Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

Sir Frederick Hew George Dalrymple-Hamilton KCB (27 March 1890 – 26 December 1974) was a British naval officer who served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He was captain of ''HMS Rodney'' when it engaged the ''Bismarck'' on 27 May 1941.

Naval career

Dalrymple-Hamilton was the son of Col Hon. North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton, MVO, of Bargany, Girvan, Ayrshire,Unit Histories
/ref> and the grandson of the 10th Earl of Stair. He joined the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1905 and served in

. Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1931, he was appointed Captain (Destroyers) for the

4th Destroyer Flotilla The British 4th Destroyer Flotilla , or Fourth Destroyer Flotilla, was a naval formation of the Royal Navy from August 1909 to July 1951. History In 1907 the Home Fleet had a large formation of destroyers called the Home Fleet Flotilla of destr ...

in 1933 and Captain of the

Royal Naval College, Dartmouth Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

in 1936. From 1939 to 1941 he commanded the battleship and while in command he took part in the sinking of the German battleship ''Bismarck''. Meanwhile, his son, North Dalrymple-Hamilton, served as a gun director aboard ''

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

''. 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 The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy officer who advises the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff on naval officer appointing (and General Officers). Their counterpart in the British Army is the Military Secretary. The Royal Air Force equiv ...

in 1942. He became Commander of the

10th Cruiser Squadron The 10th Cruiser Squadron, also known as Cruiser Force B was a formation of cruisers of the British Royal Navy from 1913 to 1917 and then again from 1940 to 1946. First formation The squadron was established in July 1913 and allocated to the T ...

and Second-in-Command of the

Home Fleet The Home Fleet was a fleet of the Royal Navy that operated from the United Kingdom's territorial waters from 1902 with intervals until 1967. In 1967, it was merged with the Mediterranean Fleet creating the new Western Fleet. Before the First ...

in 1944 flying his flag in in June 1944 during the D-Day landings at Normandy. A few months later commanded the escorts of several

Arctic convoys The Arctic convoys of World War II were oceangoing convoys which sailed from the United Kingdom, Iceland, and North America to northern ports in the Soviet Union – primarily Arkhangelsk (Archangel) and Murmansk in Russia. There were 78 convoys ...

as well as the British forces involved in the inconclusive

Action of 28 January 1945 The action of 28 January 1945 was an inconclusive naval battle of the Second World War fought between two British Royal Navy light cruisers and three ''Kriegsmarine'' (German navy) destroyers near Bergen, Norway. The battle was the last of many ...

. 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. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Family

Frederick Dalyrmple is descended from the 10th Earl of Stair. The Hon. North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton, the Earl's second son is his father. His mother is Marcia Liddell, daughter of The Hon. Sir Adolphus Frederick Octavious Liddell and Frederica Elizabeth Lane Fox. He married Gwendolen Peek in 1918 (died 1974); they had one son and two daughters. Both had royal godparents: son North was a godson of

Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

and daughter Graeme Elizabeth was a goddaughter of

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

. Dalrymple-Hamilton's home was at Clady House in

Cairnryan Cairnryan ( sco, The Cairn;
gd, Machair an Sgithich) is a vi ...

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

where he and Gwendolen raised their children. Their son Captain North Edward Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton (1921–2014) followed his father into the Royal Navy and became executive officer of the Royal Yacht ''Britannia''. His and Gwendolen's grandson, North John Frederick, served as a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The onl ...

to the Queen Mother.

References

Bibliography

* ''Pursuit: The Sinking of the Bismarck''

Ludovic Kennedy Sir Ludovic Henry Coverley Kennedy (3 November 191918 October 2009) was a Scottish journalist, broadcaster, humanist and author best known for re-examining cases such as the Lindbergh kidnapping and the murder convictions of Timothy Evans and ...

* ''HMS Rodney'', Iain Ballantyne, Pen & Sword Books, Yorkshire, 2008, * ''Killing the Bismarck'', Iain Ballantyne, Pen & Sword Books, Yorkshire, 2010, * ''Reports of Proceedings 1921–1964'', Rear Admiral G.G.O. Gatacre, Nautical Press & Publications, Sydney, 1982, , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dalrymple-Hamilton, Frederick 1890 births 1974 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Wigtownshire Royal Navy admirals of World War II Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath People from Girvan Royal Navy officers of World War I Scottish military personnel Members of the Royal Company of Archers