Educated at
Winchester College followed by the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, Hamilton-Gordon was
commissioned into the
British Army's
Royal Artillery in February 1880. His first military service was in the
Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1880. His next posting was to the
War Office as an assistant quartermaster general, taking over from Colonel
Percy Lake and for which he was granted the brevet rank of colonel. He was made a
Companion of the Order of the Bath in June 1907 and was promoted to colonel in June 1909. In 1910, Hamilton-Gordon took a posting as director of military operations in India, where he served until 1914, when, now a major general, he became
General Officer Commanding-in-Chief for
Aldershot Command. and given command of
IX Corps, ==Family==