Robert Cunliffe (Royal Navy officer)

Commodore Robert Lionel Brooke Cunliffe CBE (15 March 1895 – 29 November 1990) was a Royal Navy who became Commander-in-Chief, Dover.

Robert Cunliffe
Born	15 March 1895 Woolwich, Kent, England
Died	29 November 1990 (aged 95) Pakenham, Suffolk, England
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1912–1946
Rank	Commodore
Commands held	HMS Milford Dover Command HMS Illustrious
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Commander of the Order of the British Empire

Naval career

Cunliffe joined the Royal Navy in September 1912.[1] He was present at the Battle of Jutland in June 1916 during the First World War.[2] He became commanding officer of the sloop HMS Milford in December 1937.[1] He also served during the Second World War as Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth from December 1939, Commander-in-Chief, Dover from April 1942 and captain of the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious from August 1942.[3] He went on to be Commodore, Royal Naval Barracks, Devonport in August 1944 before retiring in January 1946.[4] While serving in the Royal Navy, Cunliffe played first-class cricket for the Royal Navy Cricket Club, making ten appearances between 1914–1929.[5] He scored 335 runs at an average of 20.93, which included three half centuries and a high score of 87.[6] With the ball, he took 16 wickets with his leg break googly bowling, with best figures of 5 for 78.[7]

References

1. "Robert Lionel Brooke Cunliffe, RN". U Boat.net. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
2. Marder, p. 147
3. "Captains commanding Royal Navy warships" (PDF). Retrieved 25 November 2016.
4. "Senior Royal Navy appointments" (PDF). Retrieved 25 November 2016.
5. "First-Class Matches played by Robert Cunliffe". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
6. "First-class Batting and Fielding For Each Team by Robert Cunliffe". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
7. "First-class Bowling For Each Team by Robert Cunliffe". CricketArchive. Retrieved 15 December 2019.

Sources

• Marder, Arthur (2014). From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: Volume III Jutland and After May to December 1916. Seaforth Publishing. ISBN 978-1848322004.