Mark Hamilton OP (Illawarra, 1988 to 1993) gave an inspirational talk to Sixth Form in their General Studies session before the half-term break. Now Commander Marine Engineer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, he described his 23-year career in the Royal Navy as what he had always wanted to do and shared valuable anecdotal advice.
He explained that his desire to join the Royal Navy had been fostered by his father who was also a marine engineer and Old Pangbournian. Rob Hamilton (Illawarra, 1961 to 1965) was among those on board HMS Coventry when it was hit in the Falklands War of 1982.
At school, he was a member of the record-breaking Pangbourne College Princess Elizabeth Cup winning crew of 1992, a crew with whom he is still in touch today. After a gap year in Australia, he began his engineering life with a degree at Nottingham and Trent University before going to Britannia Royal Naval College.
Mark gave a number of illustrations of what life as an engineer has been like and the leadership qualities necessary to be a successful manager of teams of 11 to 200. His first engineering command was on HMS Dumbarton Castle. While on a mission to the Falkland Islands and in Georgia the ship experienced freezer failure. He and his team had to be innovative and prepared to ‘give it a go’ in order to succeed in an operation which was miles from anywhere.
He recommended Ernest Shackleton’s leadership example and suggested everyone read the incredible story of the ship ‘Endurance’ which was wrecked near Antarctica: not one of the crew died. An extraordinary achievement, given the testing circumstances.
One of the key roles of the Royal Navy, he explained, is to keep the shipping routes of the world open and free from pirates. More than 90% of trade uses these routes and Mark was part of the Royal Navy team responsible for helping free hostages on a Somali pirate vessel in 2011.
In recent years, Mark has been Commander Marine Engineer of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest warship built in the UK with a 100-foot runway. The ship drinks more than 100 litres of diesel every minute, so one of the skills necessary is being able to replenish supplies while at sea.
Mark encouraged the Sixth Form to make excellence a habit, to follow their dreams and to remember that ‘it does not matter how you got to where you are, you are where you are and the true measure is how you respond’.
Thank you, Mark, so much for coming to speak to us!
