Commemorated: | |||
| 1. Memorial: | Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Flanders | Panel 11 | |
| 2. Book: | The (1921) Masonic Roll of Honour 1914-1918 | Pg.124 | |
| 3. Memorial: | The (1940) Scroll - WW1 Roll of Honour | 27B GQS | |
Awards & Titles: | |||
Early Life :
At the time of Arthur’s birth, his family was living at Mothecombe House, having rented it from the Mildmays. The Holbeton Register shows that he was born on the 15th August 1883 and baptised privately at Mothecombe on the same day. (This is often a sign that the baby is not expected to survive.)Family :
Captain Lord Arthur John Hamilton was the son of Sir James Hamilton, 2nd Duke of Abercorn KG CB and Lady Mary Anna Curzon, Dowager Duchess of Abercorn, of 115 Park St, London.Education & Career :
Lord Hamilton went to Wellington College from 1898. He was in the Benson, then known as Bevir's after J L Bevir its housemaster and a member of the Old Wellingtonian Lodge No 3404.
He was an Army Officer and Courtier, who was appointed Deputy Master of His Majesty's Household. The Gazette records:
Board of Green Cloth, Buckingham Palace,
March 5th, 1913.
The KING has been pleased to appoint—
Captain the Lord Arthur John Hamilton to be Deputy Master of His Majesty's Household.
He was a member of the Bachelors Club int town and Duddingston Golf Club in Edinburgh.
Service Life:
Campaigns:
- The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.
| Unit / Ship / Est.: 1/Irish Guards |
1st Battalion August 1914 : in Aldershot. Part of 4th (Guards) Brigade, 2nd Division. 20 August 1915 : transferred to 1st Guards Brigade, Guards Division |
| Action : The Battles of Ypres 1914 (First Ypres) |
19 October - 22 November 1914. Following the failure of the German Schlieffen Plan in August and September 1914, both sides engaged in a series of linked battles as they sought to outflank each other. The climax of these manouvres was at Ypres in November 1914 when the might of the German Army attempted to break the much outnumbered British Expeditionary Force. The political importance of Ypres, being the last town of any size in Belgium that remained in allied hands, established its importance for both sides and ensured a series of battles over four years.
The First Battle of Ypres in 1914 is characterised by a series of linked heroic stands by outnumbered British soldiers in conditions of confusion and weary endurance. The Germans never knew how close they had come to winning - at one point just the clerks and cooks were the last line of defence for the BEF. By the end of the battle the magnificent original BEF, composed of professional regular soldiers, had been all but destroyed and already the Territorial battalions were called into battle. From the end of 1914 a 'Regular' battalion was in terms of its compostion little different to a Teritorial or later Service Battalion. The professional soldiers had all but vanished.
He was deployed to France with his battalion, part of the British Expeditionary Force, in August 1914.
Detail :
HAMILTON, Lord Arthur John, Captain, 1/Irish Guards
On the 6th November 1914, after an hour's preparation with heavy and light artillery and machine-gun fire, the Germans attacked the French troops on the Battalion's right, who fell back and left the flank of the Battalion (No. 2 Company) open.
The Company was in good order and fighting fell back by platoons to its support trenches, but this left No. 1 Company practically in the air, and at the end of the day the greater part of them were missing. As the Germans occupied the French trenches in succession, they opened an enfilade fire on the Irish which did sore execution. Once again the Adjutant went to the Brigadier to explain the situation.
The Household Cavalry were sent up at the gallop to Zillebeke where they dismounted and advanced on foot. The 1st Life Guards on the left were detailed to retake the Irish Guards trenches, while the 2nd Life Guards attacked the position whence the French had been ousted.
A hundred Irish Guardsmen, collected on the spot, also took part in the attack, which in an hour recovered most of the lost positions. Here Lieutenant W. E. Hope was killed, and a little later, Lieutenant N. Woodroffe fell, shot dead in the advance of the Household Cavalry.
Two companies, had these been available, could have held the support-trenches after the Household Cavalry had cleared the front, but there were no reinforcements and the unceasing pressure on the French drove the Battalion back on a fresh line a couple of hundred yards behind the support trenches which the cavalry held till the remains of the Battalion had re-formed and got some hot tea from the ever-forward cookers.
In addition to Lieutenants Hope and Woodroffe killed, Captain Lord John HAMILTON and Lieutenant E. C. S. King-Harman, who had come out with the draft on the 1st November, were missing that day.
HAMILTON was later confirmed killed.
Masonic :
| Type | Lodge Name and No. | Province/District : |
|---|---|---|
| Mother : | United No. 1629 E.C. | Unknown |
Initiated | Passed | Raised |
12th June 1907 | 12th June 1907 | 12th June 1907 |
Joined United Lodge No. 1629 from the Irish Constitution. Contribution register shows his address as the Guards Club. Further that he was "Killed in Action Oct 1914". A check through the Irish Registers proves too many entries to warrant a positive match.
Discrepancies (Require checks, clarity or further research) :
Discrepancy on birth date between 15/8 and 20/8.
Source :
The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:
- The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
- The (UK) National Archives
- Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
- ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry
Additional Source:
- Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
- Researcher : Bruce Littley