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Major General Sir Frederick Gordon, KCB, DSO (9 October 1861 – 18 October 1927) was a senior British Army officer, who additionally served as a major general in the early Royal Air Force.

Early life and education

Gordon was born on 9 October 1861 to Edward Gordon, Baron Gordon of Drumearn, a law lord and Conservative politician. He attended Highgate School and Wellington College, Berkshire, and then, as a gentleman cadet, he attended the Royal Military College, Sandhurst to undergo officer training.

Military career

On 22 January 1881, Gordon was commissioned as a subaltern, with the rank of second lieutenant, into the British Army. That year, he served as an officer in the 91st (Argyllshire Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, the Princess Charlotte of Wales's (Royal Berkshire Regiment), the Royal Berkshire Regiment, and the Gordon Highlanders. This was the year of the Childers Reforms, which caused turmoil in some areas of the British Army with its disbandment and amalgamation of some infantry regiments. During his early career he served abroad with the Gordon Highlanders: he saw service in Egypt (1882–1885), fighting at the Battle of Tell El Kebir, Second Battle of El Teb and Battle of Tamai; in Sudan (1889) at the Battle of Toski; and, after being made a captain in November 1890, in South Africa (1899–1902) during the Second Boer War. For his service in the latter war, at the beginning of which in October 1899 he was promoted to major, he received the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel on 22 August 1902.

In February 1903 he served as a deputy assistant quartermaster general (DAQMG) with the 1st Division. On 9 January 1908, Gordon was promoted to the substantive rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1908 to 1911, he was commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders. On 10 August 1911, he succeeded Colonel Beauvoir De Lisle as general staff officer, 1st grade (GSO1) of the 2nd Division. He was promoted to colonel on 30 August.

Gordon served during the First World War, which began in the summer of 1914, initially in his role as the 2nd Division's GSO1, accompanying it to the Western Front as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in the opening weeks of the war. In September, however, after receiving a promotion to the temporary rank of brigadier general, he became the second commander of the 19th Infantry Brigade after Major General Laurence Drummond, which he led in all of its engagements over the next few months. He became general officer commanding (GOC) of the 22nd Division, one of the newly raised formations of Kitchener's Army, in June 1915, shortly after being promoted to temporary major general, which was soon after made a permanent promotion. He saw action with his division on the Macedonian front as part of the British Salonika Army (BSA).

On 1 April 1918, he was granted a temporary commission in the newly created Royal Air Force (RAF) as a major general. He was the appointed General Officer Commanding (GOC) No 4 Area. No 4 Area was renamed, and he then served as GOC North-Eastern Area from May 1918 to January 1919.

Gordon retired from the military in 1920. He died on 18 October 1927, aged 66.

Honours

Gordon was awarded the Egypt Medal with three clasps and the Khedive's Star for his service in Egypt and Sudan in the 1880s. He was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with six clasps, the King's South Africa Medal with both clasps, and was mentioned in despatches four times for his service during the Second Boer War. On 29 November 1900, he was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) "in recognition of the services in connection with the Campaign in South Africa, 1899–1900".

Gordon received a number of honours for his service during the First World War. On 15 February 1915, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) "in recognition of the meritorious services during the war". In the 1917 King's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) "for valuable services rendered in connection with Military Operations in the Field", and thereby granted the title Sir. He was also mentioned in despatches five times during the war.

He also received a foreign awards from Allied nations. In February 1916, he was awarded the Order of the White Eagle, 2nd Class (with Swords) by the King of Serbia. In September 1919, it was announced that he had been appointed Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Romania by the King of Romania "for distinguished services rendered during the course of the campaign".

Personal life

In 1897 Gordon married Mabel Rose Robinson. Together they had three children; one son and two daughters.

References

1. ^ "Gordon, Maj.-Gen. Hon. Sir Frederick". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U197041.
2. "Gordon of Drumearn, Baron (Law Lord) (UK, 1876 - 1879)". Cracroft's Peerage. 15 September 2004. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
3. Boreham, Jack (1938). Highgate School Register (4th ed.). p. 85.
4. ^ "Major-General the Hon Sir Frederick Gordon". Air of Authority – A History of RAF Organisation. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2018.
5. "No. 24926". The London Gazette. 21 January 1881. p. 292.
6. "No. 26105". The London Gazette. 11 November 1890. p. 5930.
7. "No. 27130". The London Gazette. 27 October 1899. p. 6463.
8. "No. 27490". The London Gazette. 31 October 1902. p. 6897.
9. Hesilrige 1921, p. 407.
10. "No. 27523". The London Gazette. 10 February 1903. p. 847.
11. "No. 28098". The London Gazette. 10 January 1908. p. 224.
12. "No. 28524". The London Gazette. 22 August 1911. p. 6224.
13. "No. 28529". The London Gazette. 8 September 1911. p. 6628.
14. "No. 28959". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 October 1914. p. 8844.
15. "No. 29199". The London Gazette (Supplement). 18 June 1915. p. 5970.
16. "No. 12824". The Edinburgh Gazette. 29 June 1915. p. 923.
17. "The Macedonian Campaign 1915–1918". Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
18. "British Military Aviation in 1918". RAF Museum. Royal Air Force Museum. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
19. "No. 11296". The Edinburgh Gazette. 23 April 1901. pp. 466–467.
20. "No. 12780". The Edinburgh Gazette. 5 March 1915. p. 356.
21. "No. 30111". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 June 1917. p. 5454.
22. "No. 13065". The Edinburgh Gazette. 13 March 1917. pp. 551–552.
23. "No. 13504". The Edinburgh Gazette. 24 September 1919. pp. 3125–3127.

Bibliography

• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921). Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London, UK: Dean & Son. p. 408.

• 1861 births
• 1927 deaths
• People educated at Highgate School
• People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire
• Gordon Highlanders officers
• Royal Berkshire Regiment officers
• Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers
• British Army generals of World War I
• Royal Air Force generals of World War I
• Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
• Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
• Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
• Sons of life peers
• British Army personnel of the Second Boer War
• British Army personnel of the Anglo-Egyptian War
• British Army personnel of the Mahdist War
• British Army major generals
• Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Romania)