Gordon Highlanders

Gordon Highlanders

Cap badge of the Gordon Highlanders
Active

1794–1881 (as 92nd Regiment of Foot)

1881–1994 (as Gordon Highlanders)
Country  United Kingdom
Branch British Army
Type Infantry
Size Line infantry
Part of Scottish Division
Garrison/HQ Castlehill Barracks, Aberdeen (1881-1935)
Gordon Barracks, Bridge of Don (1935-1994)
Motto(s) Bydand[1]
March Cock o' the North
Engagements Mysore
Seringapatam
Peninsular War
South Africa 1899–1902
Battle honours Relief of Ladysmith
Battle of Kandahar
Commanders
Ceremonial chief King Edward VIII
Henry William Frederick Albert, 1st Duke of Gloucester
HRH The Prince of Wales KG KT GCB AK QSO DC
Insignia
Tartan

The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994 when it was amalgamated with the Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons) which was later merged with the Royal Scots Borderers, the Royal Highland Fusiliers (Princess Margaret's Own Glasgow and Ayrshire Regiment), the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) and the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders to form the Royal Regiment of Scotland, a large regiment. The Gordon Highlanders took its name from the Clan Gordon and recruited principally from Aberdeen and the North-East of Scotland.

History

92nd Highlanders at Kandahar
by Richard Caton Woodville (1856-1927).

The regiment was formed on 1 July 1881 instigated under the Childers Reforms. The new two-battalion regiment was formed out of the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot - which became the 1st Battalion of the new regiment - and the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, which became the 2nd.

The 75th Highlanders were raised in 1787 by Colonel Robert Abercromby of Tullibody for service in India, where they saw a great deal of action. They went on to serve in South Africa, the Indian Mutiny, Egypt and on the North-West Frontier.

The 92nd were raised as the 100th Highlanders by the Duke of Gordon in 1794 being renumbered 92nd in 1798. Their early service included the Low Countries and Egypt, followed by Corunna, the Peninsula, Waterloo, Afghanistan and South Africa.

The 92nd (2nd Bn Gordon Highlanders) served throughout the Second Afghan War culminating in the march from Kabul to Kandahar. Bound for return to England after years overseas, they were re-routed to South Africa to fight in the disastrous First Boer War. The regiment suffered severe casualties at the Battle of Majuba Hill.

The 75th was in Malta in 1881 when they were converted into the kilted 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders. They distinguished themselves serving in the Highland Brigade in Egypt from 1882. They fought at the battle of Tel-El-Kebir in 1882 and served in the Nile/Sudan campaigns that followed. They saw action at El Teb on 29 February 1884, and Tamai on 13 March 1884.

It was during operations on the North West Frontier in October 1897, during the storming of the Dargai Heights, that one of the regiment's most famous Victoria Crosses was earned.  Piper George_Findlater, despite being wounded in both legs, continued to play the bagpipes during the assault.[2] Another of the heroes involved the charge of the Gordon Highlanders at Dargai Heights, was Piper John Kidd. Before the memorable charge was made the commander of the battalion said that the heights had to be taken, and the Gordon regiment was the one capable of taking them. Piper Kidd was with Piper Findlater when, half-way up the heights, both pipers were shot down. Piper Kidd was wounded in the ankle, and later lost his foot. Unmindful of his injuries, Piper Kidd sat up and continued to play "The Cock o' the North" as the troops advanced up the heights. Following the engagement, the pipers were offered the Victorian Cross for being on the front line. Piper Kidd said the VC should go to the soldiers so the pipers had a gentleman's agreement that they would turn it down. While Piper Kidd chose to continue to honor that agreement, Piper Findlater eventually changed his mind and received the award. Queen Victoria visited the two pipers while they were in hospital in England,and one of Mr. Kidd's treasures was a case of bagpipes presented to him by Her Majesty. Death of Piper Kidd[3]

The Gordons served throughout the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899-1902, including for the successful defence of Ladysmith.

First World War

British troops, believed to be the 2nd Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders (20th Brigade, British 7th Division) crossing no man's land near Mametz on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

The Gordons raised 21 battalions in the First World War, serving on the Western Front and in Italy and winning 65 battle honours.

The regular force battalions (1st and 2nd Gordons) were immediately assigned to the British Expeditionary Force on the outbreak of war. 3rd (Reserve) Gordons remained in Aberdeen to serve as the depot unit for the duration of the war. The 1st Gordons in Plymouth was assigned to 8 Brigade of the 3rd Division, while 2nd Gordons was assigned to 20 Brigade in the 7th Division following its recall from Cairo. The first line Territorial Force battalions; 1/4th (Aberdeen), 1/5th (Buchan and Formartine), 1/6th (Banffshire and Donside), 1/7th (Deeside), were assigned to 153 (2nd Highland) Brigade of the 51st (Highland) Division. This brigade was also known as the Gordons Brigade until May 1915 because of its composition solely of Gordon Highlanders battalions. A further eight Territorial Force battalions (2/4th, 2/5th, 2/6th, 2/7th, 3/4th, 3/5th, 3/6th, and 3/7th) were formed as part of the second line Home Service. These units were chronically undermanned and ill-equipped throughout the war and did not serve overseas. Four Service battalions - 8th (Service), 9th (Service), 10th (Service), and 11th (Service) - were formed as part of Lord Kitchener's New Army scheme with 9th Gordons eventually serving as a pioneer battalion. A 1st Garrison battalion was formed in 1916 for service in India.

Unusually, The Gordon Highlanders did not serve on any of the other battle fronts where British soldiers fought during the war. The sole exception was the 2nd Gordons which was sent as part of a joint Anglo-French force to aid the Italians in 1917 after their heavy defeat by Austro-German forces at the Battle of Caporetto.

50,000 men served in the regiment in the First World War. Of those 50,000, 9,000 were killed in action and a further 20,000 were wounded or posted as missing. The legendary folk singer and Scottish Traveller Jimmy MacBeath served with the regiment during this era.

Second World War

A further 27 honours were added in World War II when the Regiment served in France in 1940, in Malaya, North Africa, Sicily, Italy and the North West Europe Campaign.

The 1st Battalion, Gordon Highlanders was a Regular Army battalion that served originally with the 2nd Infantry Brigade, part of the 1st Infantry Division, and was sent to France in September 1939, shortly after the declaration of war, as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and would remain there until May 1940. On 7 March 1940 the 1st Battalion exchanged with the Territorial 6th Battalion and transferred to the 153rd Infantry Brigade, part of the 51st (Highland) Infantry Division, as one of the BEF's official policies. The battalion served with the 51st Division during the Battle of France in 1940 when they were trapped and the majority of the division was forced to surrender at Saint-Valéry-en-Caux, with very few men escaping capture. The 1st Battalion was, however, reformed in the United Kingdom in August 1940 and went on to serve with the second formation of the 51st (Highland) Division (formed by redesignation of the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division) throughout the rest of the Second World War, serving in North Africa at El Alamein, Tunisia, Sicily and North-western Europe, ending the war in Germany.

The 2nd Battalion was based in Malaya as part of the Singapore garrison and fought in the battle for Singapore in February 1942, surrendering along with 130,000 other British Commonwealth soldiers on 15 February. The men of this battalion suffered more casualties as Prisoners of War in Japanese captivity than they did during the fighting on Singapore Island and Malaya The 2nd Battalion was reformed in May 1942 from personnel of the 11th Battalion and fought with the 15th (Lowland) Infantry Division, throughout North West Europe. They formed part of 227th (Highland) Infantry Brigade - the Junior brigade in the division. They were involved in the heavy fighting around Cheux and Tourville-sur-Odon in Normandy, the fight for the Netherlands and in the Battle of Uelzen in Germany near to the end of the war.

The 4th (City of Aberdeen) Battalion served as a Machine Gun Battalion in the Battle of France and was later converted to a Royal Artillery regiment on 1 November 1941, becoming the 92nd Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery, as part of the 9th Armoured Division, but saw no active service during the war.

The 5th Battalion was amalgamated with the 7th Battalion in 1940, becoming the 5th/7th Battalion, and served throughout the war with

The 6th (Banffshire) Battalion, a Territorial Army battalion, was transferred from the 51st (Highland) Division before it surrendered in 1940 and joined the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. The 6th Battalion fought through the Tunisian, North African and Italian campaigns, in both the Battle of Anzio and Operation Diadem, and later the Battle for the Gothic Line, before ending the war on garrison duty in Palestine.

The 7th (Mar and Mearns) Battalion amalgamated with the 5th Battalion, becoming the 5th/7th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, and served with the second formation of the 51st (Highland) Division throughout the war.

The 8th (City of Aberdeen) Battalion was also converted to artillery, becoming the 100th Anti-Tank Regiment, Royal Artillery. This battalion served with the 2nd Infantry Division in the Burma Campaign.

The 9th (Donside) Battalion (originally part of the 9th (Highland) Infantry Division along with the 11th Battalion) were initially posted to the Shetland islands. Later they were amalgamated with the 5th Battalion and sent to India for training. Converted to an armoured regiment in 1942 as the 116th Regiment Royal Armoured Corps (Gordons), they continued to wear the Gordons cap badge on the black beret of the RAC.[4] 116th RAC were sent to India and joined 267th Indian Armoured Brigade; later they served in Burma where as part of 255th Indian Tank Brigade they were involved in the dash for Rangoon and were heavily involved in the battle of Meiktila, signalling the end of Japanese hopes in Burma.

The London Scottish battalions were part of the Gordon Highlanders although they were a London-recruited regiment.

Post-War

After the war the Gordons saw active service in the Malayan Emergency, Cyprus, and Northern Ireland.

The Regiment was amalgamated with The Queens' Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) on September 17, 1994 to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons).

In 2006, The Highlanders were merged with Scotland’s other remaining infantry regiments to form The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

In 1997, to preserve and share the legacy of the Gordon Highlanders regiment for future generations to enjoy the Gordon Highlanders Museum opened, in the former regimental headquarters in Aberdeen.

Victoria Cross recipients

11 of these Victoria Crosses awarded are on display in the Gordon Highlanders Museum

Popular culture references

James Kennaway based the script for the movie Tunes of Glory on his experiences in the Gordon Highlanders.

The novelist George MacDonald Fraser was posted as a lieutenant to the 2nd Battalion in the immediate post-war period, and wrote three volumes of short stories (the "McAuslan" books), which were lightly fictionalised recollections of his time with the regiment.

Symbols

The original tartan of the 75th is not certain but it may have been akin to what is now known as Campbell of Breadalbane. The 92nd has always worn the Government sett with a yellow stripe, which is worn as a clan tartan by those of the name Gordon.

The regimental marches were The Cock o' the North, St Andrew's Cross and The Garb of Old Gaul. HRH The Prince of Wales was Colonel in Chief.

Alliances

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gordon Highlanders.

Notes

  1. ↑ Meaning abiding, steadfast, an adjectival use of the Middle Scots present participle of bide.
  2. ↑ Meaning abiding, steadfast, an adjectival use of the Middle Scots present participle of bide.
  3. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 26968. p. 3165. 20 May 1898. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  4. ↑ Forty p. 51.

References

  • Forty, George (1998). British Army Handbook 1939–1945. Sutton Publishing. ISBN 0-7509-1403-3. 
  • Royle, Trevor (2007). The Gordon Highlanders A Concise History. Mainstream Publishing Company. ISBN 9781845962708. 

External links

External images
Memorial to some of the men of the 1st Battalion who died during the Second Boer War (Genealogical Society of South Africa)
Memorial to the men of the 1st Battalion who died as a result of action in the Battle of Johannesburg (Genealogical Society of South Africa)
Memorial to the men of the 2nd Battalion who died of disease at Ladysmith (Genealogical Society of South Africa)
Memorial to the men of the 2nd Battalion who died of disease at Intombi during the Siege of Ladysmith (Genealogical Society of South Africa)
Memorial to the men of the 2nd Battalion who died at Van Wyk's Vlei (Genealogical Society of South Africa)
Memorial to the men of the 2nd Battalion who died at Wagon Hill during the Siege of Ladysmith (Genealogical Society of South Africa)
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