Gordon Highlanders


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 to form the Highlanders. Although the 'gordon highlanders' had existed as the 92nd Regiment of Foot since 1794, the actual 'Gordon Highlanders Regiment' was formed in 1881 by amalgmation of the 75th Regiment of Foot and 92nd Regiment of Foot.

History

Early history

The regiment was formed on 1 July 1881 instigated under the Childers Reforms as the county regiment of: Aberdeenshire, Banffshire, and Shetland. Although the regiment was formed by two regular regiments, it in-fact controlled other units which were of the former Militia and Volunteer Force, including:
The 1st Battalion fought at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir in September 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War, and then took part in the Nile Expedition in an attempt to relieve Major-General Charles Gordon during the Mahdist War.
The 1st Battalion then took part in the Chitral Expedition and then the Tirah Campaign; 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. Another of the heroes involved in the charge of the Gordon Highlanders at Dargai Heights was Piper John Kidd. Piper Kidd was with Piper Findlater when, half-way up the heights, both pipers were shot down. Unmindful of his injuries, Piper Kidd sat up and continued to play "The Cock o' the North" as the troops advanced up the heights.
Both battalions were sent to South Africa following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899. The 2nd Battalion fought at the Battle of Elandslaagte in October 1899 and was part of force to relieve the Siege of Ladysmith in November 1899. Meanwhile the 1st Battalion, which arrived a little later, saw action at the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899 and was again in action at Doornkop, where they suffered severe losses, in May 1900. The battalion stayed in South Africa throughout the war, which ended with the Peace of Vereeniging in June 1902. Four months later 475 officers and men of the 1st battalion left Cape Town on the SS Salamis in late September 1902, arriving at Southampton in late October, when the battalion was posted to Glasgow.
In 1908 the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve and four Territorial battalions.

First World War

Regular Army

The 1st Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front; they suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914. The 2nd Battalion landed at Zeebrugge as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917.

Territorial Force

The 1/4th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1/5th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 1/6th Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division for service on the Western Front. One of the longest 1914 Christmas truces was upheld by this battalion: it lasted until the afternoon of 3 January 1915. The 1/7th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front.

New Armies

The 8th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 26th Brigade in the 9th Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front. The 9th Battalion and the 10th Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 44th Brigade in the 15th Division in July 1915 for service on the Western Front.
The folk singer and Scottish Traveller Jimmy MacBeath served with the regiment during the war.

Second World War

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 : it remained there until May 1940. On 7 March 1940 the 1st Battalion exchanged with the Territorial Army 6th Battalion and transferred to the 153rd Infantry Brigade, part of the 51st Division. 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 Division Infantry Division throughout the rest of the Second World War, serving in North Africa at El Alamein, Tunisia, Sicily and, 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 Division, throughout North West Europe. They formed part of 227th 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 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 went to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force: they were serving as part of the 153rd Brigade in 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. The 5th Battalion was, however, reformed in the United Kingdom in August 1940 and went on to serve with the second formation of the 51st Division Infantry Division throughout the rest of the Second World War, serving in North Africa and taking part in the Normandy landings.
The 6th Battalion, a Territorial Army battalion, was transferred from the 153rd Brigade in the 51st Division before it joined the 2nd Infantry Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division. It took part in the Dunkirk evacuation. 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 Battalion amalgamated with the 5th Battalion, becoming the 5th/7th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, and served with the second formation of the 51st Division throughout the war.
The 8th 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 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, they continued to wear the Gordons cap badge on the black beret of the RAC. 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.

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 on 17 September 1994 to form the Highlanders. In 1997, the Gordon Highlanders Museum opened, in the former regimental headquarters in Aberdeen.

Victoria Cross recipients

Battle honours

Battle honours awarded to the regiment included:
Winner of the Irish FA Cup in 1890

Colonels-in-Chief

Colonels in Chief were as follows:
Colonels of the regiment were:
Alliances were: