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The Gordon Highlanders World Naval Ships Forums Archive

The Gordon Highlanders

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The Gordon Highlanders The Victoria Cross soldiers of the Gordon Highlanders were awarded 4 Victoria Crosses during World War 1 Drummer William Kenny For conspicuous bravery on the 23rd October 1914, near Ypres ,in rescuing wounded men on five occasions under heavy fire in the most fearless manner,and for twice previously saving machne guns by carrying them out of action. on numerous occasions Drummer Kenny conveyed urgent messages under dangerous circumstances over fire-swept ground Captain James Anson Otho Brooke For most conspicuous bravery and great ability near Gheluvelt, on the 29th October, in leading two attacks on the German trenches under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, regaining a lost trench at a very critical moment. He was killed on that day ,By his marked coolness and promptitude on this occasion ,Lieut. Brooke prevented the enemy from breaking through our line at a time when a general counter-attack could not have been organised. Private Gordon McIntosh For most conspicuous bravery when , during the consolidation of a position,his company came under machine-gun fire at close range . Private McIntosh immediately rushed forward under heavy fire, and reaching this emplacement he threw a Mills grenade into it, killing two of the enemy and wounding a third . Subsequently , entering the dug-out , he found two light machine guns , which he carried back with him. His quick grasp of the situation and the utter fearlessness and rapidity with which he acted undoubtedly saved many of his commrades,and enabled the consolidation to proceed unhindered by machinegun fire . Throughout the day the cheerfulness and courage of Private McIntosh was indomitable ,and to his fine example in a great measure was due the success which attended his company . lieutenant Allan Ebenezer Ker For conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty. on the 21st March 1918 near St Quentin after a heavy bombardment, the enemy penetrated our line, and the flank of the 61st Division became exposed. Lieut Ker with one Vickers gun succeeded in engaging the enemys infantry, approaching under the cover of dead ground and held up the attack, inflicting many casualties. He then sent back word to his Battalion Headquarters that he had determined to stop with his sergeant and several men who had been badly wounded, and fight until a counter-attack could be launched to relieve him. Just as ammunition failed, his party was attacked from behind with bombs, machine guns and the bayonet . several bayonet attacks were delivered but each time they were repulsed by Lieut Ker and his companions with their revolvers,the vickers gun by this time having been destroyed . The wounded were collected into a small shelter, and it was decided to defend them to the last and to hold the enemy as long as possible. In one of the many hand to hand encounters a German rifle and bayonet and a small supply of ammunition was secured, and subsiquently used with good effect against the enemy. Although Lieut Ker was very exhausted from want of food and gas poisoning,and from the extreme exertions that he had made during ten hours of the most severe bombardment , fighting and attending to the wounded, he refused to surrender until all his ammunition was exhausted and his position was rushed by a large number of the enemy. His behaviour throughtout the day was absolutely cool and fearless, and by his determination he was materially instrumental in engaging and holding up for three hours more than 500 of the enemy Taken from The Life of a Regiment Nigel

Interesting reading. The fighting prowess of the Scots in general during WW1 was truly awesome. If I recall correctly, the casualty rate per head of population was either the highest of our side or second.

[QUOTE=herakles;30780]Interesting reading. The fighting prowess of the Scots in general during WW1 was truly awesome. If I recall correctly, the casualty rate per head of population was either the highest of our side or second.[/QUOTE] one interesting thing about the Gordons is that they were not all Scots my Grandfather was one of them as were a number of Guernsey men who joined them before conscription was introduced Nigel

and here is a picture of my Grandfather Fred Weysom
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I see he's not wearing his leather kilt!

[QUOTE=herakles;30787]I see he's not wearing his leather kilt![/QUOTE] no i only have 2 pictures of him in uniform and he is in a cloth kilt in both , for some reason i cant upload the other picture at the moment Nigel

on second thoughts he may have a leather kilt in this picture Nigel
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What's a leather kilt?

martin firstly welcome, secondly they had 2 kilts one was a dress kilt made of cloth , this is the one with the tartan pattern on that my Grand Father is wearing in the first picture of him ,and was worn on parade , they also had a battle dress kilt that they would have worn to fight in this was made of leather and it looks like he is wearing his in the second picture Nigel

Nigel, it is great reading of the gallantry of the Gordon Highlanders. Whilst a teenager in Aberdeenshire I was in the ACF Gordon Highlanders for 3 years, before joining the RN as a boy. From the Gordons website here is a piece I have copied of anther gallant Gordon this time a Piper in Afghanistan 1897 ..... -------------- Dargai by Robert Gibb The 1st Gordon Highlanders about to take the heights of Dargai which were held by the Afridis. During the engagement on the 20th October 1897, the regiment lost three Officers and thirty men. Storming of Dargai Heights by the 1st Gordon Highlanders. The Wounded Pipers Gallantry by Caton Woodville Christmas, which is essentially the spirit of home, turns our thoughts more sympathetically then at any other season of the year to our kinsmen across the seas, especially to our soldiers in the lonely outposts of the Empire. This picture recalls a famous incident in the story of our Indian Frontier which was thrilling the Motherland about this time twelve years ago. On August 23rd, 1897, the warlike tribe of the Afridis attacked Ali Musjid and Fort Maude. In October a British force was despatched to punish them by invading Tirah, their summer home, and on the 20th of the month occurred the fight on the Dargai Heights, where the enemy had taken up a strong position. The Gurkhas were first sent up, but were met with a withering fire. Then the Derby's and the Dorsets tried to rush the entrenchments; but at last the (1st) Gordon Highlanders were told off for the perilous task. Headed by their pipers, and led by Lieut.-Colonel Mathias, they dashed through a murderous fire, and in forty minutes won the height, leaving three officers and thirty men killed and wounded on the way. The individual acts of courage were equally splendid, and the conduct of the pipers in particular roused great enthusiasm. Their Lance-Corporal was shot through the chest, but Piper Findlater, after being shot through both feet and unable to stand, sat up under a heavy fire and continued playing the "Cock o' the North" to encourage his comrades. His gallantry raised an enormous wave of public enthusiasm. He received the V.C. and retired on a pension to his native Aberdeenshire. ------------ Here is a link with a fuller account [B]including his exploits in the 1st World War[/B]..... [B]a War for which he was again a volunteer[/B] [url]http://www.findlater.org.uk/Piper.htm[/url] I hope you don't find this inclusion an intrusion to your thread. Little h

i have always held the bravery of the Gurkhas in high esteem so i think that shows the Bravery of the Gordon's in this case Nigel

My late father in law was a member of the 27th Field Ambulance section.He used to say that they were with Scottish troops in France and Flanders. He used to mention the bravery of them. Inotice in many books of the Great war that the same picture of a group of Stretcher bearers,knee deep in the mud seen carrying a stretcher. They are members of the 27th.In fact my late Father in Law is the one near the back and the smallest in the picture, He said that they had sometime to be tugged out by others to get moving.There is a book called The Road to St.Julien by William St.Clair which gives an idea how rough it was. Willie St.Clair with others of the 27th held a number of reunions after the war.
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The picture I mentioned in the previous post.
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Hi Stan J! The more I see of the conditions the troops fought,worked and lived under during some of these military campaigns the more I have to ask how did they keep going? Cheers John O'C.

[QUOTE=nigelweysom;89795]martin firstly welcome, secondly they had 2 kilts one was a dress kilt made of cloth , this is the one with the tartan pattern on that my Grand Father is wearing in the first picture of him ,and was worn on parade , they also had a battle dress kilt that they would have worn to fight in this was made of leather and it looks like he is wearing his in the second picture Nigel[/QUOTE] Hi Nigel, Sorry but I have never heard of a leather kilt in any of the Scottish regiments. My grandfather also was in WW1 in the HLI (Highland Light Infantry) and I have been researching the Seaforth Highlanders. I have heard may stories about the trenches and the conditions and how they had to look after their kilts. I'm not aware they had two kilts issued, however if they did, one would probably be a for dress uniform and the other being day or battle wear. I do know that during the day wear they had to protect their kilts and as such were also issued with a wrap around generally made of a khaki coloured cotton however some were leather depending on the duty of the wearer. However to my knowledge these covers were never used in battle as the tartan had to be foremost for recognition purposes. If you have any more information on the leather kilts I would be very pleased to receive it and do a story on them as I'm editor of a Caledonian Society magazine. Regards David

David, it seems that there has been some confusion , i have taken an earlier comment from Herakles that my Grandfather was not wearing his leather kilt to be fact, and from that believed that they did have a leather kilt, and looking at the second picture of my Grandfather have concluded that in that picture he could be wearing a leather kilt , having been told by my uncle that he had two kilts one dress kilt and one battle kilt ,i have gone on to conclude that the battle kilt was made of leather , but it seems i was wrong , Nigel

My Grandfather served alongside the Gordons in the Somme area 1916,they did indeed have two kilts.One for every day wear and obviously a dress kilt.They did indeed wear leather kilt COVERS,note not kilt replecments.These would be removed when going over the top for regimental pride.They went overs with pipers giving it death! Must have put the wind up Jerry,he did not like scots regiments calling them "Ladies from Hell".As an aside when regiments changed over from each other in the front line,Jerry would often shout out "Who are you".One enterprising Tommy shouted in Reply and in a broad accent"Scots Guards". They had a quiet two weeks in the line.....Regards Steve.:)

thanks for that Steve ,at least i was not completely wrong Nigel

Your welcome Nigel.Fact folk law and fiction have a habit of getting mixed up and confusing issues.....Regards Steve.;)

Hi Nigel I do know that Soldiers who wore the kilt as regular feature of uniform,even in battle;found out pretty early in the war; they were very prone to damage. I am not saying that leather was not used, but it in itself is not particularly utilitarian.I think most kilt covers were made of heavy canvas which was cheaper and of course -washable .By sewing another flap on the front-hey presto-a pocket. jainso31 Always on the Lookout!

For Nigel, myself and others a clip of the Bi-centenary Parade:- [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9OPLYqHvnw[/url] No more the Gordons!!! Little h

As mentioned above, not all Gordon Highlanders were Scots. My Great Grand Father, Joe Parvin, ran away with his brother from his family on a farm near Hambledon in Hampshire to fight in the Crimean war. He lied about his age to join up, but that was fairly common then I think. His family were French Huguenot refugees. Joe seems to have fought with some distinction in Crimea, Sebastapol, Turkish wars, Lucknow and the Indian mutiny. He rose to become a corporal on at least three occasions, before getting de-rated again. After his army service, he wanted to return home, but his Father told him to clear off as he had left the farm when he was needed. So, he returned to Scotland, found a bride (lied about his age again for that) and was the village policeman in Chapelhall, a coal mining and steel works area at that time, for many years. We have a photo of his funeral cortege in Glasgow in 1908. A large affair with full military honours. Pipe band from the King's Own Scottish Borderers and a firing party from the Scottish Rifles Brigade. We are not quite sure why he had such a large send off though! AlanB.

[QUOTE=NABERA;10023013]As mentioned above, not all Gordon Highlanders were Scots. My Great Grand Father, Joe Parvin, ran away with his brother from his family on a farm near Hambledon in Hampshire to fight in the Crimean war. He lied about his age to join up, but that was fairly common then I think. His family were French Huguenot refugees. Joe seems to have fought with some distinction in Crimea, Sebastapol, Turkish wars, Lucknow and the Indian mutiny. He rose to become a corporal on at least three occasions, before getting de-rated again. After his army service, he wanted to return home, but his Father told him to clear off as he had left the farm when he was needed. So, he returned to Scotland, found a bride (lied about his age again for that) and was the village policeman in Chapelhall, a coal mining and steel works area at that time, for many years. We have a photo of his funeral cortege in Glasgow in 1908. A large affair with full military honours. Pipe band from the King's Own Scottish Borderers and a firing party from the Scottish Rifles Brigade. We are not quite sure why he had such a large send off though! AlanB.[/QUOTE] Alan, What an interesting posting about Joe Parvin. It would be a great project to establish what led up to and resulted in, the respect given to him by way of such a funeral. Little h

I would think that the village bobby for many years in Chappelhall,Lanarkshire who wore the ribbons and medals of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny as a soldier of the [B][B]75th Foot.Highland Brigade-[/B][/B] some fifty years previously-famous for the only three British Regiments who earned the clasp for Balaclava (Crimea) and the Relief of Lucknow (Indian Mutiny). Yes Joe Pavin would be relatively famous in 1908 IMO jainso31

In the chill of the next dawn Wellington came to the Gordon Highlanders and it was there he came to his great decision that he would "get back to the position at Mont St. Jean, where I will accept battle with Napoleon if I am supported by one Prussian Corps." [B][B]Thus on Sunday, 18th June, the two armies faced each other at Waterloo. While Grouchy sought for the Prussians the Emperor brought 70,000 men to bear upon Wellington's position in which he had scarcely 63,000 of whom 42,000 were foreigners.[/B][/B] The Gordon Highlanders were in the second line behind the Netherlands Brigade when they heard the good news that the Prussians were on their way, but as the main attack developed they heard their Brigadier shouting to them[B][B] "92nd you must charge, for all the troops to your right and left have given way." And that was their signal for the Dutch were no longer ahead and the French were on the ridge. But the 92nd came on four deep with levelled bayonets and screaming pipes; and beside them beyond all belief, a pounding charge of British cavalry thundered towards the French.[/B][/B] [B][B]And then the horsemen recognised their countrymen and a great cry went up "Scotland for Ever," and the Gordon Highlanders seized hold of the stirrups of the Scots Greys as they gave back the cry; and all together the whole thundering mass of men and horses, sabres, bayonets and muskets were hurled into the midst of the French lines.[/B][/B] The Gordons were beside themselves as they took to the slaughter and an old piper shouted that he could see Fassifern, still leading them, his bonnet lifted as it always used to be.[B][B][B] And there was nothing that could stand against Highland frenzy, but the Brigadier recalled them saying "You have saved the day Highlanders, but you must return to your former position; there is more work to be done." It was then only half past three and there remained five hours of daylight. The summer afternoon wore on and wave after wave of French cavalry came charging up the slope, but the squares of the 92nd did not flinch.[/B][/B][/B] But now they could hear the Prussian guns and, as the light began to fade, the last attack, the massed bearskins of the Emperor's Guards came up the hill, came closer still and then withered away under the blast of British musketry.[B][B] And the whole allied line swept forward and the Gordon Highlanders found themselves cheering their allies at La Belle Alliance. The great day was over; they had lost Fassifern and half their strength at Quatre Bras. At Waterloo they had lost almost half that had remained, but those two days of savage fighting brought to the Gordon Highlanders imperishable honour such as can never be outdone.[/B][/B] After Waterloo Europe was to enjoy almost forty years of peace and the regiment did uneventful garrison duty at home and overseas including many years in the West Indies where they suffered much from disease. They were at Gibraltar in 1854 when Russian interference with Turkish sovereignty brought France and Britain to her aid in the Crimean War. [B][B][B]But although, as a regiment, the 92nd saw no service in the Crimea between three and four hundred of their number had fought there with other units and amongst those who now returned to their original regiment was Private Thomas Beach, a native of Forfar, who rejoined with the newly established Victoria Cross pinned to his breast.[/B][/B][/B] [url]http://www.thegordonhighlanders.co.uk/History.htm[/url] jainso31

The Gordonds' are (or were) our local regiment and have a wonderful museum in Aberdeen. I remember on the Albion when we brought them back out of the jungle in Borneo. They were in a dreadful and filthy state but within an hour they were on the flight deck giving a pipe band and highland dancing display looking immaculate. There was a pub in Aberdeen called The Gay Gordon but they had to change the name of it because of the homosexuals.

Johnny are they now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland-the Highlanders Battalion titles are as follows:- The Royal Scots Borderers 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Royal Highland Fusiliers 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Black Watch [B][B]3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Highlanders[/B][/B] 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 52nd Lowland 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 51st Highland 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland jainso31

My uncle was killed at Loos. He was a 10th Gordon Highlander we have his kilt pin. I have heard the Gordon's were the only regiment that wore pins in their kilts. Can anyone confirm this ?

I very much doubt that Gordon Highlanders were the[B][B] only[/B][/B] kilted regiment [B][B]to wear a pin in the kilt[/B][/B].however the link provides an interesting read for anyone interested in the GH soldiers dress of WW1 jainso31 [URL]http://gordonhighlanders1914-18.co.uk/uniform.html[/URL]

very helpful link there ,certainly clears up the leather kilt question and confirms the kahki apron , though im still not sure about the pictures of my grand father it would seem that one picture is of him in his walking out uniform , but the other with the sporon is less clear , perhaps this was taken first when he didnt have his full uniform and was borrowing bits for the picture , still life would be dull if all our questions were answered straight away Nigel

One of my extended family members (2nd cousin) along with his mates, continue to do their bit (some in old style boots and wearing khaki aprons) for the old lads and lasses, see:- [CENTER]----------------------------------------------------------[/CENTER] [SIZE="3"]History group walk the West Highland Way in World War I gear for charity [/SIZE] By Charlie Gall 23 May 2013 08:18 THE friends are aiming to raise £5000 for Erskine, which first opened in 1916 during The Great War. WALKING the 96-mile West Highland Way is a tough enough challenge without donning army kit and blister-inducing World War I boots. But that’s what living history group, the Gordon Highlanders 1914-1918, will embark upon on Saturday, June 8, to raise money for Erskine veterans’ hospital. The regiment took the name from the Clan Gordon and recruited principally from Aberdeen and the north-east before being disbanded in 1994.[B] Lewis Gibbon, 24, who works at the Gordon Highlanders Museum in Aberdeen, is one of six “soldiers” taking on the trek from Milngavie to Fort William.[/B] Their target is to raise £5000 for Erskine, which first opened in 1916 during The Great War. Lewis said: “[I]We do displays around the country portraying the life of a World War I soldier. We do talks on the uniforms, weapons and equipment the soldiers would have had to carry and on what conditions were like[/I].” Some might say the guys are taking things too far completing the trek in replica army boots from the Great War. Lewis said: “[I]We’ll wear full army kit, except some days when we will be wearing walking boots to save our feet. Obviously it’s quite a gruelling walk and [B]the original Canadian First World war boots we normally wear are made from a very stiff leather[/B][/I]. "[I]They can cause really bad blisters. At weekends and at nights we’ll go into walking boots just to make it a bit easier on our feet. We’ll be packing plenty of blister plasters[/I].” The walkers will be dressed in kilts and will carry small and large packs which World War I soldiers would have done. Lewis added: “Unfortunately, we’ll only have one guy carrying the tent and sleeping bags for us as we will be under World War I canvas some nights and we are planning to complete it in nine days.” Two years ago the group marched the 65 miles of the Speyside way from Buckie to Aviemore, in full World War I kit, raising around £4000. To sponsor the walk go to their Just Giving site at: [url]www.justgiving.com/Gordon-Highlanders-1914-1918[/url] Erskine is one of the charities being supported by the Sunday Mail Centenary Fund. Click here to find out more about the fund, the charities and how to help. [B]Source [/B][URL="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/history-group-walk-west-highland-1905710"]Daily Record and Sunday Mail[/URL] where an image showing some of the participants can be viewed. [B]My comment[/B]; His Great Grandad (arm shot off WWI) and his Grandad (WWII POW) both Gordon Highlanders would be extremely proud of his activities. Little h

Re; Link security/safety!! I have had a nudge that the links in the previous post may indicat unsafe to open by some security systems, has anybody had any indication that either or both links are unsafe to open? Little h

Links opened ok, with no warning by AVG full edition. Jim

[QUOTE=jbryce1437;10086802]Links opened ok, with no warning by AVG full edition. Jim[/QUOTE] Thanks for response Jim. I have the same safe opening with AVG I/S 2013. Little h

it was my McAfee that raised a problem yesterday , but today it was happy for me to follow both links, Nigel

Good to hear Nigel Jim

[QUOTE=nigelweysom;10086917]it was my McAfee that raised a problem yesterday , but today it was happy for me to follow both links, Nigel[/QUOTE] I have several acquaintances who got a virus in the update download from McAfee (late 1990s). Their computer started acting up, but McAfee found nothing... when they installed another anti-virus it found the virus inside McAfee's files... and the modification date/time matched their update download exactly. Since then no one I know personally has trusted McAfee, and have happily used other AV programs (I use Avast).

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