Bernard Sidney Gordon VC MM (1891 - 1963)

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 First World War 1.2 Military Medal 1.3 Victoria Cross 1.4 post-war 1.5 Sale of VC 2 Sources 3 See also

Biography

Bernard Sidney Gordon was born on 16th August 1891 at Launceston, Tasmania (Australia). He was the son of Charles Gordon, cabman and later hotel proprietor, and Mary Rolands. ^[1] After completing his formal education at Deloraine and Devonport he worked as a cooper's machinist at Beaconsfield. He later went to Townsville, Queensland, where he was in charge of remounts en route to India.

Bernard married Evelyn Lonergan on 29th December 1915 in Launceston, with Catholic rites. There were six children of this marriage.

First World War

Whilst living in Townsville, on 27th September 1915, Gordon enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force for service overseas during the First World War. ^[2] He embarked for the Middle East and, subsequently, the Western Front on the Demosthenes in May 1916 ^[3] with reinforcements for the 41st Australian Infantry Battalion, 11th Brigade, 3rd Division. The battalion arrived in France on 25th November 1916 and entered the front line for the first time on Christmas Eve. It had a supporting role at Messines on 7th June 1917, captured its objectives at Broodseinde on 4th October with little difficulty, and was spared the carnage of Passchendaele on 12th October. Gordon was wounded during these last actions. ^[4]

Military Medal

On 8th August 1918, Gordon, as an acting Lance Corporal during the Battle of Amiens, performed the following deeds leading to him being awarded the Military Medal: "... during the attack east of Hamel Pte Gordon single-handedly attacked a machine gun crew which was holding up his section. He killed the crew and captured the gun. Later on in the day he stalked and killed an enemy sniper. Throughout the operation he displayed much bravery and devotion to duty."^[5]

This action occurred on the 'Black Day' of the German Army, in which the Australian Corps destroyed their opposition. As a result of this, on 9th August the Canadian Corps advance led to a general retreat by the German troops. The Australian 3rd Division continued to advance toward the bend in the River Somme. During this period the following action, for which Gordon was awarded the Victoria Cross, took place:

Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

During the operations of the 26/27th August 1918 East of Bray, Gordon showed most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in the face of the enemy. He "led his Section through heavy enemy shelling to the objective which he consolidated. Then single handed he attacked an enemy machine gun which was enfilading the company on his right, killing the man on the gun and captured the post which contained one Officer (a Captain) and 10 men. After handing these over at company headquarters he returned alone to the old system of trenches, in which were many machine guns, returning with fifteen prisoners in one squad and fourteen in another. Again he returned to the system, this time with support, and proceeded to mop up a further portion of the trench, bringing in 22 prisoners including one Officer and three machine guns. This last capture enabled the British troops on our left to advance, which they had not been able to do owing to machine gun fire from these posts." ^[6][7]

Gordon was wounded a few days later at Bouchavesnes Spur. He was evacuated and sent to England on 4th September 1918, where he was presented the Military Medal on 15th September 1918. He was not presented the Victoria Cross until 20th December 1918 (after the Armistice). He was also awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

post-war

Upon his return to Australia, Gordon relocated his family to Queensland, he initially ran a grocer's shop for a year at Clayfield, a northern suburb of Brisbane, but then took up dairy farming and a Jersey stud property, Lincolnfield, near Beaudesert, where he farmed for forty-three years.

Recently widowered, Bernard married Caroline Manley, née Victorsen, a widow, on 15th September 1938, in the Ann Street Presbyterian Church, Brisbane; ^[8] they had two sons and one daughter, Caroline. ^[9] Carol continued working the farm after her father.

As a Victoria Cross recipient, Gordon was awarded coronation medals for King George VI in 1937 and Queen Elizabeth II in 1953.

He passed away, aged 72 years, on 19th October 1963 in Torquay, in Queensland's beautiful Hervey Bay. His remains were cremated and ashes interred at Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, Holland Park, Queensland. ^[10] He was survived by his second wife and eight of his children.

In 1960, in his honour, the Gordon Soldiers' Club was opened at Cabarlah, Queensland. Barney Gordon VC Road runs by his farm just south of the township of Beaudesert.

Two of Keith's grandsons, Keith and Andrew Gee, later became prominent members of the Beaudesert Kingfishers, Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australian Rugby League teams.

Sale of VC

Gordon's Victoria Cross was sold at auction in Sydney on 28th November 2006 for A$478,000, by Gordon's daughter, Caroline, who stated that she needed money to keep the family farm in operation. In a gallant act of philanthropy, the medal was purchased by media tycoon Kerry Stokes, who has loaned it for display at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Sources

1. ↑ Tasmania Birth Index #939143/1891
2. ↑ Australian War Memorial nominal roll: 23 Lance Corporal Bernard Sidney Gordon; accessed 23 Apr 2019
3. ↑ Australian War Memorial embarkation roll: 23 Lance Corporal Bernard Sidney Gordon; accessed 23 Apr 2019
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial unit record: 41st Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 23 Apr 2019
5. ↑ Australian Honours: Bernard Sidney Gordon MC; accessed 23 Apr 2019
6. ↑ Australian Honours: Bernard Sidney Gordon VC; accessed 23 Apr 2019
7. ↑ London Gazette 24 December 1918 Supplement: 31082 Page: 15118; Victoria Cross; accessed 23 Apr 2019
8. ↑ Queensland Marriage Index #B33078/1938
9. ↑ Beaudesert Times: Devotion and bravery earned Barney a VC; accessed 23 Apr 2019
10. ↑ Queensland Death Index #C5717/1963

See also

• Courtney, James W. 'Gordon, Bernard Sidney (1891–1963)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1983; accessed online 23 Apr 2019.
• Wikipedia profile: Bernard Gordon.