in 1872, remaining there until 1875. Cumming continued to receive promotions, becoming vice-admiral in 1876 and admiral in 1880, but retired from the Navy in 1880. In retirement he lived at Foston Hall, near Derby. Cumming was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath as part of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee celebrations on 21 June 1887 and died in London on 17 February 1893. Early life Arthur Cumming was born at Nancy in France on 6 May 1817, his father was General Sir Henry Cumming. Arthur was entered into the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth in January 1831, passing the course and being discharged on 8 August 1832. His first ship was the sloop HMS Rover on which he served in the Mediterranean (presumably as a midshipman), also serving on the Lisbon and North American Stations. In 1837, Cumming passed his examinations to become eligible for the position of lieutenant and was promoted to the rank of mate on 4 April. By early 1840, Cumming was stationed at HMS Excellent, a navy stone frigate in Portsmouth that housed the gunnery school. Syrian War On 14 March 1840 Cumming was appointed mate on the frigate HMS Cyclops (commanded by Horatio Thomas Austin), part of Commodore Charles John Napier's squadron sent to intervene for Britain in the Syrian War, and reached the ship in April. The war had begun when Mehemet Ali, Pasha of Egypt, attempted to claim independence from the Ottoman Empire. Ali invaded Syria and took control of the Ottoman Fleet forcing young Sultan Abdülmecid I to request help from the European powers. Great Britain, Austria, Prussia and Russia agreed to assist and issued an ultimatum to Ali demanding his withdrawal from Ottoman possessions (Arabia, Crete and Syria) in return for being made hereditary Viceroy of Egypt. Cyclops was detached from patrolling to carry the ultimatum into Alexandria on 9 August 1840. The ultimatum was refused and the European allies intervened, the naval side of the war becoming the responsibility of Britain and Austria. Cyclops played an active role; arriving at Beirut on 7 September 1840 to fire shells in support of the landing of Ottoman troops, attempting to capture the fort at Gebail on 11 September, landing marines and further troops at Jouna on 12 September and capturing Batroun on 15 September. On 25 September Cyclops arrived at Sidon, the main Egyptian southern division supplies depot, alongside