Ian David James Hamill

Ian was born in Singapore at the British Military Hospital, RAF Changi. He spent the first two years of his life in Singapore alongside his parents who were both serving in the RAF at the time, and late brother Sean. The family returned to England when Ian was 2 years old, and settled at RAF Marham, Norfolk.

When Ian was older, he joined the Air Cadets and went on to join the Royal Auxiliary RAF Regiment at RAF Marham, Norfolk. Ian enlisted into the regular RAF in 1992 and took his basic training at RAF Catterick, Yorkshire. Passing basic training, he served on 66 Sqn Rapier and later on joined 1 Sqn in Laarbruch Germany where he lived for 7 years before returning to England. While back in England, Ian was stationed at RAF St Mawgan, Cornwall and at the end of his 12 year military career, he was stationed at RAF Halton, Buckinghamshire.

During his time in Germany, Ian went on deployments to the following war zones:

Bosnia - Peace keeping duties with The United Nations (UN)

Iraq - 2nd Gulf War

In addition, during his career Ian went on several deployments to Northern Ireland.

In 1997, Ian met Sandra in West London, England and they got married on February 26, 2000 and spent the first couple of years living at RAF Halton. They welcomed the birth of their daughter Charlotte in 2002. In 2004, Ian left the RAF, and the family moved to Southampton, Hampshire. A few years later, in 2008, they welcomed the birth of their son Aaron.

Ian spent the rest of his professional career working for a global shipping company, CMA-CGM. His first role was as an Agent but he worked his way up through the ranks and became the Southampton Port Operations Manager. A few years into the role, Ian was given the opportunity to write the global training manual which was to be rolled out to all the Ports around the world. As he knew the role and the manual inside out, Ian was given the opportunity to travel to ports across the globe and teach his colleagues. This took him to China, Miami, Hong Kong to name a few places. He also lived and worked in Marseille, France for a period of time. In 2014, Ian and his wife were seeking an adventure and were looking for an opportunity to move abroad with their children The big break came later that year when Ian was was offered an opportunity to join CMA-CGM as the Port Operations Manager for Canada, based in Vancouver, BC.

Ian moved ahead of the family in September 2014 and his wife and 2 children followed him in February 2015. They settled in Burnaby and have lived there ever since. Building a new life for his family, Ian encouraged the children to join a gym, practising karate and Brazilian jujitsu (BJJ). Being an involved father, Ian also took up BJJ and quickly found his new passion. Since joining the BJJ community in 2016, he never looked back, reaching the rank of black belt in 2025.

Ian was a loving and devoted husband and a truly doting father who adored his children. His family was always his greatest priority, and he took pride in ensuring they had everything they needed. He protected and provided for them with unwavering love, care, and strength. He was also a fiercely loyal friend and colleague, someone who would go the extra mile without hesitation whenever he was needed. Ian gave his time, his energy and his heart generously to those around him. To know Ian was to feel his loyalty, his protection and his deep capacity for love. Those who loved and respected him were, in turn, rewarded and embraced by that same steadfast care.

Ian’s funeral service will be held at Ocean View Funeral Home on July 14th at 10am. In lieu of flowers, the Hamill family requests donations to The BC Cancer Foundation in honour of Ian.