José Maria Jacobo Rafael Ramon Francisco Gabriel del Corazon de Jesus Gordon CB (1856 - 1929)

Born 18 Mar 1856 in Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Andalucía, Spain

Ancestors

Husband of Eleanor (Fitzgerald) Gordon — married 29 Feb 1892 in Elsternwick, Victoria (Australia)

Descendants

Died 6 Sep 1929 at age 73 in Egham, Surrey, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Joseph Gordon CB is Notable.

Major General Joseph Gordon CB held the position of commandant of the South Australian Military Forces and served in the Second Boer War in South Africa as Chief Staff Officer for Overseas Colonial Forces. He subsequently held the position of Chief of the General Staff in the Australian Army before commanding a number of reserve formations as a senior officer in the British Army during the First World War. Gordon was regarded as an able, energetic and intelligent officer who made the best of the scant means at his disposal to keep himself professionally informed and efficient. During his Australian service he contributed to the foundation of Australian military aviation and the setting up of the Lithgow Small Arms Factory.

formative years

Born José Maria Jacobo Rafael Ramon Francisco Gabriel del Corazon de Jesus Gordon y Prendergast on 18th March 1856 in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, in southern Spain, Joseph was the fourth surviving and youngest son of Carlos Gordon and Elena Prendergast. His Spanish-born parents were descended from 18th century migrants. Spanish was Gordon's mother tongue. He was a nephew of Spanish General, Luis de Prendergast y Gordon, first Marqués de Victoria de las Tunas. ^[1]

At age seven his family returned to Scotland when his father succeeded as the ninth laird of Wardhouse and Kildrummie, Aberdeenshire. Before becoming a boarder in 1868 at the Oratory School, Edgbaston, Birmingham, Joseph had to learn to speak English; although he retained an accent for the rest of his life. He later attended Beaumont College, a Jesuit school at Old Windsor. He attended the Artillery and Engineering military academy at Woolwich, beginning in 1874. ^[1]

a military career, mostly

Joseph Gordon CB migrated from Scotland to New Zealand.

Joseph Gordon CB migrated from New Zealand to South Australia.

After he obtained his commission, Gordon was stationed in Ireland in 1877-78, before contracting rheumatic fever. He resigned his commission on 16th August 1879 and, for health reasons, sailed to New Zealand where he became a drill instructor in the armed constabulary. He then moved to Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), and while trying to obtain military employment entered two unsuccessful business ventures, worked as a journalist, and for a few months went on the stage. Through the influence of the Governor of South Australia, Sir William Jervois, Gordon was employed as a mounted constable in Adelaide in June 1881, then in December was offered an artillery appointment as a subaltern on the permanent staff; his promotion was rapid and by May 1892 he was a Lieutenant Colonel. ^[1]

He was appointed the first commander for Fort Glanville, South Australia's first coastal fortification. In July 1893 he was appointed Commandant of the Military Forces of South Australia and promoted to Colonel. ^[1]

On 29th February 1892, Joseph married Eleanor Fitzgerald in St James' Roman Catholic Church, Elsternwick, Victoria. ^[2] They had a daughter and a son. Gordon's mother and father died in 1894 in Scotland and 1897 in Spain repsectively. ^[3]

Boer War

Joseph Gordon CB is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Second Boer War 1900-1901
chief of staff Overseas Colonial Forces

When the South African (Boer) War began in October 1899 Gordon had been serving temporarily in London for over a year as inspector of warlike stores for South Australia and other Australian colonies. After returning to Adelaide he sailed for Cape Town in January 1900 as a special service officer ^[4] and was appointed chief staff officer for Overseas Colonial Forces and promoted to Brigadier General. Gordon took part in military operations in Cape Colony, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal but was recalled after nine months by the South Australian government. For his work in South Africa he was appointed Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) on 19th April 1901 ^[5] and Mentioned in Despatches. ^[6] He received the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps.

Federation

The merging of the six Colonial Military Forces in 1901 to form a single Australian Military Force does not appear to have aided the career of the top South Australian soldier. After returning from the Boer War, Gordon commanded the new Commonwealth Military Forces in Victoria until 1905, and then in New South Wales between 1905 and 1912. He was passed over for the post of Inspector General and for that of Chief of the General Staff (CGS) in 1909, despite the fact that the former general officer commanding the Australian Military Forces, Lieutenant General Sir Edward Hutton, had made a more favourable report on him than on the subsequent appointee. ^[1]

Eleanor passed away in 1910. ^[3] Their two children were then in their mid-teens.

In May 1912 Gordon was appointed CGS but without promotion to Major General—probably to avoid extending his age for retirement. His term was completed on 31st July 1914. ^[1]

First World War

Major General Joseph Maria Gordon CB

Gordon was at sea, on his way to England on holiday, when the First World War was declared. He subsequently offered his services to the Australian Army but was unsuccessful, probably due to his age; he was then 58 years of age. In the United Kingdom he commanded the 92nd Brigade and the 10th Reserve Division, British Army, in 1914-15, was an inspector in the Ministry of Munitions in 1916-17, and in 1919 was with the army of occupation in Cologne, Germany. He was awarded the 1914-1915 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service in this second war. On 1st November 1921, aged 65 years, he was given the honorary rank of Major General and placed on the retired list of Australia's Commonwealth Military Forces. ^[1]

Post war

Joseph Gordon CB migrated from Australia to England.

After the war, Gordon remained in England and in 1921 his autobiography, The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon, was published in London. ^[3]

Passing away of cancer, aged 73 years, on 6th September 1929 in Egham, Surrey, Gordon and was buried in the Catholic section of Old Windsor Cemetery, Berkshire. ^[7][8]

Gordon's biographer, Warren Perry, noted: "Gordon was a keen, energetic and tenacious officer who made the best of the scant means at his disposal to keep himself professionally informed and efficient. None of the governments he served in Australia sent him to courses of training in England. He was, moreover, an officer with ideas. He was an early exponent of universal training and was active in the early development of military aviation in Australia and in the creation of the Small Arms Factory at Lithgow, New South Wales. But officers with ideas gather enemies as well as friends in seats of power and Gordon's fate in this respect, especially after Federation, seems to have been no exception." ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7} Perry, Warren. Gordon, Joseph Maria (1856–1929). Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1983; accessed online 5 Jun 2018
2. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #699/1892
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2} Wikipedia profile: Joseph Gordon; accessed 5 Jun 2018
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial: Special Service Officers; accessed 12 Jun 2019
5. ↑ Australian War Memorial: Order of the Bath; accessed 12 Jun 2019
6. ↑ Australian War Memorial: Mention in Despatches on 16th April 1901; accessed 12 Jun 2019
7. ↑ UK FreeBMD Death Index Sep qtr 1929, vol 2c, page 438
8. ↑ Joseph Maria Gordon (1856-1929) on Find A Grave: Memorial #179747966 retrieved 08 Sep 2019