Gordon Sanderson (1886 – 13 October 1915) was an officer with the

Archaeological Survey of India The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...

(ASI) and held the position of the Superintendent, Mahomedan and British Monuments, Northern Circle. He is best known for his work in preserving and documenting the historical monuments of India. Sanderson also wrote books on Indian monuments including ''Delhi Fort: A Guide to the Buildings and Gardens'', ''Conservation Notes on Archaeological Buildings in Delhi Province'', ''The Arts and Antiquities of India: An Illustrated Selection.'' At the peak of his career with the ASI, Sanderson decided to fight for Britain when the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

broke out. He took charge as Lieutenant of

2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) The 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles) was a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army before being transferred to the British Army on India's independence in 1947. The 4th Battalion joined the Indian Army as the 5th B ...

. On 13 October 1915, aged 28, Lieutenant Gordon Sanderson was killed in action in France. He was buried in the Gorre British and Indian Cemetery, at Pas de Calais, northern France. In recognition of his work with the Archaeological Survey of India, a monument was erected at the

Qutb Complex The Qutb Minar complex are monuments and buildings from the Delhi Sultanate at Mehrauli in Delhi, India. Construction of the Qutub Minar "victory tower" in the complex, named after the religious figure Sufi Saint Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kak ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati B ...

in 1919. The monument, a white marble

sundial A sundial is a horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the word, it consists of a fl ...

, was installed by his colleagues from ASI. Sanderson had carried out extensive excavations in the area around Qutub Minar starting in 1910 AD. He is credited with making the Qutub Minar complex what it is today.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanderson, Gordon British civil servants Archaeology of India 1886 births 1915 deaths 20th-century British archaeologists Indian Army personnel killed in World War I Royal Gurkha Rifles officers