Moonraker Posted 21 November , 2006 Share Posted 21 November , 2006 I've just spotted an auction lot of military postmarks, including one of Hamilton (camp?). There was a camp of this name close to Lark Hill on Salisbury Plain from 1909 to c1916, named after Sir Ian Hamilton, GOC Southern Command and later the man who took a disproportionate amount of blame for the Gallipoli debacle. I'm not aware of this camp ever having its own postmark (though Durrington and Rollestone,very close by, did, as, of course, did Lark Hill). Was there a hutted camp, barracks or tented campsite at Hamilton, Scotland at any time (and if a Pal knows that it had its own postmark that would be great). I can't imagine that there would have been two Hamilton Camps at the same time in the UK, as this would have given plenty of scope for confusion. (Have Googled, but couldn't find any clues.) Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alastair Posted 2 May , 2008 Share Posted 2 May , 2008 I think that you will find that it was Hamilton Barracks in Glasgow which seems to have gone now and I suspect has been replaced in some way by the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Museum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keithmroberts Posted 2 May , 2008 Share Posted 2 May , 2008 I have a discharge certificate for a soldier who served in the Royal Scots that has a stamp on the rear Record Office no 2 District Hamilton dated 10 Sep 1919 with initials followed by the abbreviation Lt. which presumably confirms that there was an administration team of some sort for at least that Regiment based in Hamilton, no doubt at the barracks referred to by Alastair. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 13 March , 2015 Share Posted 13 March , 2015 Hamilton Barracks were situated in Barrack Street, Hamilton, Lanarkshire. Alistair may be confused with Maryhill Barracks which were in the Maryhill district of Glasgow. GWF member Barrie Duncan recently sent me the following information re Hamilton Barracks: "Hamilton Barracks Hamilton Barracks were built in 1795 as a cavalry barracks, originally with space to accommodate 170 soldiers and 189 horses. The ground floor of the barrack buildings were stables, with soldiers’ accommodation located above. By the 1850s the barracks were shared by cavalry and infantry, and were also the headquarters of the local militia regiment, the Royal Lanark Militia. The cavalry left the barracks in 1877 to go to Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow, after which Hamilton was left solely as Infantry Barracks. In 1881 Hamilton Barracks became home of the regimental depots of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and the Highland Light Infantry. In peace time, recruits would undergo 3 months training at the regimental depot. The recruits training would have a heavy emphasis on drill: 1) 7am - 8am Drill on Barrack Square 2) 9am - 10am Drill on Barrack Square 3) 11am - 12 noon Physical drill in Gymnasium 4) 2 pm - 3pm Drill on Barrack Square With meals at: 8am - Breakfast 1pm - Dinner 4:45pm - Tea 7pm - Soup (optional)[1] On completion of training the soldier would then join his battalion, either on home service or overseas. Immediately after war with Germany was declared on August 4th 1914, mobilisation orders were published in British newspapers, calling men of the Army Reserve back for service. Hundreds of reservists for both the Cameronians and HLI would have made their way to Hamilton barracks, where they were quickly kitted out and sent to rejoin their old battalion. The Hamilton Advertiser reports on August 8th 1914: “The gravity of the situation came home to people when the mobilisation orders were issued for the immediate embodiment of the Naval and Army Reserve and the Territorials. Since that moment Hamilton has been like an armed camp. “The call of the pibroch and the marching of men” have been familiar sounds. From all parts of the country the reserves of the HLI and the Scottish Rifles arrived in Hamilton and made their way to the barracks from which, during each evening this week, they have issued in the uniform of their regiment and been drafted off in companies of 200 and 300 to their respective stations.” On August 7th Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, issued his famous appeal for 100,000 men to join the Army. In the aftermath of his appeal, Hamilton Barracks was swamped with men looking to enlist: “At the depot at Hamilton, instead of the intense activity of Maryhill we found utter confusion. Reservists had been coming in and were being fitted out, and the staff were getting on with things fairly well, although the depot was extremely full. But immediately the announcement of the first hundred thousand was made, volunteers started pouring in: their tents were pitched in a sort of playing field in the middle of the barracks, and every available space was taken up by men sleeping. There was not enough preparation in the way of food and rations, and we had to send out into Hamilton and collect everything possible in the way of food. The first night things got so bad and the depot was so full, that we had to close the gates and at intervals open them and then charge the people outside thus keeping them from breaking in. All this first kind were a pretty tough lot, many of whom were unemployed, and they were only too anxious to join up and get some food and pay.”[2] It wasn’t just men who were crowded into the Barracks. When war broke out the 2nd Battalion Scottish Rifles were based in Malta. By the end of September they had returned to the UK, where the wives and children of the battalion’s soldiers were sent home to Hamilton Barracks. The Hamilton Advertiser reports on August 8th that, since the declaration of War, food had reached “famine prices” in Hamilton. In wartime, recruits were quickly processed at the Barracks and sent elsewhere for training. Some men would be sent to the Special Reserve battalion and then out to France to join a regular army battalion, while many more were moved to army camps in England as new, war service battalions. Ultimately, six new battalions of infantry were raised in Hamilton by the end of 1914, as a result of Lord Kitchener’s appeals. These new battalions, service battalions of The Cameronians and Highland Light Infantry, would see action in France and Belgium as part of the 9th and 15th Scottish Divisions. They were heavily engaged at the Battle of Loos in September 1915 and suffered heavy casualties. Many men from Lanarkshire, Glasgow, and the surrounding area were killed and wounded in this battle as a result. Hamilton Barracks was a hive of activity for the duration of the War. Both regimental depots remained here until the HLI moved to Maryhill in 1921. The Barracks were home to The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) until after the Second World War, when the Regiment moved to the newly constructed Winston Barracks at Lanark. By the 1960s Hamilton Barracks were largely vacant, with some buildings still in use by the Territorial Army and local Cadet Units. The barrack buildings were eventually demolished and the site is now occupied by the University of the West of Scotland (formerly Bell College of Technology). [1]Details of meals and drill times from My Life Experience in the Army 1906-1918 by Corporal Arthur C. Honeyball, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) [unpublished] [2]Captain R.M.S. Baynes, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) – printed in The Covenanter, and A Tale of Two Captains (1990)" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 13 March , 2015 Share Posted 13 March , 2015 My grandfather enlisted at Hamilton Barracks and I am familiar with the area where the Hamilton Barracks used to be - hence my interest. In my attempts to find more info on Hamilton Barracks I have attached a couple of photos which give a view of the Hamilton Barracks. I must sincerely apologise as I cannot remember the source of these photos, so I am unable to give the proper attribute to the originator. Kindest Regards, Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 5 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 5 April , 2015 I suspect that someone else confused their Hamiltons. Recently I won on eBay a group photograph of soldiers captioned "2nd South Midland, Mounted Brigade F.A. Hamilton 1914", which attracted a couple of other very low bids from someone else. I suspect that they searched for "Hamilton [barracks Scotland]", as I don't think many people would bother to look for "Hamilton Camp (Wiltshire)" (or, indeed, the 2nd South Midland Brigade). Heck, even I don't specify "Hamilton Camp" in my weekly searches on eBay for Wiltshire camps. (I only came across the eBay listing when idly checking out the other items for sale from a vendor listing another "military Wilrshire" card.) And most people might understandably assume that with the caption stating merely "Hamilton" the card related to the better-known place in Lanarkshire. Luckily the men were posed in front of a beer tent with "SIMONDS" on the canvas, referring to the Reading-based brewers who refreshed many soldiers camped on Salisbury Plain a hundred years and more ago. And a quick search of The Times on-line archive led to an article in the edition of May 30, 1914 dispatched from Salisbury and noting that the 2nd had formed "an imposing encampment at Hamilton". Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 6 April , 2015 Share Posted 6 April , 2015 To remove any further 'confusion', note that the town of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, is only 4 miles from the town of Larkhall, Lanarkshire - similarly confused with 'Lark Hill, Wilts' and/or 'Larkhall, near Bath'. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 7 April , 2015 Share Posted 7 April , 2015 Hamilton Camp Salisbury is mentioned in Hansard before the war http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1911/mar/08/forage-supply#S5CV0022P0_19110308_CWA_87 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 7 April , 2015 Share Posted 7 April , 2015 Hamilton Camp Salisbury is mentioned in Hansard before the war http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1911/mar/08/forage-supply#S5CV0022P0_19110308_CWA_87 But not to be confused with Hamilton Barracks which "... were built in 1795 as a cavalry barracks, originally with space to accommodate 170 soldiers and 189 horses". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 7 April , 2015 Share Posted 7 April , 2015 Who is confusing it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 7 April , 2015 Share Posted 7 April , 2015 Who is confusing it? I've just spotted an auction lot of military postmarks, including one of Hamilton (camp?). There was a camp of this name close to Lark Hill on Salisbury Plain from 1909 to c1916, named after Sir Ian Hamilton, GOC Southern Command and later the man who took a disproportionate amount of blame for the Gallipoli debacle. I'm not aware of this camp ever having its own postmark (though Durrington and Rollestone,very close by, did, as, of course, did Lark Hill). Was there a hutted camp, barracks or tented campsite at Hamilton, Scotland at any time (and if a Pal knows that it had its own postmark that would be great). I can't imagine that there would have been two Hamilton Camps at the same time in the UK, as this would have given plenty of scope for confusion. (Have Googled, but couldn't find any clues.) Moonraker I think that you will find that it was Hamilton Barracks in Glasgow which seems to have gone now and I suspect has been replaced in some way by the Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) Museum. John, Moonraker and Alistair mentioned their 'confusion'. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnboy Posted 7 April , 2015 Share Posted 7 April , 2015 I think I know what you mean. The link I gave was just to confirm Hamilton CAMP existed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonraker Posted 7 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 7 April , 2015 I've sometimes wondered how many people - especially those from overseas - and stores and equipment, went to the wrong place. Not so much a problem with the two Hamiltons, as the Wiltshire one was only a camping-site prewar and had its identity subsumed within that of Lark Hill during the war. But also part of the Lark Hill complex was Durrington Camp (being close to the village of that name), whereas there was/is a Durrington in West Sussex. And I've conjectured that Bulford Station in Essex was renamed Cressing in 1911 to differentiate it from Bulford Station which served Bulford Barracks, three miles from Lark Hill. Moonraker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 28 April , 2015 Share Posted 28 April , 2015 I came across the attached photo which gives a more detailed view of the actual Barracks in Hamilton. This shows the Cameronians Army Cadets doing their Bren gun training. I'd just like to show a record of these Barracks, now sadly demolished. My grandfather enlisted at Hamilton Barracks, hence my interest. Kindest Regards, Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 28 April , 2015 Share Posted 28 April , 2015 Interesting pics. I wonder how many army barracks grow oats today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 Interesting pics. I wonder how many army barracks grow oats today? Yes Ian, I initially thought it odd then it made sense. I have since remembered my source of those 2 photos as the HLI Chronicles. I'm now ploughing (no pun intended) my way through them to identify which. It would make a lot of sense, since Hamilton Barracks was originally built for Cavalry so oats for the horses may have been the reason. Or due to shortages in WW1, they made their own bread. I'm keen to find the date of the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 I'm now ploughing (no pun intended) my way through them to identify which. It would make a lot of sense, since Hamilton Barracks was originally built for Cavalry A harrowing task. (Pun intended) I'd no idea Hamilton Barracks was originally for cavalry. Mind, the Cameronians would have required lots of porridge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 Interesting piece from World War One at Home Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 Canmore Maps Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 A harrowing task. (Pun intended) I'd no idea Hamilton Barracks was originally for cavalry. Mind, the Cameronians would have required lots of porridge... See the link in my original post. I got the info from Barrie Duncan... "Hamilton Barracks were built in 1795 as a cavalry barracks, originally with space to accommodate 170 soldiers and 189 horses. The ground floor of the barrack buildings were stables, with soldiers’ accommodation located above. By the 1850s the barracks were shared by cavalry and infantry, and were also the headquarters of the local militia regiment, the Royal Lanark Militia. The cavalry left the barracks in 1877 to go to Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow, after which Hamilton was left solely as Infantry Barracks. In 1881 Hamilton Barracks became home of the regimental depots of The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) and the Highland Light Infantry." You can see the wide (stable) doors in the photo with the ACF Cadets. Interesting piece from World War One at Home Mike Canmore Maps Mike Thanks Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 4 May , 2015 Share Posted 4 May , 2015 The 'cornfield' photo above was extracted from The HLI Chronicle, Vol XVII No 4, October 1917, page 118. http://rhf.org.uk/Books/HLIChronicle1917.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 1 June , 2015 Share Posted 1 June , 2015 Interesting piece from World War One at Home Mike Pity that they can't get the geography right. Hamilton is not in Glasgow - Glasgow is 15 miles further north. So the title "Glasgow, Scotland: Hamilton Barracks" is misleading. Maryhill Barracks was in Glasgow. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 1 June , 2015 Share Posted 1 June , 2015 Here's another image I found of Hamilton Barracks. Kindest Regards, Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted 2 June , 2015 Share Posted 2 June , 2015 Nice photo. Spic 'n' span eh? Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Lang Posted 2 June , 2015 Share Posted 2 June , 2015 Nice photo. Spic 'n' span eh? Mike Clean as a whistle... Looks like the little boy is selling his wares (bread) from the hand-basket (bread-basket). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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