to Cunningham's appointment to command the new Eighth Army in North Africa in August 1941. His immediate task was to lead General Sir Claude Auchinleck's Libyan Desert offensive which began on 18 November. However, early losses led Cunningham to recommend the offensive be curtailed. This advice was not accepted by his superiors, and Auchinleck relieved him of his command. He returned to Britain to serve the remainder of the war as Commandant of the Staff College, Camberley (1942) and General Officer C-in-C in Northern Ireland (1943) and Eastern Command (1944). He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1941. Post-war After the war, Cunningham, who was promoted to general on 30 October 1945, returned to the Middle East as High Commissioner of Palestine; he served in the position from 1945 to 1948. He was in charge of operations against the Hagana, the Jewish pre-independence defense army as well as the Etzel and Lehi terrorists who in this period fought against the Mandate authorities and the Palestinian population, as well as Palestinian militias, with Arab armies poised to invade as soon as the British withdrew. Cunningham had retired from the army in October 1946 when he relinquished the role of Commander-in-Chief Palestine but retained the job of High Commissioner until 1948. The photo of Cunningham taking down the British flag at the port of Haifa is a historical photo often reproduced in Israeli history textbooks. Cunningham served as Colonel Commandant of the Royal Artillery until 1954. Cunningham died in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. He is buried with his father and mother under a simple monument near the Dean Gallery entrance to Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh. Orders and decorations Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (1948) Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (30 May 1941; Companion 1941) Distinguished Service Order (1918) Military Cross (1915) 1914 Star with Clasp Mentioned in Despatches (1 January 1916, 18 May 1917 and 20 May 1918; 6 January 1944) British War Medal Victory Medal Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar, 1st class (28 October 1941) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States, 1945) Order of the Crown, 1st class (Belgium, 1950) Order of Menelik II, 1st class (Ethiopia, 1954) References Bibliography External links British Army Officers 1939−1945 Generals of World War II |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |-