Angus Cunninghame Graham

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Sir Angus Cunninghame Graham
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Spouse(s)Mary Patricia, Lady Cunninghame Graham (
R.B. Cunninghame Graham
MP (uncle)
Cdr Charles E.- F. Cunninghame Graham, MVO RN, (father)

Flag Officer, Scotland
.

Naval career

Educated at

George V and Queen Mary to the Delhi Durbar of 1911.[2] He was promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1912[3] and at the beginning of 1914 he was appointed to HM Yacht Victoria and Albert[1]
on which his father had also served.

At the outbreak of World War I, all Royal Yachtsmen were transferred to two ships in the Grand Fleet,[2] HMS Agincourt and HMS Erin. Cunninghame Graham served on HMS Agincourt[3] and saw action at the Battle of Jutland in command of number 4 gun turret.[2] He specialised in signals[2] and was promoted to flag lieutenant in 1917.[3]

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

lieutenant-commander in 1924[3] just prior to his marriage to Patricia Hanbury, the sister-in-law of Herbert Fitzherbert, the executive officer of the Iron Duke[2] and was made a commander in 1928.[3]

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.[2] Between 1931 and 1934, he served as executive officer on the cruiser HMS Cardiff on the South Africa station. He was appointed staff officer (operations and intelligence) at Nore Command in 1935.[3] Having resigned himself, as had happened to his father, to remain a commander for the rest of his naval service,[2] he was promoted to captain, at the last possible juncture under the batch system then in force, on 31 December 1935.[3]

In January 1936,

George V died and Cunninghame Graham, awaiting his first command, acted as aide-de-camp to Prince Paul of Greece[2] 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.[3] This was the time of the Second Sino-Japanese War.[4] On his return from China, he was offered the post of captain of the "stone frigate" HMS President,[2] which he declined, going on Half-pay at his own request from 14 April 1938 until 2 March 1939, when he was appointed captain of HM Signal School.[3]

During World War II 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.[2]

His next appointment, in 1941, was as captain of the

Rear-Admiral Louis ‘'Turtle'’ Hamilton, who had chosen to hoist his flag in HMS Kent.[2][3]

In August 1943, he was promoted to commodore (2nd class) in charge of the

rear-admiral in command of the 10th Cruiser Squadron,[3] and second in command of the Home Fleet, hoisting his flag first in HMS Diadem and then in HMS Birmingham.[2]

After the war he continued to command the 10th Cruiser Squadron (later

King Gustav V.[2]

In 1947, he became admiral superintendent at

KBE in the 1951 New Year Honours[3] and retired in October of the same year.[5] He was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Dumabarton on 4 March 1952,[6] and received his final promotion to admiral on 15 March of the same year.[3]

Robert & Angus Cunninghame Graham in Archers uniform

In retirement he became Lord Lieutenant of Dunbartonshire (1955–1968) and Keeper of Dumbarton Castle (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.[7] He also was a member of the Royal Company of Archers achieving a final rank of captain.

He donated his papers (1913–1980) to Churchill College, Cambridge, and his naval archive (covering the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries) to the University of California, Irvine.

Family

Born in Chelsea, Angus was the second child and only son of Commander Charles Elphinstone-Fleeming Cunninghame Graham

page to the Duke of Fife, 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

Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham, a Scottish author and politician,[8]
to whom he was heir.

References

  1. ^ a b c Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Cunninghame Graham, Admiral Sir Angus Edward Malise Bontine (1979). Random Naval Recollections, 1905–1951. Gartochan, Dumbartonshire: Famedram Publishers Limited.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Royal Naval Service Record ADM 196/55
  4. ^ a b c Obituary: Patricia Cunninghame Graham The Independent, 5 June 1998
  5. ^ Listing compiled by historian Colin Mackie Archived 15 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ The London Gazette: no. 39491. p. 1468. 14 March 1952.
  7. ^ Ceremony marks Admiral's Castle connection, The Lennox Herald, 30 August 1985, p. 3
  8. ^ Preserving the Literary Legacy of the Tschiffely Estate

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Flag Officer, Scotland

1950–1951 		Succeeded by
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