How a Royal Navy admiral was forced to sacrifice 900 drowning men

The story of how a Royal Navy admiral sacrificed 900 drowning men to save the Norwegian royal family has been revealed.

Sir John Cunningham's poignant expedition on the cruiser HMS Devonshire emerged after his impressive group of 22 medals sold at auction for £20,000.

The captain was travelling to England in June 1940, tasked with evacuating King Haakon VII and other VIPs because their homeland had been invaded by the Nazis.

However, events took an unexpected turn when Sir John received a distress signal from the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious - which had been attacked by a German battleship.

The Devonshire, which was also carrying Norway's gold reserves, was within 50 miles of Glorious and was the only ship to pick up the SOS.

But Sir John was forced to ignore the signal and carry on his passage as he had strict orders to maintain radio silence and bring the Norwegian VIPs safely to England.

Although 900 men abandoned the sinking Glorious only 40 survived. 

The survivors were picked up in rubber boats by a Norwegian vessel on its way to the Faroe Islands two days later on June 10, 1940.

The Admiralty knew nothing of the sinking until 48 hours later when it was broadcast on German radio. 

The failure to mount a rescue was an embarrassment for the Royal Navy and led to questions being asked in the House of Commons.

It emerged later that Sir John had little choice but to suppress the distress signal.

He did show the message to King Haakon who asked him what his orders were. Sir John is said to have replied, 'to bring you safely to England'.

The King later remarked: 'I realised this was not to Admiral Cunningham's liking.'

Despite the tragedy, the incident did not impact Sir John's career.

In 1943 he was given the command of all Allied shipping in the Mediterranean and oversaw the amphibious operations at Anzio, Italy and Southern France.

He became First Sea Lord in 1946 and then Admiral of the Fleet in 1948 before retiring.

He attended the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

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The tragic tale has now emerged after Sir John's impressive group of 22 medals sold at auction for £20,000.

They include the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, G.C.B and the Royal Victorian Order.

The medals sparked a bidding war, with an American private collector paying above the £12,000 to £16,000 estimate.

They were sold as part of the epic medal collection of the late James Risk.

Mr Risk was an American naval officer and numismatist who was invited by Queen Elizabeth II to catalogue the various orders, decorations, and medals in the Royal Collection which had been dispersed for safe storage during World War Two.

Nimrod Dix, deputy chairman of auctioneers Noonans, of Mayfair, said: 'Admiral of the Fleet Sir John H. D. Cunningham had a long and varied career in the navy.

'However, it was the aspect after he was promoted, in August 1943, to the rank of Admiral and given command of all Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea that saw him involved in the key moments of WW2.

'In this role, he oversaw the amphibious operations at Anzio, Italy and Southern France. He remained in the Mediterranean Sea through to the end of the war.'

He added: 'This large group of medals reflected the seniority of his rank and the important service he saw during the Second World War.

'They were sold as part of more than 200 lots from the collection of the late James C Risk C.V.O, F.S.A.'

Sir John was born in British Guiana in 1885 and joined the navy as a cadet in 1900.

During the First World War, he served on HMS Russell in the Mediterranean and survived her sinking by a mine in April 1916.

After the war he served aboard the ill-fated battlecruiser HMS Hood as her navigator.

In 1924 he was promoted to captain and spent time on the staff of the Royal Naval College at Greenwich.

He served as naval aide-de-camp to King George V before being promoted to Rear Admiral.

At the start of World War Two Sir John was in charge of a cruiser squadron and was sent north to support the Norwegian campaign.

During the night of May 1, 1940, he led a fleet of 15 ships that evacuated 5,700 Allied troops from Namsos, near Trondheim, following the German invasion.

Shortly after the Devonshire left Tromso on June 8 with the Norwegian royal HMS Glorious was attacked.

In August 1941 his son Richard, a Royal Navy lieutenant, was killed when the submarine P33 was sunk in the Mediterranean.

Sir John died aged 77 in 1962.