As Naval Secretary from August 1942 to March 1944, Dalrymple-Hamilton tracked senior officers' availability, skills, health, temperament, and suitability for particular posts. He used that picture to advise the First Lord and Sea Lords on appointments and promotions during a period of wartime expansion. The responsibility gave him a second institution-shaping role comparable to his earlier influence at Dartmouth. The job did not make him the Navy's organizational head. His influence came through selecting leaders whose approach favoured mission completion, crew loyalty, initiative, and objective-based orders rooted in small-ship command.
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Naval Secretary and the Navy's senior culture
As Naval Secretary, Dalrymple-Hamilton advised on admirals' appointments and promotions, extending his influence from junior-officer formation to senior command culture.