William George Hamilton was born on 2 Jan 1858. He was the son of Samuel Beamish Hamilton and Marianne Meredith. He entered the army as a 2nd lieutenant in the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment in May 1878 and served as brigade major with the Isazai Expedition, on the Hazara border, in 1892, led by Maj-Gen Sir William Lockhart. He was in the Chitral Relief Force under Sir Robert Low in 1895. In the latter operation he was Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General in the 2nd Brigade. He was at the storming and capture of the Malakand Pass, the passage of the Swat River and the battle at Panjkora for which he was mentioned in despatches (15 Nov 1895) and awarded the DSO (21 Jan 1896) as well as the medal and clasp.
Major Hamilton transferred to the Norfolk Regiment in March 1901 as second-in-command, in India, and took over temporary command of the 1st Battalion when Lt-Col Becher went to South Africa to serve in the Boer War. He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in March 1904 and appointed Assistant Adjutant-General from 1904 to 1908. With the rank of full colonel he served in World War One in Mesopotamia, appointed Assistant Quartermaster General on 1 April 1915. At the siege of Kut el Amara he was severely wounded, and captured at the fall of Kut on 29 April 1916 (mentioned several times in despatches). He was released after the armistice in November 1918.
The photo of Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton shows him in the scarlet dress uniform tunic of the Norfolk Regiment c1903. In 1905 the collar was changed from white to yellow. He has a crown and star embroidered badges on each of his gold shoulder cords, denoting lieutenant-colonel rank. In 1904 he would have added another star to show his promotion to colonel. His medals are the white cross of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO). The medal with a clasp is the India Medal 1895-1902 which has a crimson and green striped ribbon and a clasp RELIEF OF CHITRAL 1895. The central medal is not known to me. There seems to be no medal for the Isazai Expedition of 1892.
He lived at Coddington Court, Ledbury, Herefordshire, around the year 1931. He was married on 18 Mar 1891 to Mary Gertrude Gough, daughter of Maj-Gen Sir Hugh Henry Gough VC, at Meean Meer, Lahore. They had 5 children. Their eldest son was Brigadier Hugh William Roberts Hamilton CBE DSO MC. Brigadier William George Hamilton died on 30 Aug 1940. He was 82 years old.
1878 2nd Lieutenant 30th Regiment 11 May
1880 Lieutenant 1st Bn East Lancs Regt. 23 Jun
1880 Adjutant 1st Bn East Lancs, until 1885
1885 Captain 18 Apr
1889 Station Staff Officer until 1890
1895 Major 17 Sep
1895 Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
1901 transferred as temporary CO Norfolk Regiment 20 Feb
1904 Lieutenant-Colonel 12 Mar
1904 Assistant Adjutant General until 1908
1907 Colonel 21 Mar
1908 AAG Musketry HQ India
1913 Command of Southern Brigade, India
1915 Assistant QMG Mesopotamia 1 Apr
1915 Appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) 3 Jun
1918 Companion of the Star of India (CSI). August
1919 Retired as Brigadier-General 27 Jan
1940 Died 30 August
Regimental Details | Commanding Officers
