The Gordon Highlanders was a line infantry regiment of the British Army that existed for 113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when it was amalgamated with the Queen’s Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form the Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons and Camerons).
History Early history
92nd Highlanders at Kandahar
by Richard Caton Woodville (1856-1927).
Monument in Aberdeen to the Gordon Highlanders who fell in the Anglo-Egyptian War
The regiment was formed on 1 July 1881 instigated under the Childers Reforms. The new two-battalion regiment was formed out of the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot—which became the 1st Battalion of the new regiment—and the 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, which became the 2nd Battalion.
The 1st battalion fought at the Battle of Tel el-Kebir in September 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War, and then took part in the Nile Expedition in an attempt to relieve Major-General Charles Gordon during the Mahdist War.
The 1st Battalion then took part in the Chitral Expedition and then the Tirah Campaign; it was during operations on the North West Frontier in October 1897, during the storming of the Dargai Heights, that one of the regiment’s most famous Victoria Crosses was earned. Piper George Findlater, despite being wounded in both legs, continued to play the bagpipes during the assault. Another of the heroes involved in the charge of the Gordon Highlanders at Dargai Heights was Piper John Kidd. Piper Kidd was with Piper Findlater when, half-way up the heights, both pipers were shot down. Unmindful of his injuries, Piper Kidd sat up and continued to play “The Cock o’ the North” as the troops advanced up the heights.
The 2nd Battalion fought at the Battle of Elandslaagte in October 1899 and the Siege of Ladysmith in November 1899 during the Second Boer War.[6] Meanwhile the 1st Battalion, who arrived a little later, saw action at the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899 and was again in action at Doornkop, where they suffered severe losses, in May 1900.
In 1908 the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming the Territorial Force and the latter the Special Reserve; the regiment now had one Reserve and four Territorial battalions.
First World War
British troops, believed to be the 2nd Battalion, The Gordon Highlanders (20th Brigade, British 7th Division) crossing no man’s land near Mametz on 1 July 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Gordon Highlanders (Plymouth, 1914)
Regular ArmyThe 1st Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in August 1914 for service on the Western Front; they suffered heavy losses at the Battle of Le Cateau in August 1914. The 2nd Battalion landed at Zeebrugge as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division in October 1914 for service on the Western Front and then moved to Italy in November 1917.
Territorial Force
The 1/4th (City of Aberdeen) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 8th Brigade in the 3rd Division in February 1915 for service on the Western Front.[10] The 1/5th (Buchan and Formartin) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st (Highland) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front.The 1/6th (Banff and Donside) Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 20th Brigade in the 7th Division for service on the Western Front. The 1/7th (Deeside Highland) Battalion landed at Boulogne-sur-Mer as part of the 153rd Brigade in the 51st (Highland) Division in May 1915 for service on the Western Front.
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