Archie Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom

Archibald Gavin Hamilton, Baron Hamilton of Epsom, (born 30 December 1941) is a British Conservative Party politician. A member of the House of Lords, he served as Minister of State for the Armed Forces under John Major. Background and education Hamilton is the second son of the 3rd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, a Lord-in-waiting to the Queen. The title was created for Hamilton's great-grandfather, John Hamilton, 1st Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, who was a Liberal politician, and was inherited by his second son, Gavin Hamilton, 2nd Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, also a Liberal politician, before passing to his nephew, Hamilton's father. His mother, Rosemary Coke, was a daughter of Major Sir John Spencer Coke, son of Thomas Coke, 2nd Earl of Leicester; her maternal grandfather was Harry Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham. He is the younger brother of the 4th Baron Hamilton of Dalzell, and was born at Beckington Castle, Beckington, Somerset, which was then his parents' country house. He was educated at Eton College. Political career Hamilton was a Conservative councillor in Kensington and Chelsea from 1968 to 1971. He initially attempted to enter Parliament for Dagenham at the February and October 1974 elections, but was defeated by Labour's veteran incumbent, John Parker.