Lord David was born at
Dungavel House, Lanarkshire, the youngest son of Lt.
Alfred Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton RN and his wife
Nina, née Poore. He commanded
No. 603 Squadron RAF from 18 December 1941 until 20 July 1942. He and his brothers – Air Commodore
Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Group Captain
George Douglas-Hamilton, 10th Earl of Selkirk, and Wing Commander
Lord Malcolm Douglas-Hamilton – made history as the only four brothers simultaneously being at the rank of squadron leader or above at the outset of
World War II He was educated at
Harrow,
St. Andrew's University and
Balliol College, Oxford. At Oxford he was captain of the university boxing team, and learned to fly with the University Air Squadron. Douglas-Hamilton saw active service between 1939 and 1944, flying
Spitfires in
Operation Torch over
Malta. On return to Britain, he was killed whilst carrying out reconnaissance over the French coast and crashed in southern England. ==Marriage and issue==