Admiral

Admiral (United Kingdom)

Admiral is a senior rank of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-9, outranked only by the rank Admiral of the Fleet...

 Sir Frederick Hew George Dalrymple-Hamilton KCB

Order of the Bath

The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...

 (27 March 1890 – 26 December 1974) was a British naval officer who served in World War I

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...

 and 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...

.

Naval career

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

 in 1905 and served in World War I

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...

. Promoted to Captain

Captain (Royal Navy)

Captain is a senior officer rank of the Royal Navy. It ranks above Commander and below Commodore and has a NATO ranking code of OF-5. The rank is equivalent to a Colonel in the British Army or Royal Marines and to a Group Captain in the Royal Air Force. The rank of Group Captain is based on the...

 in 1931, he was appointed Captain (Destroyers) for the 4th Destroyer Squadron in 1933 and Captain of the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth

Britannia Royal Naval College

Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...

 in 1936.

From 1939 to 1941 he commanded the battleship HMS Rodney and while in command he took part in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck

German battleship Bismarck

Bismarck was the first of two s built for the German Kriegsmarine during World War II. Named after Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, the primary force behind the German unification in 1871, the ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1936 and launched nearly three years later...

. He was appointed Admiral Commanding Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 in 1941 and Naval Secretary

Naval Secretary

The Naval Secretary is the Royal Navy appointment of which the incumbent is responsible for policy direction on personnel management for members of the RN. It is a senior RN appointment, held by an officer holding the rank of Rear-Admiral. The Naval Secretary's counterpart in the British Army is...

 in 1942. He became Commander of the 10th Cruiser Squadron and Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet in 1944 flying his flag in HMS Belfast in June 1944 during the D-Day landings at Normandy. A few months later commanded the escorts of several Arctic convoys

Arctic convoys of World War II

The Arctic convoys of World War II travelled from the United Kingdom and North America to the northern ports of the Soviet Union—Arkhangelsk and Murmansk. There were 78 convoys between August 1941 and May 1945...

 as well as the British forces involved in the inconclusive Action of 28 January 1945

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 destroyers near Bergen, Norway...

. He went on to be Vice-Admiral Malta

Malta

Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...

 and Flag Officer, Central Mediterranean in April 1945.

After the War he was appointed Flag Officer, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England, Northern Ireland

The Flag Officer Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland is a senior post in the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. It is based at HM Naval Base Clyde and the holder of the post is the Royal Navy’s senior officer in Scotland with representational duties everywhere north of the M4. The...

 and then, from 1948, Admiral at the British Joint Services Mission in Washington D. C.