Andrew Browne Cunningham Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope

ABC joined Royal Navy in 1897 and thereafter steadily rose in rank; he commanded a destroyer in the First World War and in the interwar years a destroyer squadron and his first battleship, HMS Rodney (1930). In the late 1930s he attained flag rank and served at the Admiralty. In 1939 he was appointed CinC Mediterranean Fleet, an appointment which he regarded the best in the Royal Navy. During his years in the Mediterranean he kept the enemy at bay …