Sir (Charles Edward) Archibald Watkin Hamilton (assumed name of Abdullah in 1923),The Islamic Review, vol. 12, Khwajah Kamal al-Din, 1924, p. 41 5th and 3rd Baronet (10 December 1876 – 18 March 1939) was a British convert to Islam.Some converts from 'The Islamic Review', Woking
/ref>Articles
He was the son of Sir Edward Archibald Hamilton, 4th Baronet of Trebishun, Breconshire and 2nd Baronet of Marlborough House, Hampshire (1843–1915) and his wife Mary Elizabeth Gill. He inherited both baronetcies upon the death of his father in 1915. He was also a descendant of William Hamilton, one of the five Kentish Petitioners of 1701, great-grandson of Admiral Sir Edward Joseph Hamilton, 1st Baronet Hamilton of Marlborough House, direct descendant of the

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 th ...

and also Lord Hamilton who married Princess Mary Stewart of Scotland, daughter of James II of Scotland. He served as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

Royal Defence Corps The Royal Defence Corps was a corps of the British Army formed in 1916 and disbanded in 1936. As part of the reorganisation of home defence forces by Field Marshal Sir John French, Commander-in-Chief, Home Forces, the Royal Defence Corps was crea ...

and was at one time President of the

Selsey Selsey is a seaside town and civil parish, about eight miles (12 km) south of Chichester in West Sussex, England. Selsey lies at the southernmost point of the Manhood Peninsula, almost cut off from mainland Sussex by the sea. It is bounde ...

(Sussex)

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

Association, and also later a member of Sir

Oswald Mosley Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet (16 November 1896 – 3 December 1980) was a British politician during the 1920s and 1930s who rose to fame when, having become disillusioned with mainstream politics, he turned to fascism. He was a member ...

's British Union of Fascists for a brief period during the 1930s.

Marriages and children

FitzGeorge Family Four Generations Portrait 1900

He was married three times and twice divorced.

Olga FitzGeorge

Sir Archibald married Olga Mary Adelaide FitzGeorge, daughter of Rear-Admiral Sir

Adolphus FitzGeorge Rear Admiral Sir Adolphus Augustus Frederick FitzGeorge (30 January 1846 – 17 December 1922) was a senior officer of the Royal Navy. Biography Adolphus FitzGeorge was born 30 January 1846, the second son of Prince George, Duke of Cambridge ...

KCVO and Sophia Jane Holden, granddaughter of the

Duke of Cambridge Duke of Cambridge, one of several current royal dukedoms in the United Kingdom , is a hereditary title of specific rank of nobility in the British royal family. The title (named after the city of Cambridge in England) is heritable by male de ...

and first cousin 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 her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

on 18 December 1897 in London. The marriage resulted in two children, George Edward Archibald Augustus FitzGeorge Hamilton (30 December 1898 – 18 May 1918) whose baptism was attended by Queen Mary and

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 Qu ...

who along with the Duke of Cambridge were pledged to be his godparents.Re: Remembering the Noble War Dead
He was killed in action in May 1918. They had one unnamed daughter (b. 5 May 1902 – d. 5 May 1902). They divorced in 1902.

Algorta Child

In November 1906, he married secondly Algorta Marjory Blanche Child, the daughter of George Child, of

Widford, Hertfordshire Widford is a village and civil parish between Ware and Much Hadham in the East Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire in England. It covers an area of approximately 1,167 acres and contains 220 houses. The River Ash flows through the north of ...

,Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 1741 but she divorced him in 1915.

Lilian Austen

In 1927, Sir Archibald married Lilian Maud (b. 1880 – d. 1964), daughter of William Austen, of Sydenham, Kent. Lady Hamilton also converted to Islam, taking the name Miriam.Woking Muslim Mission: Some of Woking's converts to Islam
/ref>

Conversion to Islam

Sir Archibald converted to Islam on 20 December 1923. He noted that "...the beauty and the simple purity of Islam have always appealed to me. I could never, though born and brought up as a Christian, believe in the dogmatic aspect of the Church... I found that both the Church of Rome and the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

were of no real use to me" and that having converted to Islam he felt "a better and truer man".

Death

He died on 18 March 1939 at the age of 62, and is buried at the

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regi ...

alongside

Rowland Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley Rowland George Allanson Allanson-Winn, 5th Baron Headley (19 January 1855 – 22 June 1935), also known as Shaikh Rahmatullah al-Farooq, was an Irish peer and a prominent convert to Islam, who was also one of the leading members of the Woki ...

, they having been "great friends in life" and "close comrades-in-arms in the cause of Islam".

References

External links

Sir Abdullah Archibald Hamilton's obituary as published in the Islamic Review June 1939

Photographic Archive from The Woking Muslim Mission, England, 1913–1968
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Archibald 1876 births 1939 deaths Royal Defence Corps officers Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Royal Sussex Regiment officers Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Converts to Islam from Christianity English former Christians English Muslims

Archibald Archibald is a masculine given name, composed of the Germanic elements '' erchan'' (with an original meaning of "genuine" or "precious") and ''bald'' meaning "bold". Medieval forms include Old High German and Anglo-Saxon . Erkanbald, bishop of ...