Charles Gordon (British Army officer)
Charles Gordon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | April 1878 |
| Died | 23 July 1917 (aged 39) St. Eloi, Belgium |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1897–1917 |
| Rank | Brigadier-General |
| Unit | Black Watch |
| Commands | 123rd Brigade |
| Battles / wars | Second Boer War First World War |
| Awards | Mentioned in Despatches (3) Knight Commander of the Order of Prince Danilo I (Montenegro) |
Brigadier-General Charles William Eric Gordon (April 1878 – 23 July 1917) was a British Army officer. He was killed in action in 1917 whilst commanding the 123rd Brigade.
Early life
[edit]The son of Colonel W. Gordon and Edith Gordon of Wethersfield Place, Braintree, Essex, Charles Gordon was educated Harrow School. He was gazetted a second lieutenant with the 3rd (Militia) Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highlanders) in 1897. In 1899 he transferred to the 2nd Battalion.
Military career
[edit]Gordon fought through the Second Boer War with the 2nd Battalion, taking part in the advance on Kimberley, the Battle of Paardeberg, and several other engagements.[1] After the war, he went to India with his battalion for ten years, including three years as regimental adjutant.
Promoted to major in 1915,[2] Gordon was severely wounded at the Battle of Loos shortly after. In 1916, he commanded a battalion at the Battle of the Somme. Later that year, he was appointed brigadier-general. On 23 July 1917, Gordon and Captain George Frederick Pragnall, his brigade major, were killed by a German shell in Belgium.