Dalrymple-Hamilton was HMS Keppel's commissioning commander. Keppel displaced about 1,600 tons standard and carried roughly 164 people, compared with HMS Garry's approximately 600 tons and crew of seventy. Her 40,000-shaft-horsepower turbines and official 38-knot speed show how far destroyer machinery had advanced since his first command. Commanding a flotilla leader probably also made him deputy flotilla commander. A temporary move to HMS Spencer while Keppel was unavailable added another closely related command to the experience used in his later flotilla posts.
Chapter · 59:43-1:06:30
HMS Keppel shows how destroyers grew after 1918
Commissioning the new flotilla leader HMS Keppel moved Dalrymple-Hamilton from tiny wartime destroyers toward larger ships and formation leadership.