Desmond Gordon Explained

Desmond Gordon
Birth Date:25 December 1911
Death Date:4 November 1997 (aged 85)
Allegiance: United Kingdom
Serviceyears:1932−1966
Servicenumber:50906
Rank:Major-General
Commands:1/7th Battalion, Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)
151st Infantry Brigade
146th Infantry Brigade
131st Lorried Infantry Brigade
16th Independent Parachute Brigade Group
4th Division
Unit:Green Howards
Battles:World War II
Awards:Companion of the Order of the Bath
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Distinguished Service Order

Major-General Desmond Spencer Gordon CB CBE DSO JP DL (25 December 1911 – 4 November 1997) was a British Army officer who commanded 4th Division.

Military career

Educated at Haileybury and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,[1] Gordon was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Green Howards on 28 January 1932.[2]

He served in the Second World War as Commanding Officer of 1/7th Queen's Regiment from 1943 and then as Commander of the 151st (Durham) Infantry Brigade from 1944 and as Commander of 146th Infantry Brigade from later that year in North West Europe.[3]

After the War he was made Commander of 131st Lorried Infantry Brigade.[2] He became Deputy Director of Infantry at the War Office in 1951, Commander of 16th Independent Parachute Brigade Group in 1952 and Assistant Commandant of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1956.[2] He went on to be Deputy Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster General at Headquarters 1st Corps in 1959, General Officer Commanding 4th Division in 1959 and Chief Army Instructor at the Imperial Defence College in 1962.[2] His last appointment was as Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in 1964 before retiring in 1966.[2]

In retirement he became Commander-in-Chief of the St John's Ambulance Brigade.[2] Carlos Luis Sancha was commissioned to paint his portrait in 1976.[4]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: St John of Jerusalem . 14 August 2011 . 20 March 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120320012026/http://www.haileybury.com/medals/saint_john_of_jerusalem.htm . dead .
  2. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/lhcma/locreg/GORDON.shtml Desmond Spencer Gordon
  3. http://www.generals.dk/general/Gordon/Desmond_Spencer/Great_Britain.html Generals.dk
  4. https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/major-general-desmond-spencer-gordon-cb-cbe-dso-colonel-of-the-regiment-19651975-10142 Major-General Desmond Spencer Gordon, CB, CBE, DSO, Colonel of the Regiment (1965–1975) by Carlos Luis Sancha