Sir Ian Hamilton during the Russo-Japanese War

General Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton GCB GCMG DSO TD (January 16, 1851 – October 12, 1947) was a general in the British Army and is most notably known for commanding the ill-fated Mediterranean Expeditionary Force during the Battle of Gallipoli.

Hamilton's military career began in 1871 and he served in India and Africa. He was wounded in the wrist in the First Boer War (1881), leaving one of his hands almost useless. He was Chief of Staff to Lord Kitchener during the Second Boer War and was knighted in 1902.

Kitchener appointed Hamilton to command the Allied expedition to gain control of the Dardanelles straits from Turkey and capture Constantinople.

In retirement, Hamilton was a leading figure in the ex-servicemen organization, the British Legion holding the position of Scottish President. He was also a founding member and vice-president of the Anglo-German Association in 1928 which promoted pro-German sentiment in Britain. Hamilton remained with the Association after Adolf Hitler's rise to power and described himself as "an admirer of the great Adolph [sic] Hitler," dismissing Mein Kampf as a youthful excess. Hamilton also expressed anti-Semitic sentiments and supported a proposed ban by the Association on Jewish members - the ban was not implemented, instead the Association dissolved on April 2, 1935 in light of the worsening situation in Germany.^[1]

References

1. ^ Kershaw, Ian (2004). Making Friends with Hitler: Lord Londonderry and the British Road to War. Penguin, pp. 54-56. ISBN 0 14 30.3706 6.