Major General Joseph Maria Gordon CB (19 March 1856 – 6 September 1929) was a senior officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, later holding the position of Commandant of the South Australian Military Forces and serving in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

in South Africa. Gordon subsequently held the position of

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

before commanding a number of reserve formations during 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 ...

. Born in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

, Spain, he was the son of Carlos Pedro Gordon, of Scottish descent, and Elena Maria Prendergast, of Irish descent. He died in 1929.

Early life

Gordon was born in

, in southern Spain. At birth, he was named José María Gordon y Prendergast. Following Spanish naming conventions he had two family names, Gordon for his father and Prendergast for his mother. His Spanish-born parents of Scottish and Irish descentPerry 1983, pp. 54–55. were descended from 18th century migrants from Scotland.Hastings 1986, p. 180. Spanish was Gordon's mother tongue, but at age seven, in 1867, his family returned to Scotland, when his father had inherited the family estates. Gordon then learnt to speak English, but he retained an accent for many years, if not the rest of his life. He grew up in Britain, where he attended the artillery and engineering military academy at

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, beginning in 1874. At that time, while still a cadet, he met the future King of Spain, Prince Alfonso, who was in exile, attending the military school at Sandhurst. Prince Alfonso was proclaimed King of Spain in December 1874 and received the news while he was dining with Gordon in London. During that time Spain was engaged in a civil war, the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War (), which occurred from 1872 to 1876, was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier Second Carlist War, "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relative ...

, and Gordon told Prince Alfonso that he had made plans to travel to northern Spain and join his enemy Carlos, Duke of Madrid with the object of gaining military experience. Prince Alfonso told Gordon that he could give him a letter of recommendation so he could join the royalist army, but Gordon declined.The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon (Autobiography), Chapter 5: My Meetings With King Alfonso.

Military career

After he obtained his commission, Gordon was stationed in Ireland, but in 1879 he resigned in poor health and traveled to New Zealand with the hope of improving his health. In New Zealand he spent time as a

drill instructor A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces, fire department, or police forces with specific duties that vary by country. Foot drill, military step, and marching are typically taught by drill instructors. Australia Aust ...

before moving to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and working as a journalist. He unsuccessfully tried acting, newspaper publishing, and being a merchant before joining the police force in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, South Australia in 1881. He subsequently joined the Australian Army as an officer in an artillery regiment. In South Australia he was appointed the first commander for Fort Glanville, the state's first coastal fortification. He was appointed on 8 September 1882 as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

and took charge of the fort and district. By 1892 he had been promoted to lieutenant colonel.Dennis et al 2008, p. 240. That year he also married Eileen Fitzgerald; the couple had two children, Eileen and Carlos. He was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in 1893 and became the Commandant of South Australia's military forces in the same year, succeeding Major General M.F. Downes. During his career he was appointed a

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

and temporarily made brigadier general. He wrote the training manual for all South Australian garrison artillery. In 1900 he went to South Africa where he participated in the

, serving as chief staff officer for Overseas Colonial Forces. Following the

federation A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

of the Australian colonies Gordon was transferred to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

where he commanded the new Commonwealth Military Forces in the state until 1905, and later held a similar command in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

between 1905 and 1912. Although he had been passed over for a number of senior appointments previously, Gordon subsequently held the position of Chief of the General Staff without promotion to major general during 1912–1914 in order not to extend his time until retirement. Gordon relinquished this position in July 1914 and was on his way to England on holiday when the

broke out. He subsequently offered his services to the Australian Army but was unsuccessful, probably due to his age. However, he subsequently commanded a number of reserve formations of the British Army in England during 1914–1915, and later served with the Army of Occupation in Germany in 1919. In 1921, he was given the honorary rank of major general and placed on the retired list. He published his autobiography the same year. He died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

in England in 1929. He was regarded as an able and intelligent officer and during his service he contributed to the foundation of early Australian military aviation and the setting up of the

Lithgow Small Arms Factory Lithgow Arms is an Australian small arms manufacturer located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales. Established by the Australian Government in 1912 as the Lithgow Small Arms Factory to ease reliance on the British for the supply of defence m ...

Notes

References

* * * *

External links

* *
Autobiography
(Photographic reproduction)
''The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon'' at Project Gutenberg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Joseph Maria 1856 births 1929 deaths Australian Army officers Australian generals British Army major generals Australian police officers English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent Deaths from cancer in England Companions of the Order of the Bath Royal Artillery officers Spanish people of Irish descent Spanish people of Scottish descent Spanish emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Jerez de la Frontera Chiefs of Army (Australia)