Admiral of the Fleet Andrew Browne Cunningham - London, UK
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 51° 30.500 W 000° 07.676
30U E 699302 N 5710267
In the Second World War, as Commander-in-Chief of Britain's forces he led the first completely all-aircraft naval attack in history.
Waymark Code: WMDWCE
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 03/01/2012
Views: 17
This 1967 bronze bust of Cunningham is by sculptor Franta Belsky and is located in Trafalgar Square near the similar busts of two other Admirals of the Fleet.
The plinth in simply inscribed:
"Cunningham
1883-1963"
Wikipedia's extensive article (
visit link) further informs us:
"Cunningham was widely known by his nickname, "ABC".[1]
Cunningham was born in Rathmines in the southside of Dublin 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 Navy. After passing out of Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, in 1898, he progressed rapidly in rank. 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. 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 Lord, 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...
He was made Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, of Kirkhope in the County of Selkirk, in January 1946, and appointed to the Order of Merit in June of that year. 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 Waltham 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 North, who had been relieved of his command of Gibraltar 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."