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British Army general (1859–1939) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lieutenant General Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon, KCB (6 July 1859 – 13 February 1939) was a senior British Army commander during the First World War.
Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon | |
|---|---|
 1917 portrait by Francis Dodd | |
| Born | 6 July 1859 |
| Died | 13 February 1939 (aged 79) |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1880–1920 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | Royal Artillery |
| Commands | IX Corps Aldershot Command |
| Battles / wars | Second Anglo-Afghan War Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath Mentioned in Despatches (4) Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Croix de Guerre (Belgium) Knight of the Legion of Honour (France) |
Hamilton-Gordon was one of ten children of General Sir Alexander Hamilton-Gordon and Caroline Herschel. His paternal grandfather was George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1852 until 1855. His maternal grandfather was John Herschel.
Educated at Winchester College followed by the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Hamilton-Gordon was commissioned into the British Army's Royal Artillery in February 1880.[1][2] His first military service was in the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1880.[1] Hamilton-Gordon later served in the Second Boer War, taking part in actions at Ladysmith, Spion Kop, Vaal Kranz and Tugela Heights.[1] He became Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for Intelligence in South Africa in early 1901.[1] Arriving back in the United Kingdom, he briefly became an instructor at the School of Gunnery before he was appointed a Deputy Assistant Quarter-Master-General at Aldershot in October 1901.[3][4]
In 1910, Hamilton-Gordon took a posting as Director of Military Operations in India, where he served until 1914, when he became General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for Aldershot Command.[1] In June 1916, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant-general[5] and given command of IX Corps,[1] serving at the Battle of Messines and the Third Battle of the Aisne. He was relieved in 1918 and retired from the army in 1920.[1]
In 1888, Hamilton-Gordon married Isabel Newmarch, with whom he had three children.[6]
Hamilton-Gordon died on 13 February 1939.
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