Willoughby Gordon

Sir Willoughby Gordon
Born 21 October 1772
Died 4 January 1851 (1851-01-05) (aged 78)
Allegiance  United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Rank General
Battles/wars Peninsular War
Awards Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

General Sir James Willoughby Gordon, 1st Baronet GCB GCH (21 October 1772 4 January 1851) was Quartermaster-General to the Forces.

Early life

He was the son of William Grant, later William Grant Gordon, and his wife Barbara Gordon of the Gordons of Knockspoke.

Military career

Gordon was commissioned into the 66th Regiment of Foot in 1783.[1]

He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General in Ireland in 1795 and then became Deputy Adjutant-General in the West Indies in 1801.[1] He was Aide de Camp and Military Secretary to the Duke of Kent, He returned to England in 1803 to become Assistant Quartermaster-General.[1] He was made Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief in 1804 and was then Commissary-in-Chief to the Forces from 1809.[1] He was made Lieutenant General in 1825.

He was Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1811 to 1851.[1] During this time, he was one of the many present for the Robert Adams' narration of his adventures as a Barbary slave in North Africa. Despite the veracity of this narration being questioned by many during this time, Gordon publicly proclaimed his faith in the truth of Adams' story, announcing that "if he proved an imposter, he will be the second only to Psalmanazar." Gordon's support of Adams was very significant, due to the controversial nature of The Narrative of Robert Adams.[2]

Honours

He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1801. He was made Baronet Gordon of Northcourt in the Isle of Wight in 1818 and awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order (GCH) in 1825 and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (KGB) in 1831.[3]

He was also Member of Parliament for Launceston from 1830 to 1831.[4]

Family

His only son Henry Percy Gordon was senior wrangler at the University of Cambridge in 1827.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 British Generals of the Napoleonic Wars 1793-1815
  2. Adams, Charles Hansford (2005). The Narrative of Robert Adams: A Barbary Captive. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. xxi. ISBN 978-0-521-60373-7.
  3. "Library Archive". Royal Society. Retrieved 2012-11-27.
  4. Leigh Rayment
  5. Neale, Charles Montague (1907). The senior wranglers of the University of Cambridge, from 1748 to 1907. With biographical, & c., notes. Bury St. Edmunds: Groom and Son. p. 31. Retrieved 4 March 2011.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Sir William Clinton
Military Secretary
18041809
Succeeded by
Sir Henry Torrens
Preceded by
Sir Robert Brownrigg
Quartermaster-General to the Forces
18111851
Succeeded by
Sir James Freeth
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by
Pownoll Pellew
Member of Parliament for Launceston
18301831
With: James Brogden
Succeeded by
John Malcolm
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