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Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton

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Royal Navy Admiral (1890–1974)

Admiral
Sir Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton
KCB
Dalrymple-Hamilton as a rear admiral
Born27 March 1890
Bargany, Girvan, Ayrshire
Died26 December 1974 (1974-12-27) (aged 84)
Bargany, Girvan, Ayrshire
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service / branch Royal Navy
Years of service1905–1950
RankAdmiral
Commands4th Destroyer Flotilla, Mediterranean (18 Oct 1933 – Feb 1936)
Captain, Royal Naval College, Dartmouth (HMS Britannia) (29 Dec 1936–1939)
HMS Rodney (present at destruction of German battleship Bismarck) (21 November 1939–1941)
Admiral Commanding Iceland (HMS Baldur) (5 September 1941–1942
Naval Secretary to First Lord of Admiralty HMS President (31 October 1942 – December 1943)
10th Cruiser Squadron (HMS Belfast) & Second-in-Command, Home Fleet (3 March 1944 – April 1945)
Vice-Admiral Malta and Flag Officer Central Mediterranean (HMS St Angelo) (1 April 1945–1946)
Flag Officer Commanding Scotland and Northern Ireland (1946–1948)
Admiral, British Joint Services Mission, Washington, USA (HMS Saker) (8 September 1948–1950)
Battles / wars
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath (14 October 1941)
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (1 January 1945)
Mentioned in Despatches (13 February 1945)
Other workMember, Queen's Body Guard for Scotland, Royal Company of Archers (1947–1973)
Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Wigtownshire (27 March 1951)

Admiral Sir Frederick Hew George Dalrymple-Hamilton, KCB (27 March 1890 – 26 December 1974) was a British naval officer who served in World War I and World War II. He was captain of HMS Rodney when it engaged the Bismarck on 27 May 1941.

Naval career

Dalrymple-Hamilton was the second son of Col Hon. North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton, MVO, of Bargany, Girvan, Ayrshire, and the grandson of the 10th Earl of Stair. Sir North Dalrymple-Hamilton was his elder brother.

He joined the Royal Navy in 1905 and served in World War I. Promoted to captain in 1931, he was appointed Captain (Destroyers) for the 4th Destroyer Flotilla in 1933 and Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1936.

From 1939 to 1941 he commanded the battleship HMS Rodney and while in command he took part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. Meanwhile, his son, North Dalrymple-Hamilton, served in a gun director position aboard King George V. After the battle Frederick told his son: "You are lucky to have seen a show like that after only being in the Navy for 18 months – I’ve had to wait 35 years."

He was appointed Admiral Commanding, Iceland in 1941 and Naval Secretary in 1942. He became Commander of the 10th Cruiser Squadron and Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet in 1944 flying his flag in HMS Belfast in June 1944 during the D-Day landings at Normandy. A few months later commanded the escorts of several Arctic convoys as well as the British forces involved in the inconclusive Action of 28 January 1945. He went on to be Vice-Admiral Malta and Flag Officer, Central Mediterranean in April 1945.

While serving as Admiral Commanding Iceland, Dalrymple-Hamilton's personal cook was Petty Officer Francis Henry Agnew, who had served on HMS Sheffield during the operations against Bismarck.

After the War he was appointed Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland and then, from 1948, Admiral at the British Joint Services Mission in Washington D. C.

Family

Frederick Dalyrmple is descended from the 10th Earl of Stair. His father was the Hon. North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton, the Earl's second son and his mother was Marcia Liddell, daughter of The Hon. Sir Adolphus Frederick Octavious Liddell and Frederica Elizabeth Lane Fox.

He married Gwendolen Peek in 1918. They had one son and two daughters. Both had royal godparents: North was a godson of Edward VIII and daughter Graeme Elizabeth was a goddaughter of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother. Dalrymple-Hamilton's home was at Clady House in Cairnryan, Wigtownshire where he and Gwendolen raised their children.

Their son Captain North Edward Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton (1922–2014) followed his father into the Royal Navy and became executive officer of the Royal Yacht Britannia. Lady Dalrymple-Hamilton died in 1974.

His and Gwendolen's grandson, North John Frederick, served as a Page of Honour to the Queen Mother.

References

  1. ^ Unit Histories
  2. "Obituary: Sir N. Dalrymple-Hamilton". The Times. The Times Digital Archive. 17 February 1953. p. 11.
  3. U-boat.net
  4. "Capt North Dalrymple-Hamilton – obituary". The Telegraph. London. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  5. Roskill, S.W. (1961). The War at Sea 1939–1945. Volume III: The Offensive Part II. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. pp. 252–254. OCLC 464447827.
  6. "Capt North Dalrymple Hamilton". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  7. "Capt North Edward Frederick Dalrymple Hamilton of Bargany, CVO, MBE, DSC 1921–2014". Peerage News. 9 July 2014.

Bibliography

  • Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck Ludovic Kennedy
  • HMS Rodney, Iain Ballantyne, Pen & Sword Books, Yorkshire, 2008, ISBN 978 1 84415 406 7
  • Killing the Bismarck, Iain Ballantyne, Pen & Sword Books, Yorkshire, 2010, ISBN 978 1 84415 983 3
  • Reports of Proceedings 1921–1964, Rear Admiral G.G.O. Gatacre, Nautical Press & Publications, Sydney, 1982, ISBN 0 949756 02 4
Military offices
Preceded byArthur Peters Naval Secretary
1942–1944 		Succeeded byCecil Harcourt
Preceded bySir Louis Hamilton Flag Officer, Malta
1945–1946 		Succeeded byMarcel Kelsey
Preceded byWilliam Whitworthas Commander-in-Chief, Rosyth Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland
July 1946 – July 1948 		Succeeded bySir Ernest Archer
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