Hamilton joined the
Royal Navy in 1908 with the rank of
midshipman. On 30 June 1911, he was promoted
sub-lieutenant, and on 30 June 1913
lieutenant. During the
First World War, Hamilton saw active service in the
West Africa Campaign, on the
Niger River and in the German colony of
Kamerun. He commanded the Niger river flotilla which drove the Germans out of
Dehane in December 1914, then led a party from the coast which transported a
naval 12-pounder gun taken out of
HMS Challenger on an epic journey of 640 miles along the Niger and
Benue rivers, then sixty miles overland, to assist Brigadier-General Cunliffe in the taking of
Garoua from a German garrison. Garoua fell in June 1915. In September 1915 he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order "for his services in the operations in the Cameroons" and was also awarded the
Order of Saint Stanislaus of Russia, 3rd class. He saw active service again in the
Second World War, including taking part in the Allied reactions to the
German invasion of Norway in 1940 (as commander of
HMS Aurora), for which he was awarded the
Norwegian War Cross, and the protection of
Arctic convoys. In 1942, he was a Rear Admiral commanding the First Cruiser Squadron (CS1), which consisted of the British cruisers and , the American cruisers and , and four destroyers. In that role, he was one of the senior officers of the disastrous
Convoy PQ 17. Between 1943 and 1945, Hamilton was
Flag Officer, Malta, and while there was knighted by being appointed a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. After the war, he served as First Naval Member of the
Australian Commonwealth Naval Board & Chief of Naval Staff, the professional head of the
Royal Australian Navy, from 1945 to 1948, during which he was promoted to
admiral on 16 May 1947. He retired from the navy in September 1948. Hamilton died at
King Edward VII's Hospital for Officers on 22 June 1957, when his home address was 64,
Pont Street, London. He left an estate valued at £72,095 and probate was granted to Miss Jean Hamilton. == References ==