Sapere Books have reissued the late John Winton's biography of Andrew Cunningham the Commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet during the Second World War. The Mediterranean Fleet at the time was the most active as well as the most prestigious command in the Royal Navy. Winton, much like previous biographers of World War Two Flag Officers straddles the line between critic and admirer ably.

This book delves into the complex personality and many campaigns of Admiral Cunningham during his long service with the British Royal Navy.
The biography is well researched and covers in detail the significant battles of the Mediterranean in WW2. The book can be quite dry at times, but overall it is an really interesting in-depth study of the admiral. I was intrigued by the enormous size of the RN in WW2 compared to the comparatively minuscule current of the current fleet. The British submariners had a particularly bad time in the shallow clear waters of the Mediterranean, with a high percentage of ‘boats’ being sunk. Curiously these high losses were barely mentioned in the book.
Cunningham, like most senior officers of that period were quite resistant to change, for example the use of the Fleet Air Arm. The use of almost obsolete Swordfish aircraft were key to the sinking of the Italian battleships at Taranto. Appallingly, many of the brave pilots were not recognised in the honours list by Cunningham, until years later.

I am not too sure whether I would have liked to have served with Cunningham. He seemed quite self-centred, arrogant, unable to give full praise where it was due. He clearly knew how to fight with ships but did not seem overly concerned about the fate of his men. As much as I disagree with the statement that Cunningham was the greatest Admiral since Nelson, he was probably the best placed, and experienced,Admiral for the Mediterranean theatre during that crucial period.