Richard Vesey Hamilton

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Sir Richard Hamilton
Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton
Born	(1829-05-28)28 May 1829 Sandwich, Kent
Died	17 September 1912(1912-09-17) (aged 83) Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	Royal Navy
Years of service	1843 - 1894
Rank	Admiral
Commands held	HMS Haughty HMS Vesuvius HMS Sphinx HMS Achilles Steam Reserve at Devonport Coast of Ireland China Station Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Battles/wars	Second Opium War
Awards	Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Relations	J. W. Hamilton (brother)

Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton, GCB (28 May 1829 – 17 September 1912) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer he twice volunteered to take part in missions to search for Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage. He also took part in the Battle of Fatshan Creek in June 1857 during the Second Opium War. Later in his career he became Commander-in-Chief, China Station and took his fleet into Vladivostok harbour in 1886 and gave the Russians a surprise. He became First Naval Lord in July 1889 and in that role he was primarily concerned with implementing the recommendations contained in a report on the disposition of the ships of the Royal Navy many of which were unarmoured and together incapable of meeting the combined threat from any two of the other naval powers ("the Two-power Standard"): these recommendations had been enshrined in the Naval Defence Act 1889. He finished his career as President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

Naval career

Born the son of the Revd John Vesey Hamilton and his wife Frances Agnes Hamilton (née Malone), Hamilton was educated at the Royal Naval School in Camberwell and joined the Royal Navy in July 1843.^[1] He was posted to the sloop HMS Virago in the Mediterranean Fleet.^[1] He volunteered to become a mate in the barque HMS Assistance which was despatched in 1850, under the command of Captain Erasmus Ommanney, on a mission to search for Sir John Franklin's ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage.^[2] Promoted to lieutenant on 11 October 1851, he volunteered for a second mission this time in the barque HMS Resolute which was despatched in 1852, under the command of Captain Henry Kellett, in search of Franklin.^[2] Resolute became stuck in the ice in the spring of 1854 and Kellett and his crew were ordered to abandon ship.^[3]

Hamilton was given command of the gunboat HMS Haughty in February 1856 and took part in the Battle of Fatshan Creek in June 1857 during the Second Opium War.^[4] Promoted to commander on 10 August 1857, he was given command of the sloop HMS Hydra on the West Indies Station in June 1858.^[2] Promoted to captain on 27 January 1862, he took command of the sloop Vesuvius on the West Indies Station in July 1862, then the sloop Sphinx on the West Indies Station in 1865 and then the broadside ironclad Achilles on coast guard service at Portland in April 1870.^[2] He became Commander of the Steam Reserve at Devonport in 1873 and captain-superintendent of Pembroke Dock in March 1875 and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 29 May 1875.^[5]

Promoted to rear-admiral on 27 September 1877,^[6] Hamilton was appointed Director of Naval Ordnance at the Admiralty in 1878.^[2] He was given a command off the coast of Ireland in 1880 and, having been promoted to vice-admiral on 17 February 1884,^[7] he became Commander-in-Chief, China Station in September 1885;^[2] he took his fleet into Vladivostok harbour the following year and gave the Russians a surprise.^[1] He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 21 June 1887^[8] and promoted to full admiral on 18 October 1887.^[9]

Hamilton went on to be Second Naval Lord in December 1888^[1] and First Naval Lord in July 1889.^[2] In that role he was primarily concerned with implementing the recommendations contained in a report on the disposition of the ships of the Royal Navy many of which were unarmoured and together incapable of meeting the combined threat from any two of the other naval powers ("the Two-power Standard"): these recommendations had been enshrined in the Naval Defence Act 1889.^[1] He became President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, in September 1891 and retired from the Navy in May 1894.^[10] He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 25 May 1895.^[11]

In retirement he wrote a manual entitled Naval Administration; The Constitution, Character, and Functions of the Board of Admiralty, and of the Civil Departments It Directs.^[1] He died at his home in Chalfont St Peter in Buckinghamshire on 17 September 1912 and is buried at Eltham in South London.^[1]

Family

William John Warburton Hamilton was his eldest brother.^[12] In 1862 Hamilton married he Julia Frances Delmé Murray; they had two sons and two daughters.^[1]

The Royal Naval College, Greenwich, where Hamilton finished his career

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Callender, C. A. R. (2004). "Hamilton, Sir Richard Vesey (1829–1912)". In rev. Andrew Lambert. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2007-10-13.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "William Loney RN". Retrieved 26 December 2012.
↑ Wallis, pp.74-75
↑ The London Gazette: no. 22027. p. 2687. 1 August 1857. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 24213. p. 2851. 29 May 1875. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 24508. p. 5455. 2 October 1877. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 25320. p. 895. 22 February 1884. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 25712. p. 3361. 21 June 1887. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 25749. p. 5653. 21 October 1887. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 26517. p. 3121. 29 May 1894. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ The London Gazette: no. 26628. p. 3079. 25 May 1895. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
↑ Scholefield 1940, pp. 349–350.

Sources

Scholefield, Guy Hardy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
Wallis, Geoffrey (January 1978). A 'Resolute' Reminder. United States Naval Institute Proceedings.

External links

William Loney RN Career History
Works written by or about Richard Vesey Hamilton at Wikisource

Military offices
Preceded by Sir William Dowell	Commander-in-Chief, China Station 1885–1887	Succeeded by Sir Nowell Salmon
Preceded by Sir Anthony Hoskins	Second Naval Lord 1888–1889	Succeeded by Sir Henry Fairfax
Preceded by Sir Arthur Hood	First Naval Lord 1889—1891	Succeeded by Sir Anthony Hoskins
Preceded by Sir William Graham	President, Royal Naval College, Greenwich 1891–1894	Succeeded by Sir Walter Hunt-Grubbe

v t e First Sea Lords of the Royal Navy

First Naval Lords (1828–1904)	Sir George Cockburn Sir Thomas Hardy The Hon. George Dundas Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir Charles Adam Sir George Cockburn Sir William Parker Sir Charles Adam Sir James Dundas The Hon. Maurice Berkeley Hyde Parker The Hon. Maurice Berkeley The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas William Martin The Hon. Sir Richard Dundas The Hon. Sir Frederick Grey Sir Alexander Milne Sir Sydney Dacres Sir Alexander Milne Sir Hastings Yelverton Sir George Wellesley Sir Astley Key Sir Arthur Hood Lord John Hay Sir Arthur Hood Sir Richard Hamilton Sir Anthony Hoskins Sir Frederick Richards Lord Walter Kerr

First Sea Lords (1904–present)	Sir John Fisher Sir Arthur Wilson Sir Francis Bridgeman Prince Louis of Battenberg The Lord Fisher Sir Henry Jackson Sir John Jellicoe Sir Rosslyn Wemyss The Earl Beatty Sir Charles Madden, Bt Sir Frederick Field The Lord Chatfield Sir Roger Backhouse Sir Dudley Pound The Lord Cunningham of Hyndhope Sir John Cunningham The Lord Fraser of North Cape Sir Rhoderick McGrigor The Earl Mountbatten of Burma Sir Charles Lambe Sir Caspar John Sir David Luce Sir Varyl Begg Sir Michael Le Fanu Sir Peter Hill-Norton Sir Michael Pollock Sir Edward Ashmore Sir Terence Lewin Sir Henry Leach Sir John Fieldhouse Sir William Staveley Sir Julian Oswald Sir Benjamin Bathurst Sir Jock Slater Sir Michael Boyce Sir Nigel Essenhigh Sir Alan West Sir Jonathon Band Sir Mark Stanhope Sir George Zambellas

Authority control	VIAF: 197942320 SUDOC: 098244809

Persondata
Name	Hamilton, Richard
Alternative names
Short description	Royal Navy admiral
Date of birth	28 May 1829
Place of birth	Sandwich, Kent
Date of death	17 September 1912
Place of death	Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire

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