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Admiral James Somerville
He was the famous admiral (later Admiral of the Fleet Sir) of Force H operating from
Gibralter into the Atlantic and the Western Mediterranean. He had as strong personality,
was good speaker and loved to address the crews of the ships of his force, delivering his
speeches in a straightforward manner and always very positive and spirited. Like
Cunningham, he didn’t agree with Churchill’s strong stand against the French
Vichy government about their fleets at Mers el Kebir and Alexandria after the fall France.
It was with great reluctance that he opened fire on the Vichy fleet in Kebir, sinking
ships and causing great casualties of a former ally. As a result, he was out of favour for
a while. This is all covered in detail in the book
Admiral Andrew Cunningham
 He
is rated among the top five British admirals (later Admiral of the Fleet Viscount) in
British history along with Drake, Nelson, Jellicoe and Beatty. His bust is in Trafalgar
Square. A short man but with a very sharp mind and, although not a good speaker like
Somerville, he had his own type of common touch. Like Somerville, he was continually
visiting the many many ships of his fleet, no matter small, so that the officers and
sailors could see him or hear about his visit and know of his interest in their ship and
them. He was consummate diplomat, as shewn in the way he handled Churchill and the very
difficult Vichy fleet situation. The author, as no more than a teenager, was privileged to
have served on his staff and see him at close quarters on many occasions, sometimes in
particularly trying circumstances. |
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Sir Winston Churchill
 The great man took a great interest in naval affairs in the
Mediterranean even to the point to of interfering on occasion which our commander
didn’t like. We always knew when one of his messages came in that it would be much
longer than other ones. It certainly showed what attention to detail he paid and how long
he must have worked to prepare such specific directions. He wanted very strong action to
be taken to the point of force in the delicate negotiations that were going on in
Alexandria harbour visavis the Vichy French fleet there. At one stage in the negotiations,
the two fleets came to the point of preparing for battle, especially after the great loss
of French ships and lives at Kebir. Cunningham ignored the Prime Minister’s
instructions and eventually solved the problem with patient and sensitive diplomacy.
Churchill always thought that his admirals were not aggressive enough and that they
tended to stay in harbour and preserve their ships. He certainly couldn’t accuse
Cunningham of this--he was always very aggressive towards the Italian Navy and won several
actions. Yet he didn’t take needless risks. After the fall of Greece and Crete, the
airforce commander and General Wavell were moved but not Cunningham. He still had the
Prime Minister’s confidence. The admiral’s signed photograph is in Chartwell,
Churchill’s country estate which is now opened to the public , along with others who
Churchill admired.
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