Andrew Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham, 1st Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, KT, GCB, OM, DSO & Two Bars (7 January 1883 – 12 June 1963) was a British officer of the Royal Navy during the Second World War. He was widely known by his initials, "ABC".[1]
"Admiral Cunningham" redirects here. For other uses, see Admiral Cunningham (disambiguation).
The Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope
Andrew Browne Cunningham
"ABC"
7 January 1883
Rathmines, Ireland
12 June 1963 (aged 80)
London, England, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
1897–1946
General Sir Alan Cunningham (brother)
Cunningham was born in Rathmines in the south side of Dublin on 7 January 1883. After starting his schooling in Dublin and Edinburgh, he enrolled at Stubbington House School, at the age of ten. He entered the Royal Navy in 1897 as a naval cadet in the officers' training ship Britannia, passing out in 1898. He commanded a destroyer during the First World War and through most of the interwar period. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and two Bars, for his performance during this time, specifically for his actions in the Dardanelles and in the Baltics.
In the Second World War, as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, Cunningham led British naval forces to victory in several critical Mediterranean naval battles. These included the attack on Taranto in 1940, the first completely all-aircraft naval attack in history,[2] and the Battle of Cape Matapan in 1941. Cunningham controlled the defence of the Mediterranean supply lines through Alexandria, Gibraltar, and the key chokepoint of Malta. He also directed naval support for the various major Allied landings in the Western Mediterranean littoral. In autumn 1943, on the death of the incumbent, Sir Dudley Pound, Cunningham was promoted to First Sea Lord, the professional head of the Royal Navy, a position he held until his retirement in 1946. He was ennobled as Baron Cunningham of Hyndhope in 1945 and made Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope the following year. After his retirement, Cunningham enjoyed several ceremonial positions, including Lord High Steward at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He died on 12 June 1963, aged 80.
Childhood[edit]
Cunningham was born at Rathmines, County Dublin, on 7 January 1883,[3] the third of five children born to Professor Daniel John Cunningham and Elizabeth Cumming Browne, both born in Scotland.[4] General Sir Alan Cunningham was his younger brother.[5] 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 Anatomy at Trinity College Dublin,[4] whilst his mother stayed at home. Elizabeth Browne, with the aid of servants and governesses, oversaw much of his upbringing; as a result he reportedly had a "warm and close" relationship with her.[6]
After a short introduction to schooling in Dublin he was sent to Edinburgh Academy, where he stayed with his aunts Doodles and Connie May.[6] 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".[7] He was then sent to a Naval Preparatory School, Stubbington House,[8] which specialised in sending pupils through the entrance examinations.[9] Cunningham passed the exams, showing particular strength in mathematics.[10]
Interwar years[edit]
Association with Cowan[edit]
Cunningham saw much action in the interwar years. In 1919, he commanded the S-class destroyer Seafire, on duty in the Baltic. The Communists, the White Russians, several varieties of Latvian nationalists and the Germans were trying to control Latvia; the British Government had recognised Latvia's independence after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. It was on this voyage that Cunningham first met Admiral Walter Cowan. Cunningham was impressed by Cowan's methods, specifically his navigation of the potentially dangerous seas, with thick fog and minefields threatening the fleet.[24]
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."[25]
He was promoted to the rank of captain, effective 31 December 1919.[26] For his actions in the Baltic, Cunningham was awarded a second bar to his DSO, gazetted in March 1920.[27][13] His first appointment as a Captain was President of the Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control in Heligoland.[28] On his return from the Baltic in 1922, he was appointed captain of the 6th Destroyer Flotilla. Further commands were to follow; the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in 1923, and the destroyer base, HMS Lochinvar, at Port Edgar in the Firth of Forth, from 1924 to 1926. Cunningham renewed his association with Vice Admiral Cowan between 1926 and 1928, when Cunningham was flag captain and chief staff officer to Cowan while serving on the North America and West Indies Squadron, based at the Royal Naval Dockyard in the Imperial fortress colony of Bermuda, with shore headquarters at Admiralty House in Pembroke. In his memoirs Cunningham made clear the "high regard"[29] in which he held Cowan, and the many lessons he learned from him during their two periods of service together.[29]
The late 1920s found Cunningham back in the UK participating in courses at the Army's Senior Officers' School at Sheerness, as well as at the Imperial Defence College.[30] 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 Rodney.[13] Eighteen months later, he was appointed commodore of HMS Pembroke, the Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham.[31]