Frederick Hamilton (Royal Navy officer)

Admiral Sir Frederick Tower Hamilton, GCVO, KCB (8 March 1856 – 4 October 1917) was a senior Royal Navy officer who went on to be Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel.

Admiral Sir Frederick Hamilton GCVO, KCB
1917 portrait by Francis Dodd
Born	(1856-03-08)8 March 1856 London, England
Died	4 October 1917(1917-10-04) (aged 61) Rosyth, Scotland
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service / branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1869–1917
Rank	Admiral
Commands	HMS Rattlesnake[1] HMS Bulwark[2] Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth
Battles / wars	Zulu War First World War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath

Naval career

Hamilton joined the Royal Navy in 1869^[3] as a cadet on the training ship Britannia.^[1] He fought in Naval Brigade in the Zulu War in 1879, for which service he was mentioned in despatches.^[3] After promotion to Lieutenant he specialised into the Torpedo Branch and in 1884 after training was appointed a staff officer at the Torpedo Schoolship HMS Vernon.^[1] In 1892 he was promoted to commander and serving aboard the battleship HMS Hood. He was appointed in command of the torpedo school ship HMS Defiance at Devonport on 1 November 1897,^[4] promoted to captain on 1 January 1898,^[5] and re-appointed in command of the Defiance the same day.^[6] On 18 March 1902 he was appointed flag captain of the battleship HMS Bulwark, which in May was to become flagship of Admiral Sir Compton Domvile, Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet.^[7] Hamilton was Aide-de-Camp to the King between 1906 and 1907.^[8]

At the outset of the First World War Hamilton was Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel and was promoted to full admiral in June 1916.^[9] He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth later that year^[10] but died suddenly from a heart attack in 1917 and is buried in Fife.^[11]

He lived at Anmer Hall near King's Lynn in Norfolk.^[8]

Honours and awards

• 21 November 1903 – During the visit of the King to Malta Captain Frederick Tower Hamilton, Royal Navy, Flag Captain to Commander-in-Chief, Malta was appointed a Member of the Royal Victorian Order.^[12]
• 9 November 1908 – Rear-Admiral Frederick Tower Hamilton, MVO, is promoted to be a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order^[13]
• 1 January 1913 – Vice-Admiral Frederick Tower Hamilton, CVO, is appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath^[14]

Family

Hamilton married Maria Walpole Keppel, the daughter of Admiral Sir Henry Keppel; they went on to have two sons (including Admiral Sir Louis Keppel Hamilton) and two daughters.^[8]

References

1. "Death of Admiral Sir F.T. Hamilton". Deaths. The Times. No. 41601. London. 5 October 1917. col D, p. 11.
2. The Dreadnought Project
3. "National Maritime Museum". Archived from the original on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
4. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 35338. London. 19 October 1897. p. 8.
5. "No. 26924". The London Gazette. 31 December 1897. p. 7854.
6. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 35408. London. 8 January 1898. p. 10.
7. "Naval & Military intelligence". The Times. No. 36707. London. 5 March 1902. p. 5.
8. The Peerage.com
9. "Admirals.org.uk". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
10. "Dunfermline Heritage Roots". Archived from the original on 3 July 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
11. "Great War Forum". Archived from the original on 29 February 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
12. "No. 27560". The London Gazette. 2 June 1903. p. 35235.
13. "No. 28194". The London Gazette. 9 November 1908. p. 8162.
14. "No. 28677". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1913. p. 1.

External links

• The Dreadnought Project: Frederick Hamilton

Military offices
Preceded by Sir John Jellicoe	Second Sea Lord 1914–1916	Succeeded by Sir Somerset Gough-Calthorpe
Preceded by Sir Robert Lowry	Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth 1916–1917	Succeeded by Sir Cecil Burney