Second World War
It was on board the Glasgow that Begg first saw action in the Second World War: the Glasgow participated in North Atlantic convoys, the Norwegian campaign and the occupation of Iceland, before being badly damaged in a torpedo attack by Italian aircraft at Souda Bay in Crete in December 1940. In January 1941 he was appointed gunnery officer of the battleship HMS Warspite in the Mediterranean Fleet when it was flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham (soon to be First Sea Lord himself). Begg was in charge of Warspite's main 15-inch (381 mm) guns during the Battle of Cape Matapan on the night of 28 March 1941. It was an engagement in which the ships Warspite, Barham and Valiant caught the Italian heavy cruisers Fiume and Zara by surprise, with their guns still trained fore and aft, and sank them both in a brutally short action of less than two minutes. A third heavy cruiser, Pola, and two Italian destroyers were also sunk in the engagement. Begg was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in the action. He was promoted to commander on 31 December 1942 and then went to the gunnery division in the Admiralty, where he remained until after the War.
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