Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

Sir Angus Edward Malise Bontine Cunninghame Graham of Gartmore and Ardoch (16 February 1893 – 14 February 1981) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

officer who became Flag Officer, Scotland.

Naval career

Educated at Ascham St. Vincent's School, Cunninghame Graham joined the

in 1905Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
/ref> when he entered the RNC, Osborne.Cunninghame Graham, Admiral Sir Angus Edward Malise Bontine (1979). Random Naval Recollections, 1905–1951. Gartochan, Dumbartonshire: Famedram Publishers Limited. His tutors thought well of himRoyal Naval Service Record ADM 196/55 and in 1907 he progressed to RNC ''Dartmouth'' where he continued to get good grades in everything except engineering. He completed his cadet training on HMS ''Cumberland'' and passed out as a

midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest Military rank#Subordinate/student officer, rank in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Royal Cana ...

in 1910. One of his first postings was to HMS ''Cochrane'', which was one of the ships that escorted

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. George w ...

and Queen Mary to the

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by Britain at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was he ...

of 1911. He was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1912 and at the beginning of 1914 he was appointed to HM Yacht ''Victoria and Albert'' on which his father had also served. At the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, all Royal Yachtsmen were transferred to two ships in the

Grand Fleet The Grand Fleet was the main battlefleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War. It was established in August 1914 and disbanded in April 1919. Its main base was Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands. History Formed in August 1914 from th ...

, HMS ''Agincourt'' and HMS ''Erin''. Cunninghame Graham served on HMS ''Agincourt'' and saw action at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

in command of number 4 gun turret. He specialised in signals and was promoted to flag lieutenant in 1917. After the war, he held a number of brief appointments, including a period as tutor at HM Signal School, before being appointed, despite his lowly rank, to HMS ''Iron Duke'' in the spring of 1922 as fleet signal officer of the Mediterranean Fleet, under the command of Admiral Sir

Osmond Brock Admiral of the Fleet Sir Osmond de Beauvoir Brock, (5 January 1869 – 15 October 1947) was a Royal Navy officer. Brock served as assistant director of naval intelligence and then as assistant director of naval mobilisation at the Admiralty in ...

C-in-C. He gained the rank of lieutenant-commander in 1924 just prior to his marriage to Patricia Hanbury, the sister-in-law of Herbert Fitzherbert, the executive officer of the ''Iron Duke'' and was made a

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

in 1928. Cunninghame Graham had the unusual experience of attending all three staff colleges: Naval at Greenwich 1929–30; Army at Camberwell 1930–31; and Air Force at Andover 1934. Between 1931 and 1934, he served as executive officer on the

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several operational roles from search-and-destroy to ocean escort to sea ...

HMS ''Cardiff'' on the South Africa station. He was appointed staff officer (operations and intelligence) at

Nore Command The Commander-in-Chief, The Nore, was an operational commander of the Royal Navy. His subordinate units, establishments, and staff were sometimes informally known as the Nore Station or Nore Command. Nore, The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of t ...

in 1935. Having resigned himself, as had happened to his father, to remain a commander for the rest of his naval service, he was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

, at the last possible juncture under the batch system then in force, on 31 December 1935. In January 1936,

died and Cunninghame Graham, awaiting his first command, acted as aide-de-camp to Prince Paul of Greece during his visit to London for the state funeral. He was appointed in the autumn of 1936 to HMS ''Tarantula'' as senior naval officer on the West River in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. This was the time of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan between 1937 and 1945, following a period of war localized to Manchuria that started in 1931. It is considered part ...

.Obituary: Patricia Cunninghame Graham
The Independent, 5 June 1998 On his return from China, he was offered the post of captain of the "stone frigate" HMS ''President'', which he declined, going on

Half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the E ...

at his own request from 14 April 1938 until 2 March 1939, when he was appointed captain of HM Signal School. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he held four commands. When war was declared he was serving as captain of HM Signal School, which also entailed being deputy to the commodore of Royal Naval Barracks, Portsmouth, and, thus, oversaw the research into the development of naval RDF. His next appointment, in 1941, was as captain of the

HMS ''Kent'' on the Russian convoys. HMS ''Kent'' was selected to carry a diplomatic party which included: H.E. Ivan M Maisky, the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

; Rt Hon

Anthony Eden Robert Anthony Eden, 1st Earl of Avon (12 June 1897 – 14 January 1977) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1955 until his resignation in 1957. Achi ...

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs may refer to: * Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Spain) *Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (UK) The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the fore ...

; Sir

Alexander Cadogan Sir Alexander Montagu George Cadogan (25 November 1884 – 9 July 1968) was a British diplomat and civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs from 1938 to 1946. His long tenure of the Permanent Secretary's office makes ...

Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office This is a list of Permanent Under-Secretary of State, Permanent Under-Secretaries in the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (and its predecessors) since 1790. Not to be confused with Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State f ...

; and

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Sir

Archibald Nye Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom), Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Edward Nye (23 April 1895 – 13 November 1967), was a senior British Army officer who served in both world wars. In the latter he served as Vice Chief of the General Staff (U ...

, VCIGS, to

Murmansk Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...

, from where they would travel by train to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for talks with

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

. As the diplomatic party were without any ciphering staff, it fell to Cunninghame Graham to inform the foreign secretary that the UK had declared war on Japan. In the autumn of 1942, he became

flag-captain In the Royal Navy, a flag captain was the captain of an admiral's flagship. During the 18th and 19th centuries, this ship might also have a " captain of the fleet", who would be ranked between the admiral and the "flag captain" as the ship's "Firs ...

Rear-Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Louis "Turtle" Hamilton, who had chosen to hoist his flag in HMS ''Kent''. In August 1943, he was promoted to commodore (2nd class) in charge of the

Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham The Royal Naval Barracks, Chatham, also known as HMS ''Pembroke'', was a UK naval barracks that was built between the Victorian Steam Yard and Brompton Barracks from 1897 to 1902. It was built on the site of a prison built in 1853 to house ov ...

, in command of 20,000 officers, men and women with a daily turnover of 1,000. Also during this time, he was an aide-de-camp to the King (his father had been a groom-in-waiting to

Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

and an equerry to

) and was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in the 1944 New Year's Honours List. In January 1945, there came a second promotion to

rear-admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in command of the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the ...

, and second in command of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

, hoisting his flag first in and then in . After the war he continued to command the 10th Cruiser Squadron (later

2nd Cruiser Squadron The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1904 to 1919 and from 1921 to 1941 and again from 1946 to 1952. History First formation The 2nd Cruiser Squadron was first formed in December, 1904 then placed ...

with his flag in HMS ''Superb''), during which time he took part in the victory celebrations in the Netherlands and had the honour of having

Princess Juliana Juliana (; Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina; 30 April 1909 – 20 March 2004) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1948 until her abdication in 1980. Juliana was the only child of Queen Wilhelmina and Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. She r ...

and Prince Bernhardt as dinner guests; he was also dispatched to Sweden on an official goodwill visit, being granted a private audience with

King Gustav V Gustaf V (Oscar Gustaf Adolf; 16 June 1858 – 29 October 1950) was King of Sweden from 8 December 1907 until his death in 1950. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxem ...

. In 1947, he became admiral superintendent at

HM Dockyard, Rosyth Rosyth Dockyard is a large naval dockyard on the Firth of Forth at Rosyth, Fife, Scotland, owned by Babcock Marine, which formerly undertook refitting of Royal Navy surface vessels and submarines. Before its privatisation in the 1990s it was fo ...

., receiving a CB, and was promoted to

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

a year later. He was appointed Flag Officer, Scotland in 1950. He was advanced to

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

in the 1951 New Year Honours and retired in October of the same year. He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Dumabarton on 4 March 1952, and received his final promotion to admiral on 15 March of the same year. AEMBCG as Archer

In retirement he became

Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire. Before the twentieth century, the county was spelled Dumbartonshire. *John Elphinstone, 11th Lord Elphinstone (17 March 1794 – 19 August 1799) *John Elphinstone, ...

(1955–1968) and Keeper of

Dumbarton Castle Dumbarton Castle (, ; ) has the longest recorded history of any stronghold in Scotland. It sits on a volcanic plug of basalt known as Dumbarton Rock which is high and overlooks the Scottish town of Dumbarton. History Dumbarton Rock was forme ...

(1955–1981), the first naval officer to hold the post. In 1985, his widow donated his uniform and medals to the castle, where they are on public display.''Ceremony marks Admiral's Castle connection'', The Lennox Herald, 30 August 1985, p. 3 He also was a member of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

achieving a final rank of captain. He donated hi
papers
(1913–1980) to

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

, and hi
naval archive
(covering the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries) to the

University of California, Irvine The University of California, Irvine (UCI or UC Irvine) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Irvine, California, United States. One of the ten campuses of the University of California system, U ...

Family

Born in Chelsea, Angus was the second child and only son of Commander Charles Elphinstone-Fleeming Cunninghame Graham MVO RN and Mildred Emily Barbara, daughter of Charles Walter Bagot, Rector of

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Castle Rising is located along the course of the River Babingley, separating the village from the lost village of Babingley. The village is located north-east ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. He was baptised on 25 March 1893 in Holy Trinity, Chelsea, having Albert Edward,

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

(later

) as his godfather and

Princess Louise, Duchess of Fife Louise, Princess Royal (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar; 20 February 1867 – 4 January 1931) was the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; she was a younger sister of King George V. Loui ...

(later the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

), as his godmother. This led to his attending the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

page Page most commonly refers to: * Page (paper), one side of a leaf of paper, as in a book Page, PAGE, pages, or paging may also refer to: Roles * Page (assistance occupation), a professional occupation * Page (servant), traditionally a young m ...

to the

Duke of Fife Duke of Fife is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom that has been created twice, in both cases for the Earl of Fife. In 1889, Lord Fife married Princess Louise, the eldest daughter of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edwa ...

, for which he was awarded the 1902 Coronation Medal. In October 1924, he married Mary Patricia, the youngest daughter of banker, Col Lionel Hanbury of Hitcham House CMG, VD

High Sheriff of the County of London Below is a list of sheriffs of the County of London, from the creation of the county in 1889 to its abolition in 1965: *1889–1890: Alfred de Rothschild, of Senmore Place *1890–1891: Sir James Whitehead, 1st Baronet, of Highlield H ...

(1920–21); they had one son, Robert Elphinstone, who followed his father into the

; and one daughter, Jean, who first married Charles Jauncey of Tullichettle and secondly Harry Polwarth. He had seven grandchildren. He was the only nephew of

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936) was a Scottish politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP); the first ever socialist member of the Parliament of the United Ki ...

, a Scottish author and politician,Preserving the Literary Legacy of the Tschiffely Estate
/ref> to whom he was heir.

References

External links

Guide to the Sir Angus Cunninghame Graham Naval History Manuscripts Collection.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
The Papers of Sir Angus Cunninghame Graham
at

Churchill Archives Centre The Churchill Archives Centre (CAC) at Churchill College at the University of Cambridge is one of the largest repositories in the United Kingdom for the preservation and study of modern personal papers. It is best known for housing the papers ...

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cunninghame Graham, Angus 1893 births 1981 deaths Royal Navy admirals Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Order of the Bath Members of the Royal Company of Archers Lord-lieutenants of Dunbartonshire Military personnel from London Royal Navy personnel of World War II Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley