port. Were the fleet to leave port and face the enemy, it might lose in battle and no longer influence the enemy's actions, but by simply remaining safely in port the enemy is forced to...
had left their ships in harbour. This made the threat of a
sortieSortie is a term for deployment or dispatch of one military unit, be it an aircraft, ship, or troops from a strongpoint. The sortie, whether by one or more aircraft or vessels, usually has a specific mission....
against the British Fleet a serious problem. At the time the harbour at Taranto contained six
battleshipA battleship is a large, heavily armored warship with a main battery consisting of the largest caliber of guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers or destroyers. There are currently no battleships in service....
s (five of them battle-worthy), seven
heavy cruiserThe heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm calibre . The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930...
s, two
light cruiserA light cruiser is a warship. The term is a shortening of the phrase "light armoured cruiser", describing a small ship that carried armour in the same way as an armoured cruiser: a protective belt and deck...
s, and eight
destroyerIn naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range but powerful attackers .Before World War II, destroyers were light vessels without the endurance...
s. The Admiralty, concerned with the potential for an attack, had drawn up Operation
Judgement; a surprise attack on Taranto Harbour. To carry out the attack, the Admiralty sent the new aircraft carrier HMS
Illustrious, commanded by
Lumley LysterVice-Admiral Sir Arthur Lumley St George Lyster, KCB, CVO, CBE, DSO was a Royal Navy officer during the Second World War. He was the Fifth Sea Lord that was historically one of the Naval Lords and members of the Board of Admiralty that controlled the Royal Navy. The post has since been abolished...
, to join
HMS EagleHMS Eagle was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. It was laid down prior to the First World War as the Battleship Almirante Cochrane for Chile...
in Cunningham's fleet.
The attack started at 21:00, 11 November 1940, when the first of two waves of
Fairey SwordfishThe Fairey Swordfish was a torpedo bomber built by the Fairey Aviation Company and used by the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy during the Second World War...
torpedo bombers took off from
Illustrious, followed by the second wave an hour later. The attack was a great success: the Italian fleet lost half its strength in one night. The "fleet-in-being" diminished in importance and the threat to the Royal Navy's control of the Mediterranean had been considerably reduced. Cunningham said of the victory: "Taranto, and the night of November 11–12, 1940, should be remembered for ever as having shown once and for all that in the
Fleet Air ArmThe Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the Royal Navy responsible for the operation of aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters, as well as the Harrier GR7/GR9...
the Navy has its most devastating weapon." The Royal Navy had launched the first all-aircraft naval attack in history, flying a small number of aircraft from an aircraft carrier. This, and other aspects of the raid, were important facts in the planning of the
Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Japanese navy against the United States' naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, December 7, 1941 , later resulting in the United...
: the Japanese planning staff were thought to have studied it intensively.
Cunningham's official reaction at the time was memorably terse. After landing the last of the attacking aircraft,
Illustrious signalled "Operation Judgement executed". After seeing aerial reconnaissance photographs the next day which showed several Italian ships sunk or out of action, Cunningham replied with the two-letter code group which signified, "Manoeuvre well executed".
Battle of Cape Matapan (March 1941)
At the end of March 1941, Hitler wanted the convoys supplying the
British Expeditionary force in GreeceOperation Lustre was an action during World War II, involving the dispatch of British, Australian, New Zealand and Polish troops from Egypt to Greece in March and April 1941, in response to the failed Italian invasion and the looming threat of German intervention, revealed through Ultra.It was seen...
stopped, and the Italian Navy was the only force able to attempt this. Cunningham stated in his biography: "I myself was inclined to think that the Italians would not try anything. I bet Commander Power, the Staff Officer, Operations, the sum of ten
shillingThe shilling is a unit of currency used in current and former English Commonwealth countries and still used in countries which have become republics, such as Kenya. The word shilling comes from schilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of...
s that we would see nothing of the enemy." Under pressure from Germany, the Italian Fleet planned to launch an attack on the British Fleet on 28 March 1941.
The Italian commander, Admiral
Angelo IachinoAngelo Iachino was an Italian admiral during World War II.-Early life and career:Born at Sanremo, Liguria, Iachino entered the Italian naval academy at Livorno in 1904, and graduated in 1907....
, intended to carry out a surprise attack on the British Cruiser Squadron in the area (commanded by Vice-Admiral
Henry Pridham-WippellSir Henry Daniel Pridham-Wippell, KCB, CB, CVO, was a British Admiral, who served with the Royal Navy in World War I and World War II. He was knighted in 1941 for his part in the Battle of Cape Matapan in the Mediterranean. Pridham-Wippell was a survivor of the sinking of the battleship HMS Barham....
), executing a
pincer movementThe pincer movement or double envelopment is a basic element of military strategy which has been used, to some extent, in many wars, and is considered to be the consummate military maneuver, executed by Hannibal at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE...
with the battleship
Vittorio VenetoVittorio Veneto was the lead ship of the Italian Vittorio Veneto-class battleships, that served in the Regia Marina during World War II...
. Cunningham though, was aware of Italian naval activity through intercepts of Italian
EnigmaAn Enigma machine is any of a family of related electro-mechanical rotor machines used for the encryption and decryption of secret messages. The first Enigma was invented by German engineer Arthur Scherbius at the end of World War I...
messages. Although Italian intentions were unclear, Cunningham's staff believed an attack upon British troop convoys was likely and orders were issued to spoil the enemy plan and, if possible, intercept their fleet. Cunningham wished, however, to disguise his own activity and arranged for a game of golf and a fictitious evening gathering to mislead enemy agents (he was, in fact, overheard by the local Japanese Consul). After sunset, he boarded HMS Warspite and left Alexandria.
Cunningham, realising that an air attack could weaken the Italians, ordered an attack by the
Formidables AlbacoreThe Fairey Albacore was a British single-engine carrier-borne biplane torpedo bomber built by Fairey Aviation between 1939 and 1943 for the Fleet Air Arm and used during the Second World War. It had a three-man crew and was designed for spotting and reconnaissance as well as delivering bombs and...
torpedo-bombers. A hit on the Vittorio Veneto
slowed her temporarily and Iachino, realising his fleet was vulnerable without air cover, ordered his forces to retire. Cunningham gave the order to pursue the Italian Fleet.
An air attack from the Formidable
had disabled the cruiser Pola
and Iachino, unaware of Cunningham's pursuing battlefleet, ordered a squadron of cruisers and destroyers to return and protect the Pola. Cunningham, meanwhile, was joining up with Pridham-Wippell's cruiser squadron. Throughout the day several chases and sorties occurred with no overall victor. None of the Italian ships were equipped for night fighting, and when night fell, they made to return to Taranto. The British battlefleet equipped with
radarRadar is an object detection system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 as an acronym for RAdio Detection And...
detected the Italians shortly after 22:00. In a pivotal moment in naval warfare during the Second World War, the battleships
BarhamHMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy named after Admiral Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, built at the John Brown shipyards in Clydebank, Scotland, and launched in 1914.-Service:...
,
ValiantHMS Valiant was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship of the Royal Navy. She was laid down at the Fairfield shipyards, Govan on 31 January 1913 and launched on 4 November 1914. She was completed in February 1916.- World War I :...
and Warspite
opened fire on two Italian cruisers at only 3,800 yards (3.5 km), destroying them in only five minutes.
Although the Vittorio Veneto escaped from the battle by returning to Taranto, there were many accolades given to Cunningham for continuing the pursuit at night, against the advice of his staff. After the previous defeat at Taranto, the defeat at Cape Matapan dealt another strategic blow to the Italian Navy. Five ships - three heavy cruisers and two destroyers - were sunk, and around 2,400 Italian sailors were killed, missing or captured. The British lost only three aircrew when one torpedo bomber was shot down. Cunningham had lost his bet with Commander Power but he had won a strategic victory in the war in the Mediterranean. The defeats at Taranto and Cape Matapan meant that the Italian Navy did not intervene in the heavily contested evacuations of Greece and Crete, later in 1941. It also ensured that, for the remainder of the war, the
Regia MarinaThe Regia Marina dates from the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861 after Italian unification...
conceded the Eastern Mediterranean to the Allied Fleet, and did not leave port for the remainder of the war.
Battle of Crete (May 1941)
On the morning of 20 May 1941,
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
launched an
airborne invasionAirborne forces are military units, usually light infantry, set up to be moved by aircraft and 'dropped' into battle. Thus they can be placed behind enemy lines, and have an ability to deploy almost anywhere with little warning...
of Crete, under the code-name Unternehmen Merkur (Operation Mercury). Despite initial heavy casualties,
MalemeMaleme is a town and airport 16 km to the west of Chania, in North Western Crete, Greece. It is located in Platanias municipality, in Chania prefecture....
airfield in western Crete fell to the Germans and enabled the Germans to fly in heavy reinforcements and overwhelm the Allied forces.
After a week of heavy fighting, British commanders decided that the situation was hopeless and ordered a withdrawal from
SfakiaSfakiá is a mountainous area in the southwestern part of the island of Crete, in the Chania prefecture. It is considered one of the few places in Greece to never have been fully occupied by foreign powers. With a 2001 census population of 2,446 inhabitants living on a land area of...
. During the next four nights, 16,000 troops were evacuated to Egypt by ships (including
HMS AjaxHMS Ajax was a Leander class light cruiser which served with the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom during World War II. She was made famous for her part in the Battle of the River Plate, the Battle of Crete, the Battle of Malta and as a supply escort in the Battle of Tobruk.- Before the War :Built...
of
Battle of the River PlateThe Battle of the River Plate was the first major naval battle in World War II. The German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee had been commerce raiding since the start of the war in September...
fame). A smaller number of ships were to withdraw troops on a separate mission from
HeraklionHeraklion or Iraklion , is the largest city and capital of Crete. It is also the fourth largest city in Greece. Its name is also spelled Herakleion, a transliteration of the ancient Greek and Katharevousa name, , or Iraklio, among other variants...
, but these ships were attacked en route by
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
dive bomberA dive bomber is a bomber aircraft that dives directly at its targets in order to provide greater accuracy and limit the exposure to and effectiveness of anti-aircraft fire...
s. Without air cover, Cunningham's ships suffered serious losses. Cunningham was determined, though, that the "navy must not let the army down", and when army generals feared he would lose too many ships, Cunningham famously said, The "never say die" attitude of Cunningham and the men under his command meant that of 22,000 men on Crete, 16,500 were rescued but at the loss of three cruisers and six destroyers. Fifteen other major warships were damaged.
Allied Expeditionary Force (1943–1946)
From late 1942 to early 1943, Cunningham served under
General EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the...
, who made him the Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force. In this role that Cunningham commanded the large fleet that covered the Anglo-American landings in North Africa (
Operation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started 8 November 1942....
). General Eisenhower said of him in his diary:
February 1943 saw Cunningham return to his post as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet. Three months later, when Axis forces in North Africa were on the verge of surrender, he ordered that none should be allowed to escape. Entirely in keeping with his fiery character he signalled the fleet "Sink, burn and destroy: Let nothing pass". He oversaw the naval forces used in the joint Anglo-American amphibious invasions of Sicily, during Operation Husky,
Operation BaytownOperation Baytown was a part of the Allied invasion of Italy during World War II on 3 September 1943.The operation consisted of the landing by sea of the British 13th Corps of British 8th Army at Reggio di Calabria...
and Operation Avalanche. On the morning of 11 September 1943, Cunningham was present at Malta when the Italian Fleet surrendered. Cunningham informed the Admiralty with a telegram; "Please to inform your Lordships that the Italian battle fleet now lies at anchor under the guns of the fortress of Malta."
On 21 October 1943, Cunningham became
First Sea LordThe First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
of the Admiralty and Chief of the Naval Staff, after the death of
Dudley PoundAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Alfred Dudley Pickman Rogers Pound GCB OM GCVO RN was a British naval officer who served as First Sea Lord, professional head of the Royal Navy from June 1939 to September 1943.- Early life :...
. This promotion meant that he had to relinquish his coveted post of Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, recommending his namesake Admiral John H. D. Cunningham as his successor. In the position of First Sea Lord, and as a member of the Chiefs of Staff committee, Cunningham was responsible for the overall strategic direction of the navy for the remainder of the war. He attended the major conferences at
CairoThe Cairo Conference of November 22 - 26 1943, held in Cairo, Egypt, addressed the Allied position against Japan during World War II and made decisions about postwar Asia...
,
TehranThe Tehran Conference was the meeting of Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill between November 28 and December 1, 1943, most of which was held at the Soviet Embassy in Tehran, Iran. It was the first World War II conference among the Big Three in which Stalin was present...
,
YaltaThe Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, was the wartime meeting from 4 February 1945 to 11 February 1945 among the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union—President Franklin D...
and
PotsdamThe Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
, at which the Allies discussed future strategy, including the invasion of Normandy and the deployment of a
British fleetThe British Pacific Fleet was a British Commonwealth naval force which saw action against Japan during World War II. The fleet was composed of British Commonwealth naval vessels. The BPF formally came into being on 22 November 1944...
to the
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
.
Honours
Below is a list of Awards and titles awarded to Andrew Browne Cunningham during his lifetime.
United Kingdom
| Honour |
Abbreviation/Title |
Date Awarded |
Distinguished Service OrderThe Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other Commonwealth countries, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.The DSO was instituted on 6 September 1886 by...
|
DSO |
March 1916 |
| First Bar to the Distinguished Service Order |
DSO* |
February 1919 |
| Second Bar to the Distinguished Service Order |
DSO** |
May 1920 |
Companion of the Order of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
|
CB |
June 1934 |
| Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath |
KCB |
January 1939 |
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath |
GCB |
March 1941 |
BaronetA baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess , is the holder of a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown known as a baronetcy...
of Hyndhope, Selkirk |
Bt. |
7 July 1942 |
| Knight of the Thistle |
KT |
January 1945 |
BaronBaron is a title of nobility. The word baron comes from Old French baron, itself from Old High German and Latin baro meaning " man, warrior"; it merged with cognate Old English beorn meaning "nobleman."...
Cunningham of Hyndhopenote |
Baron |
August 1945 |
ViscountA viscount is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
Cunningham of Hyndhope |
The Viscount |
January 1946 |
| Order of Merit |
OM |
June 1946 |
Awards from other countries
| Award |
Country |
Croix de guerreThe croix de guerre is a military decoration of both France and Belgium, where it is also known as the Oorlogskruis . It was first created in 1915 in both countries and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins...
|
BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
|
Special Grand Cordon of the Cloud and BannerThe Order of the Cloud and Banner is a military award of the Republic of China. It was instituted on June 15, 1935 and is awarded in nine grades for contributions to national security. It is also sometimes referred to as the Order of the Resplendent Banner...
|
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
|
Légion d'honneur, CommandeurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
|
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
|
Croix de guerre 1939-1945The Croix de guerre 1939-1945 is a French military decoration created in September 26 1939, to honour people who fought with the Allies against the Axis force at any time during World War II.-Recipients:...
|
France |
Médaille militaireThe Médaille militaire is a decoration of the French Republic which was first instituted in 1852.The creator of the médaille was the emperor Napoléon III, who may have taken his inspiration in a medal issued by his father, Louis Bonaparte, King of Holland...
|
France |
| Medal of Military Merit, 1st Class |
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
|
Grand Cross of the Order of George IThe Royal Order of George I was formerly an order of Greece named after King George I of Greece. It was replaced in 1975 by the Order of Honour...
|
Greece |
| Grand Officer of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite |
MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
|
| Order of the Netherlands Lion, Knight Grand Cross |
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
|
| Grand Cordon of the Order of Nichan Iftikhar Nichan Iftikhar or Atiq Nishan-i-Iftikhar or Nişan-i İftihar , was a Ottoman and Tunisian honorary order founded in 1835 by Al-Mustafa ibn Mahmud...
|
TunisiaTunisia , officially the Tunisian Republic , is a country located in North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and Libya to the southeast. Tunisia is located southwest of the island of Sicily and south of Sardinia. Its size is almost 165,000 km² with an estimated population of just...
|
Chief Commander of the Legion of MeritThe Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued both to United States military personnel and to military and political figures...
|
USAThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
|
Navy Distinguished Service MedalThe Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military award of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919. The decoration the Navy and Marine Corps equivalent to the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal...
|
USA |
| Army Distinguished Service Medal |
USA |
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign MedalThe European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal is a military decoration of the United States armed forces which was first created on November 6, 1942 by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt...
|
USA |
(Note = Full title was Baron Cunningham of Hyndhope in the County of SelkirkSelkirkshire or the County of Selkirk is a registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Berwickshire to the north-east, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south...
. Upon his death without issue in 1963, both of these titles became extinct.).
Retirement
Cunningham was entitled to retire at the end of the war in 1945 but he resolved to pilot the Navy through the transition to peace before retiring. With the election of
Clement AttleeClement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
as British
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
in 1945, and the implementation of his
Post-war consensusThe post-war consensus is a name given by historians to an era in British political history which lasted from the end of World War II in 1945 to the election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 1979....
, there was a large reduction in the Defence Budget. The extensive reorganisation was a challenge for Cunningham. "We very soon came to realise how much easier it was to make war than to reorganise for peace." Due to pressures on the budget from all three services, the Navy embarked on a reduction programme that was larger than Cunningham had envisaged.
At the end of May 1946, after overseeing the transition through to peacetime, Cunningham retired from his post as First Sea Lord. Cunningham retreated to the "little house in the country", 'Palace House', at
Bishop's WalthamBishop's Waltham is a small town in Hampshire, England situated at the head of the River Hamble. It is home to the ruins of Bishop's Waltham Palace, an English Heritage monument.-History:...
in Hampshire, which he and Lady Cunningham had acquired before the war. They both had a busy retirement. He attended the House of Lords irregularly and occasionally lent his name to press statements about the Royal Navy, particularly those relating to Admiral
Dudley NorthSir Dudley Burton Napier North was an Admiral of the Royal Navy who served during World War I and World War II. He is known for his failure, while naval commander at Gibraltar, to challenge a Vichy French naval squadron. He was later exonerated of blame. He died on May 15th 1961....
, who had been relieved of his command of
GibraltarGibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
in 1940. Cunningham, and several of the surviving Admirals of the Fleet, set about securing justice for North, and they succeeded with a partial vindication in 1957. He also busied himself with various appointments; he was
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandThe Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the British Sovereign's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland , reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotland, and the Sovereign's role as protector and member of...
in 1950 and 1952, and in 1953 he acted as
Lord High StewardThe position of Lord High Steward of England is the first of the Great Officers of State. The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, except at coronations and during the trials of peers in the House of Lords, when the Lord High Steward presides. In general, the Lord Chancellor was...
- the most recent one to date - at the
coronationThe Coronation of the British Monarch is a ceremony in which the monarch of the United Kingdom is formally crowned and invested with regalia...
of
Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known informally as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,...
. Throughout this time Cunningham and his wife entertained family and friends, including his own great nephew,
Jock SlaterAdmiral Sir John Cunningham Kirkwood Slater, GCB, LVO, DL served as First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff. He was Equerry to HM The Queen from 1968 to 1971.-Family background:...
, in their extensive gardens. Cunningham died in London on 12 June 1963, and was buried at sea off Portsmouth. There were no children from his marriage.
A bust of Cunningham by
Franta BelskyFranta Belsky was a Czech sculptor.He was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1921, the son of the economist Joseph Belsky. With his family, he fled to England after the German invasion, and volunteered for the Czech Exile Army...
was unveiled in
Trafalgar SquareTrafalgar Square is a square in central London, England. With its position in the heart of London, it is a tourist attraction; and one of the most famous squares in the United Kingdom and the world. At its centre is Nelson's Column, which is guarded by four lion statues at its base...
in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
on 2 April 1967 by
Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghThe Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. Philip was originally a royal prince of Greece and Denmark, and thus a member of the Danish-German House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, but renounced these titles shortly before his marriage and adopted the...
.
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