Rt. Hon. Lord Claud John Hamilton (20 February 1843 – 26 January 1925) was a British aristocrat, Member of Parliament (MP), and a noted railway director during the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

Early life

Lord Claud was born at the

Priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

Stanmore Stanmore is part of the London Borough of Harrow in Greater London. It is centred northwest of Charing Cross, lies on the outskirts of the London urban area and includes Stanmore Hill, one of the List of highest points in London, highest point ...

, Middlesex, the second son of James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn (later the 1st

Duke of Abercorn The title Duke of Abercorn () is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1868 and bestowed upon James Hamilton, 2nd Marquess of Abercorn. Although the Dukedom is in the Peerage of Ireland, it refers to Abercorn, West Lothian, and t ...

) and his wife Lady Louisa Jane Russell, daughter of 6th Duke of Bedford. He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

Careers

Before turning to political life, Hamilton served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

. He purchased a commission as

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in the

Grenadier Guards The Grenadier Guards (GREN GDS) is the most senior infantry regiment of the British Army, being at the top of the Infantry Order of Precedence. It can trace its lineage back to 1656 when Lord Wentworth's Regiment was raised in Bruges to protect ...

on 27 May 1862, buying his promotion to Lieutenant &

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on 8 August 1865, before retiring by sale of his commission on 8 June 1867. On 10 July 1867 he was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant of the part-time Prince of Wales's Own Donegal Militia (later the 5th (Donegal Militia) Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers) in succession to his uncle,

Lord Claud Hamilton (1813–1884) Lord Claud Hamilton Privy Council of the United Kingdom, PC (27 July 1813 – 3 June 1884) was a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician. He notably served as Treasurer of the Household in 1852 and between 1858 and 1859 and as ...

. He was appointed Honorary Colonel of the battalion on 17 January 1891, in succession to his elder brother

James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

. In 1865, he became

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP for Londonderry City until 1868 when he was appointed a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second L ...

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman, Conservative Party (UK), Conservative politician and writer who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a ...

's first ministry. In 1869, he became MP for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

until 1880, for

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

from 1880 to 1885, for Liverpool West Derby from 1885 until he resigned his seat in 1888, and for

Kensington South Kensington South was a parliamentary constituency centred on the Kensington district of west London. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The constituency was created ...

from January 1910 to

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

. Lord Claud had been an aide-de-camp to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

from 1887 to 1897 and was appointed to the Privy Council in 1917.

Great Eastern Railway

However his principal contribution to British public life was as a director of the

Great Eastern Railway The Great Eastern Railway (GER) was a pre-grouping British railway company, whose main line linked London Liverpool Street to Norwich and which had other lines through East Anglia. The company was grouped into the London and North Eastern R ...

(GER) from 1872, becoming vice-chairman in 1874, and chairman in 1893, continuing as chairman until 1922. The GER operated from London's Liverpool Street station to major eastern towns and cities including Cambridge, Norwich, Ipswich, Chelmsford, and Colchester. Hamilton travelled the network extensively. "He devoted the main energies of his life to the company, constantly travelling over the system, observing its conduct and operation". The shares of the company (which had been bankrupt in 1866) rose from 76, shortly after he became a director, to par in 1896, and the dividend to 6% in 1901. In 1900, the

named the first of its new class of 4-4-0 express passenger locomotives (designed by James Holden and designated

GER Classes S46, D56 and H88 The GER Classes S46, D56 and H88 (classified Classes D14, D15, and D16 by the London and North Eastern Railway) were three classes of similar 4-4-0 steam locomotive designed by James Holden (S46 and D56) and A. J. Hill (H88) for the Great Eas ...

) after its chairman, and the whole class came to be known as the "Claud Hamilton" type.

Personal life

On 20 July 1878, Lord Claud married Carolina Chandos-Pole (1857–1911), a daughter of Edward Sacheverell Chandos-Pole and Lady Anna Caroline Stanhope (daughter of the 5th Earl of Harrington). Together, they had two children: * Gilbert Claud Hamilton (1879–1943), who fought in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

; he married Enid Awa Elgar, daughter of Charles Elgar of Fernside,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, in 1911. After her death in 1916, he married Mary Blair, a daughter of Joseph Allan Blair of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, in 1916. * Ida Hamilton (1883–1970), who married Hugh Duncombe Flower in 1909. They divorced in 1923. Hamilton underwent major surgery in November 1924. He died at his London home at 28 Cambridge Square, on 26 January 1925. He was buried in

Richmond Cemetery Richmond Cemetery is a cemetery on Lower Grove Road in Richmond, London, Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It opened in 1786 on a plot of land granted by an Acts of Parliament in the United Kingdom, Act of Parliame ...

. He was 81 years of age.

Legacy

A memorial was erected by Ida Flower in 1925 to the memory of her father. It can be found on the south wall of St John's-Hyde Park Church, London, W2.

Ancestry

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Lord Claud John 1843 births 1925 deaths People from Stanmore

Claud Claud is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Claud Allister (1888–1970), English actor *Claud Beelman (1883–1963), American architect *Claud Irvine Boswell (1742–1824), Scottish judge *Claud Thomas Bourchier (1831–1877), E ...

Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Londonderry constituencies (1801–1922) Irish Conservative Party MPs Knights of Justice of the Order of St John People educated at Harrow School Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Younger sons of dukes Grenadier Guards officers Donegal Militia officers UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 UK MPs 1885–1886 UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1910 UK MPs 1910–1918 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Liverpool Directors of the Great Eastern Railway Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Burials at Richmond Cemetery