[Stellan Bojerud (RIP)]

Count Gilbert Hamilton was a Captain of the Swedish Cavalry. In 1914 he volunteerd for Germany.

After serving on the Eastern Front and in Finland he was promoted Major and 1918 CO of 3rd Prussian Cavalry Regiment "Graf Wrangel".

When the German - Russian peace treaty was signed in March 1918 his regiment was in Ukraine. There was a civil war going on. Gilbert Hamilton and his regiment fought their way back to Germany. It took almost one year.

On 20th Februar 1919 he arrived in Königsberg with his regiment. The citizens of Königsberg were amazed - they had a long time beleived that the regiment was lost in Russia.

After the war Hamilton rejoined the Swedish Army as a Colonel. After retiring he in 1929 took up the position as ADC to ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II then in exile in Doorn, the Netherlands.

In August 1939 Gilbert Hamilton was promoted MjGen in the German Army.

When the Germans invaded the Netherlands on 10th May 1940 ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II considered to follow Queen Wilhelmina into exile in Great Britain (Sic!). (The ex-Kaiser died in 1941).

Count Gilbert Hamilton died in Sweden 1947 aged 78. During WW 1 he introduced a tobacco mixture that became popular as Hamiltons blandning. Therefore he was in Sweden known as the "Tobacco-Count".

Photo: Major-General Hamilton in 1939.