Hugh Cunningham


Sir Hugh Patrick Cunningham was a British Army officer who became Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.

Military career

Educated at Charterhouse School, Cunningham was commissioned into the Royal Engineers in 1942 and fought in World War II in India, New Guinea and Burma. He was appointed Commander Royal Engineers for 3rd Division in Cyprus and Aden in 1963, Commander of 11th Engineering Brigade in Germany in 1967 and General Officer Commanding South West District in 1971. He went on to be Assistant Chief of the General Staff in 1974 and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff in 1976 before retiring in 1978.
In retirement he became a Director of Fairey Engineering. He lived at Shaftesbury in Dorset. He was one of the three Presidents of the UK-based charity Action on Addiction.
He died on 12 September 2019 at the age of 97.