ABSTRACT
Fraser was acknowledged to have ‘a first-class brain and a delightful personality’. Cunningham's tolerance of the campaign can be explained by his absorption in settling in as First Sea Lord and that it began well and was in measurable distance of coming off. The First Sea Lord, aware that the war was tending to shift towards the Far East, required a representative who knew the operational problems there and had the experience of co-operating with the Americans. The First Sea Lord showed unusual tact, first persuading the Prime Minister to be more precise in his directive to Mountbatten. There was some distrust between Cunningham and Fraser, arising perhaps from Fraser's supposedly cordial relationship with Churchill and the prior offer of the First Sea Lordship but more probably from the fact that they hardly knew each other. The Fleet Air Arms performances in the Tirpitz and Arctic convoy operations were certainly gallant and telling.
