Gilbert Andrew Hugh Gordon (born 23 July 1951) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

academic maritime war historian, who wrote the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

history ''The Rules of the Game (Jutland & the British Naval Command)'' (1996).

Early life

Gordon received his early formal education at

Glenalmond College Glenalmond College is a co-educational independent boarding school in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, for children aged between 12 and 18 years. It is situated on the River Almond near the village of Methven, about west of the city of Perth. T ...

, in

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. He received a BSc in

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

(1987) in

War Studies War studies, sometimes called polemology, is the multi-disciplinary study of war. It pertains to the military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfa ...

from

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

. He formerly held the rank of Lieutenant Commander at , the London base of the British

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original ...

Career

Gordon is a Fellow of the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society (RHS), founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the H ...

and assisted with the drafting of British Maritime Doctrine (BR 1806), and Fighting Instructions. He first publication was his doctoral thesis, entitled 'British Sea Power and Procurement between the Wars' (1988). In 1996 he published a study of the British Grand Fleet's leadership in action against the

Imperial German Navy The Imperial German Navy or the ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy) was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for ...

at the

Battle of Jutland The Battle of Jutland () was a naval battle between Britain's Royal Navy Grand Fleet, under Admiral John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, Sir John Jellicoe, and the Imperial German Navy's High Seas Fleet, under Vice-Admiral Reinhard Scheer, durin ...

in 1916, entitled ''The Rules of the Game'' (1996). He appeared as a filmed interview contributor in the television documentary ''Jutland: Clash of the Dreadnoughts'' (2004). In its Summer 2006 edition, ''

History Today ''History Today'' is a history magazine. Published monthly in London since January 1951, it presents authoritative history to as wide a public as possible. The magazine covers all periods and geographical regions and publishes articles of tradit ...

'' published an article by Brian James, describing how three military historians, Christina Goulter and Gary Sheffield as well as Gordon, who teach on the higher command and staff course at Shrivenham, had reached the conclusion that it was the Royal Navy and not the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

that prevented a German invasion of the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

in 1940 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The article quotes Andrew Gordon stating "It really is time to put away this enduring myth. To claim that Germany failed to invade in 1940 because of what was done by phenomenally brave and skilled young men of Fighter Command is hogwash. The Germans stayed away because while the Royal Navy existed they had not a hope in hell of capturing these islands. The Navy had ships in sufficient numbers to have overwhelmed any invasion fleet." On publication the article drew some attention, despite it not being a wholly original new thesis, having been first posited by Duncan Grinnell-Milne in his book ''Silent Victory'' (1940). From 2007 to 2009 Gordon was on loan to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

from his position as Reader in Maritime History at the Joint Services Command and Staff College at Shrivenham, in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

. As of October 2018, he is writing a biography of Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay due for publication in April 2019.

Publications

* ''Admiral of the Narrow Seas: The Life of Bertram Ramsay'' (2019). Penguin Books. * ''British Sea power and Procurement between the Wars: A Reappraisal of Rearmament'' (1988). (Commercial publication of a doctoral thesis). * ''The Rules of the Game (Jutland and British Naval Command)'' (1996).

Awards

Duke of Westminster's Medal for Military Literature The Duke of Westminster's Medal for Military Literature was awarded by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, (the RUSI), Whitehall, London. Awarded annually from 1997 to 2016, the Medal was given to honour a living a ...

(1997) * Longman-History Today Awards Book of the Year Prize (1997)

References

External links