Early Career

Ian Hamilton was the son of Christian and Maria Hamilton and was born in Corfu in 1853. His mother died shortly after giving birth to his brother Vereker in 1856, a tragedy that was to leave a profound sense of loss and regret with Ian. He was educated at Cheam and Wellington College before applying for a commission in the Army in 1870. He qualified through examination (prior to this year it was the practice to buy a commission, not qualify for one), and took the option to spend a year overseas before joining a regiment. Hamilton spent time with the household of General Dammers, a man who had commanded the Hanover units during the war against Prussia in 1866. He learned German at this time, and also saw at first hand the militaristic approach to life in the new Germany.

His first commission after a short course at Sandhurst was with the Suffolk Regiment, who were on duty in Ireland, but after less than a year he moved to the Gordon Highlanders, in India. It was November 1873. He spent the next 25 years overseas, seeing action at Charasia (Afghan War) and in South Africa (First Boer War).

In 1881, the Gordons were sent (after an appeal led by Hamilton, still only a subaltern) to Natal and found themselves in action at Majuba Hill. Hamilton led his men bravely, and received a gunshot wound to his left wrist. A recommendation for a VC was declined on the basis that he was too young! Ian returned to England for treatment, and as a war hero was feted by many, including Queen Victoria. His wrist was saved only by the excellent surgery of Dr Lister.

While studying for entrance to Staff College, Hamilton was invited to become Aide-de-Camp to Sir Frederick Roberts, Commander-in-Chief in Madras, India. Thus in February 1882, he returned to India to serve with Roberts, having received a promotion to Captain. Among his other duties, Ian became an accomplished writer, starting with reports and speeches for Roberts, but eventually in the form of his first book "The Fighting of the Future", published in 1885. The training implied by his thinking in the book was applied to troops in India, and particularly in musketry they attained the highest standard in the Army. He also published poetry, and wrote a column for the Madras Mail - a very unusual set of activities for a professional soldier. He was a thinker, idealistic and perhaps a little dreamy.

Going home for leave in October 1884, Hamilton moved first to Cairo, with a firm eye on first seeing action with the expeditionary force in the Sudan. Interestingly, he received permission to do so from Buller, who led the 'ring' of officers in Africa, usually at odds with everything to do with Roberts. Hamilton was placed in command of a company of the 1st Gordon Highlanders, to move up the Nile to Wadi Haifa and towards Khartoum. He was also assisted by Sir Evelyn Wood: his past connections were helping him considerably. As a result of his involvement he was awarded Brevet Major, and returned to India with his reputation enhanced.

In February 1887, Ian married Jean Muir, daughter of a Glasgow businessman.

Hamilton becomes a very senior officer

July 1887 saw Hamilton awarded Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel for his continued services as Roberts' ADC. At this time he worked on the staff alongside Henry Rawlinson (later to become an Army commander in 1914-1918), who became a good friend, and William Nicholson, who became an enemy. Hamilton was appointed Assistant Adjutant-General of Musketry for the army in India, and continued to train the troops in his own model of rifle usage: the performance of the men in India so outstripped that at home that his techniques were adopted throughout from 1893.

When Roberts returned to England after 41 years in India, Hamilton remained and was appointed Military Secretary to the new C-in-C, Sir George White, at a time of considerable hostile activity on the North-West Frontier. In August 1895 he was appointed Deputy Quartermaster-General, India - the highest post possibly obtainable by a man of his rank and experience. Two years later he made the acquaintance of Winston Churchill, who was to remain a firm friend. The same year he was appointed to command a Brigade on active service, which he led in the advance on Kohat. Soon afterwards he suffered a broken leg on a fall from a horse, and lost his command. However, by February of 1898 he was commanding another Brigade against tribesmen in the mountains of Afghanistan and India.

March 1898 saw him leaving India to become Commandant of the School of Musketry at Hythe, on the sponsorship of Sir Evelyn Wood. However, the new war against the old enemy the Boers broke out and Hamilton moved there in October 1899. He led the 7th Brigade, now as an acting Major-General, in a most successful action at Elandslaagte. He was recommended a VC, but this time was seen as too senior for the award! However, luck was on his side politically, for first Roberts and then Kitchener took up a command in the field. As the war dragged on, Hamilton was made Kitchener's Chief of Staff after commanding various units up to a Division.

Between 1903 and 1905, he saw service as Quartermaster-General, taking over as GOC of Southern Command in April of 1905.

In June 1909, Hamilton became Adjutant-General of the Army (responsible for all recruitment and personnel matters), and the second Military member of the Army Council. During the next year he spent much time visiting Russia, Serbia, Austria and Germany, gaining considerable insight into the military status and thinking of those places. BY October 1910 he had negotiated his way to the relatively new post of General Officer Commanding Mediterranean, and also Inspector-General of Overseas Forces, a prestigious appointment that caused some rancour. Again these posts meant very considerable overseas travel, this time to many parts of the Empire. He was still away when the Curragh incident broke in the early Summer of 1914, arriving home on 15 July. He was deeply disappointed that the post of Inspector-General of Home Forces, for which he had every expectation (now as one of the most senior and qualified officers in the Army), had been promised to Sir John French, newly unemployed after his resignation following the Curragh. However, he told French he would serve under him in any capacity. A few days later, French was confirmed as Commander-in-Chief of the BEF and Hamilton was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Home Forces.

The Great War

In the early months, Hamilton had an immense task: among other activities, mobilising the Territorial Force for overseas and extended home service, taking steps to handle the massive voluntary expansion of the army, and organising the defences of the United Kingdom (a considerable task, when everyone expected a German invasion). He immediately volunteered to go to France to replace Sir James Grierson (who died while in command of II Corps, en route for the place of concentration near Mons), but Horace Smith-Dorrien was sent; Hamilton was too senior. Kitchener proposed to Joffre that he would replace French with Hamilton in October 1914, but Joffre (probably influenced by Henry Wilson, never a great supporter of Kitchener or his friends) suggested it was not necessary.

By March 1915, the Government an Kitchener had determined upon a land assault at Gallipoli, designed to free the Dardanelles Narrows for a naval attack on Constantinople. Hamilton was selected by the Secretary of State as Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, with the support of Churchill, against the reservations of Asquith. On 12 March he met with Kitchener to design the campaign, which was finally launched with an amphibious attack on 25th April 1915.

Launched with scanty resources and intelligence, against what turned out to be the stiffest of Turk resistance, the campaign soon became one of stalemate, gallantly fought but with high losses in squalid conditions. Hamilton failed to advance far from the assault beaches. Later, the opening of a 'second front' near Suvla failed utterly, with Hamilton too distant from the battle front to intervene in weak command; belatedly he carried out a cull of the Generals who had failed him, but it was too late. Political support for him weakened, undone in part by Stopford, one of those who had failed worst at Suvla, and more so by damaging reports written by the journalists Ashmead-Bartlett of the Daily Telegraph, and the Australian Keith Murdoch. On 15 October 1915, Hamilton received a cable telling him that he was relieved of his command, and would be replaced by Monro. The entire Gallipoli campaign, and Hamilton's role in it, was studied by the Dardanelles Commission, which reported in December 1917. It found that the campaign had been under-resourced, and that Hamilton had done his best in the circumstances. His role was seen to have been uniquely difficult, and he was criticised only for failing to see early on that the campaign could not succeed.

Hamilton was offered the Northern Command at home, but decided that such jobs should go to younger men and he took the post of Lieutenant of the Tower of London.

After the War

Ian and Jean adopted a son (Harry Knight, killed in action in WW2), and a daughter; he continued to write, was very active in charitable activities particularly for those supporting retired soldiers and also inaugurated many war memorials around the United Kingdom. He died in October 1947.