Lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton and 10th Duke of Brandon TD

Territorial Decoration

The Territorial Decoration was a medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army...

, DL

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 (6 March 1862 – 16 March 1940) was a Scottish

Scottish people

The Scottish people , or Scots, are a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland. Historically they emerged from an amalgamation of the Picts and Gaels, incorporating neighbouring Britons to the south as well as invading Germanic peoples such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Norse.In modern use,...

 nobleman and sailor

Sailor

A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...

.

Life and Succession

Hamilton was born at Shanklin

Shanklin

Shanklin is a popular seaside resort and civil parish on the Isle of Wight, England, located on the east coast's Sandown Bay. The sandy beach, its Old Village and a wooded ravine, Shanklin Chine, are its main attractions. The esplanade along the beach is occupied by hotels and restaurants for the...

, Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...

 in 1862. Hamilton served as a young man in the Royal Navy

Royal Navy

The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...

. He gained a reputation for being able to dive under the keels of the battleships on which he served, without any equipment, reappearing on the opposite side of the ship to the amazement of his crewmates. He was persuaded to leave in 1888 by his fourth cousin the twelfth Duke

William Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton

William Alexander Louis Stephen Douglas-Hamilton, 12th Duke of Hamilton, 9th Duke of Brandon, 2nd Duke of Châtellerault KT was a Scottish nobleman.-Biography:...

 in 1890. There was a quite serious possibility that Alfred would provide a good match for the heirless twelfth duke's daughter, Lady Mary. These hopes of maintaining continuity were dashed however in 1890, when Hamilton was partially paralysed by a rare tropical disease he had caught whilst on his last tour of duty. Hamilton recovered however and succeeded in 1895. Whilst inheriting all entail

Fee tail

At common law, fee tail or entail is an estate of inheritance in real property which cannot be sold, devised by will, or otherwise alienated by the owner, but which passes by operation of law to the owner's heirs upon his death...

ed property and assets from his cousin and a £1 million debt, a large share of the Hamilton lands and properties went to Lady Mary, latterly the Duchess of Montrose

James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose

James Graham, 6th Duke of Montrose KT CB CVO VD was a Scottish nobleman, politician and engineer.The eldest son of Douglas Graham, 5th Duke of Montrose, he was educated at Eton College. In 1906 he married Lady Mary Douglas-Hamilton, the only child of the 12th Duke of Hamilton...

. The properties that left the Hamilton family at this time included Brodick Castle

Brodick Castle

Brodick Castle is a castle situated outside the port of Brodick on the Isle of Arran, an island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It was previously a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, but is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland.-Early and High Mediæval:...

 on Arran

Isle of Arran

Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...

, which had been owned by the Hamiltons for 500 years.

One property that did not leave the family was Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace

Hamilton Palace was a large country house located north-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The former seat of the Dukes of Hamilton, it was built in 1695 and subsequently much enlarged. The house was demolished in 1921 due to ground subsidence despite inadequate evidence for that...

, the main family seat. However, the Duke had offered the palace to the Navy during WWI

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 for use as a hospital. Following the end of the war it was considered necessary to demolish it due to subsidence, blamed on the families' own coal mines. Hamilton moved to Dungavel House, which had previously been a Hamilton shooting lodge on moorland close to Strathaven

Strathaven

Strathaven is a historic market town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland. The town was granted a Royal Charter in 1450, making the Town of Strathaven a burgh of barony. The town's principal industry was primarily weaving in the 19th and early 20th centuries, however this declined when faced by...

.

Hamilton was Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the 4th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry

Highland Light Infantry

The Highland Light Infantry was a regiment of the British Army from 1881 to 1959. In 1923 the regimental title was expanded to the Highland Light Infantry ...

He was also Honorary Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 of the 6th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)

The Cameronians was an infantry regiment of the British Army, the only regiment of rifles amongst the Scottish regiments of infantry...

Hamilton died shortly after his 78th birthday, on 16 March 1940 at the family's property in Dorset

Dorset

Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

, Ferne House

Ferne House

Ferne House is a country house in the parish of Donhead St. Andrew in Wiltshire, England. There has been a settlement on the site since 1225 AD. The current house, known as Ferne Park and the third to occupy the site, was designed by architect Quinlan Terry in 2001. The estate grounds straddle...

.

Marriage and issue

In 1901 he married Nina Mary Benita Poore. and they had four sons and three daughters:

1. Douglas, Marquess of Douglas & Clydesdale
   Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton
   Air Commodore Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton and 11th Duke of Brandon, KT, GCVO, AFC, PC, DL, FRCSE, FRGS, was a Scottish nobleman and pioneering aviator....
   
   
2. Lady Jean Douglas-Hamilton
3. Lord George Nigel Douglas-Hamilton
   George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk
   Group Captain George "Geordie" Nigel Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, KT, GCMG, GBE, AFC, AE, PC, QC , was a Scottish nobleman and Conservative politician.-Early life:...
   
   
4. Lady Margaret Douglas-Hamilton
5. Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton
6. Lord David Douglas-Hamilton
   Lord David Douglas-Hamilton
   Squadron Leader Lord David Douglas-Hamilton was a Scottish nobleman, pilot, and boxer.The youngest son of Lt...
   
   
7. Lady Mairi Nina Douglas-Hamilton

Hamilton's sons made RAF history by all being of the rank of Squadron Leader

Squadron Leader

Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these...

 or above at the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.