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P. 169
The Final Hours of the Last High Commissioner
W hat did the last High Commissioner, Sir Alan Cunningham, do after
bidding Palestine farewell and while waiting for midnight between the
14th and 15th of May, 1948?
M otti Golani
It was 10am on May 14 when Cunningham sailed from the coast of Palestine. When his
boat reached the port breakwater, three formations of four Spitfire fighter planes flew out
from over the Carmel. At the same time, a 12-plane formation of Fireflies took off from the
aircraft carrier HMS Ocean, which had been brought to the coast at the end of April for
reinforcement, and which would now escort the Commissioner's flagship. On the cruiser
deck General Cunningham was received with full maritime military ceremony by Vice-
Admiral Troubridge, commander of the Mediterranean fleet, and by the cruiser's Captain
Hardy. At 12 noon about forty invited guests, administrative and military personnel who
had remained in Haifa, arrived for a toast. Some remained for lunch. At 3:15 there was a
final Spitfire fly-over salute.
The fleet took care to ensure that there was not a dull moment. The departing
Commissioner was invited to a dinner on the nearby HMS Ocean. After the meal, with
the lights of Haifa in the background, a brief concert was given by the pipers of the Irish
Guards, who had also now left Palestine. Cunningham was returned to the flagship, which
immediately began to make its way westward, to the final climax of this concluding event.
At twenty minutes before midnight, Cunningham boarded the command bridge. To the
west, on the border of Palestine's territorial waters, the High Commissioner could still
see the HMS Ocean, its searchlights illuminating itself along with six destroyers, three
on each side. This fleet was waiting for the Commissioner's vessel on the boundary of the
Mandatory territorial waters so that it could depart first. A few minutes before midnight
the anthems of the Royal Navy and of Britain were played. As the Commissioner passed
by the aircraft carrier, 500 members of the Ocean's crew stood before him in their white
uniforms, shouting three "hurrahs", and then the anthems were played again. As General
Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham crossed the boundary of the territorial waters, all the lights
of the escorting vessel were turned off. By the time the music died away, Cunningham was
already the former High Commissioner of Palestine.
O ne of Cunningham's assistants, who had stood by him during those moments,
summed it up with the words, "We left Palestine with our heads held high." Bottles of
beer were opened. There was a sense of relief: "When the Arab armies crossed the borders
[of Palestine] and the Jews attacked Acre, we were sailing at full steam to Malta, with the
After the Declaration 167
W hat did the last High Commissioner, Sir Alan Cunningham, do after
bidding Palestine farewell and while waiting for midnight between the
14th and 15th of May, 1948?
M otti Golani
It was 10am on May 14 when Cunningham sailed from the coast of Palestine. When his
boat reached the port breakwater, three formations of four Spitfire fighter planes flew out
from over the Carmel. At the same time, a 12-plane formation of Fireflies took off from the
aircraft carrier HMS Ocean, which had been brought to the coast at the end of April for
reinforcement, and which would now escort the Commissioner's flagship. On the cruiser
deck General Cunningham was received with full maritime military ceremony by Vice-
Admiral Troubridge, commander of the Mediterranean fleet, and by the cruiser's Captain
Hardy. At 12 noon about forty invited guests, administrative and military personnel who
had remained in Haifa, arrived for a toast. Some remained for lunch. At 3:15 there was a
final Spitfire fly-over salute.
The fleet took care to ensure that there was not a dull moment. The departing
Commissioner was invited to a dinner on the nearby HMS Ocean. After the meal, with
the lights of Haifa in the background, a brief concert was given by the pipers of the Irish
Guards, who had also now left Palestine. Cunningham was returned to the flagship, which
immediately began to make its way westward, to the final climax of this concluding event.
At twenty minutes before midnight, Cunningham boarded the command bridge. To the
west, on the border of Palestine's territorial waters, the High Commissioner could still
see the HMS Ocean, its searchlights illuminating itself along with six destroyers, three
on each side. This fleet was waiting for the Commissioner's vessel on the boundary of the
Mandatory territorial waters so that it could depart first. A few minutes before midnight
the anthems of the Royal Navy and of Britain were played. As the Commissioner passed
by the aircraft carrier, 500 members of the Ocean's crew stood before him in their white
uniforms, shouting three "hurrahs", and then the anthems were played again. As General
Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham crossed the boundary of the territorial waters, all the lights
of the escorting vessel were turned off. By the time the music died away, Cunningham was
already the former High Commissioner of Palestine.
O ne of Cunningham's assistants, who had stood by him during those moments,
summed it up with the words, "We left Palestine with our heads held high." Bottles of
beer were opened. There was a sense of relief: "When the Arab armies crossed the borders
[of Palestine] and the Jews attacked Acre, we were sailing at full steam to Malta, with the
After the Declaration 167
