Jan Hamilton
Encyclopedia
Jan Hamilton is the first officer in the British Army
to complete gender reassignment from male to female.
, Northern Ireland
, where she was named Ian at birth. She grew up in Stonehaven
, 15 miles (24.1 km) south of Aberdeen
, in the North East of Scotland
. She had a generally unhappy and dislocated childhood, including a spell at boarding school, where she was abused. She was an outwardly popular and charismatic child but after suffering years of sexual abuse made worse by her gender dysphoria, she decided to join the British Army
to camouflage her real personality.
Hamilton joined as an officer in the Royal Irish Rangers
in 1983, serving in Northern Ireland
. She retrained as a TV cameraman in 1987, working for Scottish Television. Her military background saw her dispatched to war zones covering the Gulf War 1, the civil wars in Angola and Afghanistan, and the conflict in Bosnia
. She then worked as a director for Scottish and Anglia Television in the 1980 -90's, before leaving to become bureaux chief of Edinburgh Live TV in 1996. In 1997 Hamilton was promoted to editor-in-chief of Live's City TV network by boss Kelvin MacKenzie. Hamilton resigned from her position at Live TV in 1998, after management changes at their Canary Wharf Headquarters, and took up a senior management position at Granada TV. She has been nominated twice by the British Academy for her television work.
and The Highlanders in a variety of command appointments, as well as a number of staff appointments both in the UK and overseas, with a speciality in Information and Psychological Operations. She served on operations in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, the War in Afghanistan
and the Iraq War. She returned to the United Kingdom in 2006 and spent a period recovering from two continuous years of operations before taking a position back in Afghanistan with NATO Forces, from where she was medevacked back to the UK with a serious infection.
Her counsellors confirmed in early 2007 that she had gender dysphoria and from that point she began to live in preparation for surgical intervention. Since then, Jan has had breast augmentation
, facial re-construction and finally full gender re-assignment in early 2008.
She informed her Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. AABR Bruce of Crionaich, of her intention to change gender, and was dismissed from her up-coming post as head of Media Operations in Gibraltar
without being granted an interview, to which she was legally entitled. For 14 months, Lt. Col. Bruce refused to meet with her or comment on the future of her career, despite repeated requests. A senior officer told her, "You've gone from hero to zero in one day". Hamilton was prevented from appearing at the Parachute Regiment annual officer's dinner. Her family sent her belongings to her with a note saying, "Our son is dead – never contact us again."
Her lawyers repeatedly sought to meet with the Army to settle the issue out of court. Transgender individuals in the UK are protected under a number of legislative acts, including the Sex Discrimination Act Amendments (1999) and the Gender Recognition Act (2004), which make it illegal to treat a person differently on the grounds of gender alone, with the aim of protecting the rights of trans-people in the work-place. Although other people in the Royal Navy and Air Force have successfully transitioned in the service, as the first officer and first paratrooper, Jan's otherwise macho background caused considerable surprise to the Army, particularly in the light of constant media attention.
The issue has now been amicably resolved and Jan has resigned her commission. Army policy on trans-gender soldiers is currently under review. The Regimental Colonel of The Parachute Regiment has written to Jan to thank her for her "years of loyal service as an Airborne Officer".
to Woman. This has been repeated several times on UK television and sold to a number of other territories. It was the most commented programme on Channel 4 during the month of its original broadcast.
Recent press reports state Jan has settled her differences with the Army and has resigned her commission. The MOD have confirmed she is leaving the Army and does so with the Army's "best wishes".
Jan has been selected as Miss Scotland to represent her country at the up-coming Miss International Queen pageant in Thailand, the number one beauty competition in the World for trans-women, which is covered live on Thai national television.
She continues to undertake a number of training and advisory roles on gender issues, including Lancashire Police.
or I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. However, she has not appeared on Big Brother.
Most recently, Jan was reported extensively in the press, and very prominently in the News of the World, to have secured a £250,000 pay-out for "hurt feelings" from the MOD. She has received several threats of violence from serving soldiers against her because of the attendant publicity of this case but stridently denied the pay-out and currently has 3 complaints against various newspapers lodged with the Press Complaints Commission.
The Mail Online
, UK / at 6:42 PM on 16 July 2008 confirmed in a retraction issued, that they "in an article on 31 May may have suggested that Jan Hamilton had sought £250,000 for hurt feelings in her industrial action against the MoD." and that they "are happy to clarify that Ms Hamilton neither sought nor received £250,000 for hurt feelings." Jan has insisted that they make a sizeable donation to service charities to compensate for the hurt done to the families of injured service personnel, whose pay-outs for wounds received were compared to the mythical 250K pay-out.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
to complete gender reassignment from male to female.
Early life
Hamilton was born in BelfastBelfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, where she was named Ian at birth. She grew up in Stonehaven
Stonehaven
Stonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 9,577 in 2001 census.Stonehaven, county town of Kincardineshire, grew around an Iron Age fishing village, now the "Auld Toon" , and expanded inland from the seaside...
, 15 miles (24.1 km) south of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, in the North East of Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. She had a generally unhappy and dislocated childhood, including a spell at boarding school, where she was abused. She was an outwardly popular and charismatic child but after suffering years of sexual abuse made worse by her gender dysphoria, she decided to join the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
to camouflage her real personality.
Hamilton joined as an officer in the Royal Irish Rangers
Royal Irish Rangers
The Royal Irish Rangers was a regular infantry regiment of the British Army.-Creation:...
in 1983, serving in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. She retrained as a TV cameraman in 1987, working for Scottish Television. Her military background saw her dispatched to war zones covering the Gulf War 1, the civil wars in Angola and Afghanistan, and the conflict in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. She then worked as a director for Scottish and Anglia Television in the 1980 -90's, before leaving to become bureaux chief of Edinburgh Live TV in 1996. In 1997 Hamilton was promoted to editor-in-chief of Live's City TV network by boss Kelvin MacKenzie. Hamilton resigned from her position at Live TV in 1998, after management changes at their Canary Wharf Headquarters, and took up a senior management position at Granada TV. She has been nominated twice by the British Academy for her television work.
Rejoining the British Army
During 1995, Hamilton rejoined the Army. As an over-age candidate, she joined the Territorial Army and then served with the Regular Army on a series of specialised contracts called Full Time Reserve Service. She later joined the Parachute Regiment in 2003, having already passed the stringent selection process at age 35, and went on to elements of Special Forces selection with 22 SAS, becoming a combat survival and a physical training instructor. She served with the Cheshire RegimentCheshire Regiment
The Cheshire Regiment was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division.The regiment was created in 1881 as part of the Childers reforms by the linking of the 22nd Regiment of Foot and the militia and rifle volunteers of Cheshire...
and The Highlanders in a variety of command appointments, as well as a number of staff appointments both in the UK and overseas, with a speciality in Information and Psychological Operations. She served on operations in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, the War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
and the Iraq War. She returned to the United Kingdom in 2006 and spent a period recovering from two continuous years of operations before taking a position back in Afghanistan with NATO Forces, from where she was medevacked back to the UK with a serious infection.
Her counsellors confirmed in early 2007 that she had gender dysphoria and from that point she began to live in preparation for surgical intervention. Since then, Jan has had breast augmentation
Breast augmentation
Breast augmentation denotes the breast implant and fat-graft mammoplasty procedures for correcting the defects, and for enhancing the size, form, and feel of a woman’s breasts...
, facial re-construction and finally full gender re-assignment in early 2008.
She informed her Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. AABR Bruce of Crionaich, of her intention to change gender, and was dismissed from her up-coming post as head of Media Operations in Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
without being granted an interview, to which she was legally entitled. For 14 months, Lt. Col. Bruce refused to meet with her or comment on the future of her career, despite repeated requests. A senior officer told her, "You've gone from hero to zero in one day". Hamilton was prevented from appearing at the Parachute Regiment annual officer's dinner. Her family sent her belongings to her with a note saying, "Our son is dead – never contact us again."
Her lawyers repeatedly sought to meet with the Army to settle the issue out of court. Transgender individuals in the UK are protected under a number of legislative acts, including the Sex Discrimination Act Amendments (1999) and the Gender Recognition Act (2004), which make it illegal to treat a person differently on the grounds of gender alone, with the aim of protecting the rights of trans-people in the work-place. Although other people in the Royal Navy and Air Force have successfully transitioned in the service, as the first officer and first paratrooper, Jan's otherwise macho background caused considerable surprise to the Army, particularly in the light of constant media attention.
The issue has now been amicably resolved and Jan has resigned her commission. Army policy on trans-gender soldiers is currently under review. The Regimental Colonel of The Parachute Regiment has written to Jan to thank her for her "years of loyal service as an Airborne Officer".
Present day
Jan was the subject of a documentary on Channel 4 (UK) in March 2008 entitled Sex Change Soldier, a candid and emotional detailing of her journey from ParatrooperParatrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
to Woman. This has been repeated several times on UK television and sold to a number of other territories. It was the most commented programme on Channel 4 during the month of its original broadcast.
Recent press reports state Jan has settled her differences with the Army and has resigned her commission. The MOD have confirmed she is leaving the Army and does so with the Army's "best wishes".
Jan has been selected as Miss Scotland to represent her country at the up-coming Miss International Queen pageant in Thailand, the number one beauty competition in the World for trans-women, which is covered live on Thai national television.
She continues to undertake a number of training and advisory roles on gender issues, including Lancashire Police.
Controversy
Jan has ended up on several front pages of UK national newspapers, and made many television and radio appearances,. She was rumoured to be a possible participant in Big Brother 9Big Brother 2008 (UK)
Big Brother 2008 was the ninth series of the British reality television series Big Brother, that aired on Channel 4 and E4. The series was launched on 5 June 2008, and ran for 13 weeks until 5 September 2008. The winner of Big Brother 2008 was Rachel Rice who beat bookies' favourite Michael Hughes...
or I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!. However, she has not appeared on Big Brother.
Most recently, Jan was reported extensively in the press, and very prominently in the News of the World, to have secured a £250,000 pay-out for "hurt feelings" from the MOD. She has received several threats of violence from serving soldiers against her because of the attendant publicity of this case but stridently denied the pay-out and currently has 3 complaints against various newspapers lodged with the Press Complaints Commission.
The Mail Online
Mail Online
Mail Online is the name of the website of the Daily Mail, a newspaper in the United Kingdom. It contains almost all the stories from the Daily Mail and includes a large archive of main stories...
, UK / at 6:42 PM on 16 July 2008 confirmed in a retraction issued, that they "in an article on 31 May may have suggested that Jan Hamilton had sought £250,000 for hurt feelings in her industrial action against the MoD." and that they "are happy to clarify that Ms Hamilton neither sought nor received £250,000 for hurt feelings." Jan has insisted that they make a sizeable donation to service charities to compensate for the hurt done to the families of injured service personnel, whose pay-outs for wounds received were compared to the mythical 250K pay-out.