Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton
 Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton and 10th Duke
of Brandon TD, DL (6 March 1862 – 16 March 1940) was a Scottish
nobleman and sailor. Born at Shanklin, Isle of Wight, he was the son
of Captain Charles Henry Hamilton, a descendant of Lt.-Gen. James
Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, and Elizabeth Anne Hill.
He succeeded his 4th cousin,
William, the 12th Duke in 1895.
Hamilton served as a young man in the Royal Navy. He gained a
reputation for being able to dive under the keels of the battleships
on which he served, without any equipment, reappearing on the
opposite side of the ship to the amazement of his crewmates. He was
persuaded to leave in 1888 by his fourth cousin the twelfth Duke in
1890. There was a quite serious possibility that Alfred would
provide a good match for the heirless twelfth duke's daughter, Lady
Mary. These hopes of maintaining continuity were dashed however in
1890, when Hamilton was partially paralysed by a rare tropical
disease he had caught whilst on his last tour of duty. Hamilton
recovered however and succeeded in 1895. Whilst inheriting all
entailed property and assets from his cousin and a £1 million debt,
a large share of the Hamilton lands and properties went to Lady
Mary, latterly the Duchess of Montrose. The properties that left the
Hamilton family at this time included Brodick Castle on Arran, which
had been owned by the Hamiltons for 500 years.
One property
that did not leave the family was Hamilton Palace, the main family
seat. However, the Duke had offered the palace to the Navy during
WWI for use as a hospital. Following the end of the war it was
considered necessary to demolish it due to subsidence, blamed on the
family's own coal mines. Hamilton moved to Dungavel House, which had
previously been a Hamilton shooting lodge on moorland close to
Strathaven.
Hamilton was Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the
4th Battalion, Highland Light Infantry and was also Honorary Colonel
of the 6th Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
 He
married Nina Mary Benita Poore (right), daughter of Major Robert
Poore and Juliana Benita Lowry-Corry, on 4 December 1901.
The four sons of the 13th Duke of Hamilton had the unique distinction of all
being active Royal Air Force squadron commanders and flying instructors - this
notwithstanding the strong naval tradition in their father's family.
Lord David (b.1912) is in the uniform of a Squadron Leader;
the
14th Duke (b.1903) and Lord George Nigel, the Earl of Selkirk
(b.1908), are both
Group Captains; and Lord Malcolm (b.1909), a Wing Commander.
The duke and Lord George Nigel were awarded the Air Force Cross for
their distinguished services to aviation and the duke was mentioned in dispatches
during World War II. Lord Malcolm was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and
Lord David was killed on active service in 1944.
There were three daughters, Ladies Jean, Margaret
and Mairi.
Alfred Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 13th Duke of Hamilton died shortly
after his 78th birthday, on 16 March 1940 at the family's property
in Dorset, Ferne House.
 Alfred,
13th Duke of Hamilton. Born 1862, died 1945.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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