Early Life and Career
Born in London as the third son of John Ramsay, 13th Earl of Dalhousie, and his wife, Lady Ida Louisa Bennet, he entered the Royal Navy as a cadet on HMS Britannia in 1894 and later went to sea on HMS Majestic, the flagship of Admiral Sir Walter Kerr in the Channel Squadron. In October 1911, he became a naval aide-de-camp to the Duke of Connaught, then Governor General of Canada. He returned to active naval duty in 1913 as the gunnery officer of the battlecruiser Indefatigable in the Mediterranean.
Ramsay took part in several important naval operations of the First World War. He took part in the first phase of the bombardment of the Dardanelles forts in November 1914 and later at Gallipoli. He received the Distinguished Service Order (D.S.O.) for his conduct there. Ramsay rose to the rank of Commander in late 1914 and became flag commander of the Second Squadron in 1916. He gained promotion to Captain in 1919 and served as the naval attaché in Paris for the next three years.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Ramsay (Royal Navy Officer)
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