L/cpl 23440 frank,gordon hamilton. 11th manchesters

[mack]

frank drowned while bathing at kephalos camp on 1st august 1915,he was the son of grace,kathleen hamilton and the late major general F.W hamilton,she lived at ruthwell,st martins,guernsey,before the war,he was in argentina horse breaking,on 20th january 1915 he arrived at liverpool.born around 1885 london
who was major general F.W hamilton,the only one i can find is frederick,william hamilton who died on 4th october 1890.

hes nowhere to be found in the census and very little about his mother[except her death in 1940]and a 1911 guernsey census entry

hes not even on guernseys war memorial

mack

[charlie]

Mack,
He is named on the Elizabeth College memorial, the names on main Guernsey memorial are known to be incomplete.
http://www.greatwarci.net/memorials/guernsey/other/ec-roh.htm

I doubt that the FW Hamilton is his father, he would have been about 70 at the time of Frank‘s birth - not impossible of course!, he married a Louise Anne Erskin Anstruther in 1860 and was also a full General not a Major-General.
Strange that there is no trace of another FW Hamilton.

Charlie

[PhilipG]

Mack,

I note that Major-General Sir Edward Owen Fisher Hamilton was Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey from 1911 to 1914.     A relative, perhaps ?   He died in 1944.

I see that the CWGC call the parish of St Martin - "St Martin's".        PhilipG

[charlie]

Frank was the son of Maj-Gen Gerald Francis William Hamilton, late Royal Scots, and Grace Kathleen Hamilton née de Montmorentcy. He was born 16th July 1884. His two younger brothers, Harold Raymond and Douglas Richard survived the war.

Charlie

[charlie]

I think Gerald is a mistake, other sources like the Army lists only record him as Francis William. He had commanded 2nd Bn RSFus in Burma and retired on 23 Jan 1887 as a Colonel and honorary Maj-Gen.
Charlie

[mack]

finding franks father was good timing charlie,i was about to accuse poor old general F.W hamilton of being a adulterous cheating philanderer and expose him to the SUN newspaper

mack

[PhilipG]

                                                                                                                                                                            Kephalos Camp, Imbros

It would seem that reference to the Forum's search facility has not been previously needed in connection with the above.    However, consulting the internet, there were numerous references to this subject, including photographs of the camp and indications as to its purpose.     I must say I found it an engrossing subject for research.       PhilipG.

[PhilipG]

The Roll of Service for Elizabeth College, Guernsey, states "Ranching in California.  Came home to enlist."     

PhilipG.

[mack]

The Roll of Service for Elizabeth College, Guernsey, states "Ranching in California.  Came home to enlist."     

PhilipG.

frank left liverpool on the SS bergenland and arrived in philadelphia on 28-11-1900,he was 16yrs old,he was accompanied by miss charlotte,a grove,his residence was guernsey and charlottes was windsor,she gave her occupation as a domestic,they were bound for ensenada,lower california,mexico which was where her brother thomas grove resided,on 2-3-1906 frank applied for US citizenship aged 21.
frank boarded the SS desna at la plata,argentina on 20-1-1915 and returned to england
he left elizabeth college the same year he left for the USA
the hamiltons formerly resided at windsor,so charlotte may have been employed by them

why would a 16yr old boy leave school,leave his family and head for another country

mack

[charlie]

why would a 16yr old boy leave school,leave his family and head for another country

mack

Adventure. Different times Mack, the school leaving age was 12 and the less fortunate were already halftimers in the local mill.

Charlie

[PhilipG]

And so a further journey for this soldier from Mexico to the Argentine Republic must have followed.   The British Community in Argentina complied a list of volunteers who left that country to serve in HM Forces during the Great War.

Their list totals 4852 names, 1394 being listed as having served in infantry regiments.     As regards Distinctions etc., the number given totals 503 - interestingly, including 2 DFC's together with 231 MC's and 102 MID's.

Broken down by rank, Commissioned Officers numbering 1704 in all, include 3 Brigadier-Generals.    As regards WO's & NCO's, the figure given is 820.

Turning now to the number of casualties the Community incurred during the conflict, the figure given is around 528, which presumably will include Corporal Hamilton's name.     I think this is an impressive contribution made by the British community to what they then regarded as the "Motherland".     There is a long list in alphabetical order of "Volunteers from Argentina." which includes the name  -  Hamilton F.G. - sadly, not listing anything further against his name.   However, there is a further list of names which do have an indication of the unit in which they served.   They are:   Lt. HA Hamilton RE, Lt HH Hamilton RE, 2Lt. Herbert William Hamilton,, Shropshire Yeomanry, a John Hamilton 4th Cavalry Reserve  and lastly,  Lt.Vivian Hamilton RFA.     Conjecture, of course, but could these men be relatives of L/Cpl Hamilton which would give a reason for his domicile in the Argentine?

PhilipG.

[PhilipG]

 Mack,

I wonder, please, if you would kindly check on the dates of Frank's arrival in Liverpool and also that of his boarding the SS Desna in La Plata.    PhilipG.

[mack]

theres no boarding date,he arrived in liverpool on 20-1-1915,he had boarded at la plata,travelling 3rd class,there were 18 other men with him who also boarded at la plata,all were eligible age for enlistment,did a quick check and found some had enlisted and at least two had died in the war

mack

[PhilipG]

Mack,

Thank you and noted.    PhilipG.

[mack]

Mack,

Thank you and noted.    PhilipG.

hiya philip
did a bit more checking for those who were travelling with frank from la plata,15 of them including frank all enlisted,the other four had names that were too common to verify,3 are comfirmed as dying in the war

mack