Hubert Hamilton

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Hubert Ion Wetherall Hamilton
27 June 1861 - 14 October 1914
Hubert Hamilton
Hubert Hamilton
Nickname Hammy
Place of death La Couture, France
Allegiance Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service 1880 to 1914
Rank Major General
Unit Queen's Royal Regiment, General Staff
Commands held British Third Division
Battles/wars Mahdist War – Atbara, Khartoum, Second Boer War,
First World War – Le Cateau, Marne, Race for the Sea
Awards CB, CVO, DSO

Major-General Hubert Ion Wetherall Hamilton, CB, CVO, DSO (27 June 1861 – 14 October 1914) was a senior British general who served with distinction throughout his career, seeing battle in the Mahdist War in Egypt and the Second Boer War in South Africa, before being given command of the British Third Division at the outbreak of the First World War. Just two and a half months later at the height of the Race for the Sea, General Hamilton was killed by artillery fire whilst surveying the front line, the first British divisional commander to be killed in action during the conflict. He had received several honours for his service and was popular amongst his men, who nicknamed him "Hammy" and expressed sorrow at his death; each regiment in his division despatched representatives to his funeral, despite being involved in heavy fighting less than a mile away.

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[edit] Early life

Born in 1861, the son of General Henry Meade Hamilton, Hubert Hamilton was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College and, following attendance at the Royal Military College, entered service with the 2nd Foot Regiment (Queen's Royal Regiment) in 1880.[1][2] As a child he was surrounded by military figures; in addition to his father, his brother-in-law was General Sir George Pomeroy Colley, who was killed in action at the battle of Majuba Hill in 1881.[3] In the early 1880s he travled to India with his regiment, and there was involved in the Burma Expedition, remaining in the country from 1886 to 1888 and winning the campaign medal with two clasps.[4] Ten years later he was involved in the Mahdist War, when he accompanied Lord Kitchener's army against the Mahdist forces, fighting at the battle of Atbara and the battle of Omdurman and being rewarded for his service with the Distinguished Service Order[5] and the Imperial Ottoman Order (Fourth Class) from the Khedive of Egypt.[6]

In 1899 he left Egypt and immediately engaged in another war, against the Boers in South Africa. During the conflict he was a staff officer with the role of Assistant Adjutant-General and performed so well in this position that he was recommended to Lord Kitchener as a personal aide-de-camp and then Military Secretary. He was engaged in operations in the Orange Free State, Transvaal and Cape Colony he also saw action at the battle of Paardeberg, for which he was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps and King's South Africa Medal with two clasps.[7] For his field service, he was appointed ADC to the King, and given a brevet promotion to Colonel.[8] With the war's successful conclusion, Hamilton accompanied Kitchener to India, still in the position of Military Secretary.[4] In 1906 he left Kitchener's service to assume command of the 7th Brigade and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath.[9] In 1908 Hamilton left 7th Brigade for a promotion to Major General and an appointment as Chief of General Staff in the Mediterranean.[4] In 1909 he was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order.[10]

[edit] First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War, Hamilton had command of the 3rd Division and immediately took the force to France with the British Expeditionary Force in the II Corps under General Horace Smith-Dorrien. During August and September, Hamilton's force was almost continuously engaged, fighting at the battle of Mons, Le Cateau and along the lines of the the Marne River. In exhausting combat, casualties were massive and Hamilton came close to death on the 26 September when a shell landed just feet away from where he and two other generals were discussing operations. Luckily for them however, the munition did not detonate.[4] In spite of difficult conditions of the campaign, Hamilton shared his men's hardships and was frequently in the front line, earning the affectionate nickname "Hammy" from his subordinates.[11]

Hamilton's luck did not last. As British, French and German units raced for the Picardy coast during the Race for the Sea, Hamilton's division was in the vanguard and was heavily engaged in the opening weeks of October. On the 14 October, Hamilton and several aides-de-camp traveled to the village of La Couture near Béthune on the front lines to witness the situation and had just dismounted from their horses when a large sharpnel shell detonated yards overhead. The officers who accompanied him were unhurt but a single bullet entered General Hamilton's forehead, killing him instantly. An aide of General Hamilton, William Congreve, wrote in his diary: "October 14, La Couture, Hammy is dead, and we lose a splendid soldier and I a very good friend."[4]

Hubert Hamilton

1861 – 1914
Question not but live and labour
Till your goal be won
Helping every feeble neighbour,
Seeking help from none.

Hamilton was buried in the churchyard at La Couture, against the church wall with General Smith-Dorrien in attendance and a representative of each regiment in the division as an honour guard. The only light was provided by car headlamps, and shellfire occasionally forced the chaplain to pause in the service. Indeed, fighting was so close during the brief ceremony that enemy bullets occasionally struck the walls and nearby graves, although none of the mourners were hit.[4] General Smith-Dorrien concluded the service with the words "Indeed a true soldier's grave. God rest his soul." Once the fighting had moved on, his body was exhumed and returned to England, before being reburied at St Martin's Church in Cheriton.[12] His gravestone quotes a verse from Australian poet Adam Lindsay Gordon.

A large plaque was also dedicated to him anonymously in St Peter's Church, Marchington stating "I have fought the good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept faith".[4] Years after his death his collected papers, mainly pertaining to the Second Boer War, were donated to the Basil Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives at King's College London, where they are still available.[13]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Old Haileyburians Who Died in the Service of Their Country 1914, Haileybury School, Retrieved 24 August 2007
  2. ^ London Gazette: no. 24872, page 4364, 10 August 1880. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  3. ^ Lt-Gen. Henry Meade Hamilton, thePeerage.com, Retrieved 24 August 2007
  4. ^ a b c d e f g P.69-70, Bloody Red Tabs, Davies & Maddocks
  5. ^ London Gazette: no. 27023, page 6689, 15 November 1898. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  6. ^ London Gazette: no. 27217, page 4782, 3 August 1900. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  7. ^ Hamilton, HIW, Anglo Boer War, pre-war DSO recipients, Retrieved 27 October 2007
  8. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27448, page 4193, 24 June 1902. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  9. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 27926, page 4460, 26 June 1906. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  10. ^ London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 28246, page 3277, 30 April 1909. Retrieved on 2007-12-08.
  11. ^ Centre for First World War Studies, University of Birmingham, Retrieved 24 August 2007
  12. ^ Major-General Hubert Ian Wetherall Hamilton, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Retrieved 24 August 2007
  13. ^ Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King's College London, Retrieved 24 August 2007

[edit] References


Persondata
NAME Hamilton, Hubert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION British First World War general killed in action
DATE OF BIRTH 27 June 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH Unknown
DATE OF DEATH 14 October 1914
PLACE OF DEATH La Couture, France