Private Alexander Gordon

Private Alexander Gordon

2nd Battalion Gordon Highlanders "C" Company
Service No: S/9453

554

0

4

1

131

Click here for a frameable A4 print

Personal details

Family Information

Eldest son of Alexander (05/11/1867 - 29/04/1956) and Grace Adamson Gordon (21/02/1871 - 23/06/1909) of 114 Sunnyside Rd, Coatbridge. Alexander had 6 sisters and 2 brothers (sister Catherine died in 1901). Husband of Elizabeth Henderson McClure Gordon (23/03/1890 - 23/02/1975) of 27 Ronald St, Coatbridge. They married on the 18/07/1914. Their only son James (Jim) was born in 1915. Sadly James died aged just 4 years (13/01/1915 - 26/02/1919). Alexander and Elizabeth had only been married under 8 months before he enlisted. From the 1901 Census - Address - 11c Weir St, Coatbridge - Alexander Gordon aged 34, Grace Gordon aged 30, Alexander Gordon aged 11, Margaret Black Gordon aged 10 (22/02/1891 - 24/03/1973), James Adamson Gordon aged 8 (17/12/1892 - 23/12/1964), Jane Yeates Gordon aged 6 (29/11/1894 - 12/11/1982), Grace Adamson Gordon aged 4 (26/06/1896 - 14/03/1980), Catherine Gordon aged 2 (26/08/1898 - 02/08/1901). Alexander had 2 more sisters and 1 brother - Elizabeth Black Gordon (14/07/1901 - 19/10/1985), Agnes Gordon (26/08/1907 - 23/04/1962) and John Gordon (05/02/1909 - ). Alexander's Pension was awarded to his wife Elizabeth and Miss Isa Gartshore.

Born / Resided

Gartsherrie, Coatbridge / 27 Ronald St, Coatbridge.

Died

Killed in Action on the 25/09/1915 on the opening day of the Battle of Loos

Enlisted

Coatbridge 10/03/1915

Employed

Iron Worker with the Lochrin Iron Works.

Age

26 / DOB - 14/05/1889

Buried / Remembered

Loos Memorial (Panel 115 to 119), Pas de Calais, France.

Cemetery / Memorial Information

The Loos Memorial commemorates over 20,000 officers and men who have no known grave, who fell in the area from the River Lys to the old southern boundary of the First Army, east and west of Grenay, from the first day of the Battle of Loos to the end of the war. On either side of the cemetery is a wall 15 feet high, to which are fixed tablets on which are carved the names of those commemorated. At the back are four small circular courts, open to the sky, in which the lines of tablets are continued, and between these courts are three semicircular walls or apses, two of which carry tablets, while on the centre apse is erected the Cross of Sacrifice.

Additional Information

The 2nd Battalion arrived in Zeebrugge on the 07/10/1914 and were part of the 20th Brigade, 7th Division. Alexander embarked from Southampton on the 07/07/1915 and joined the Battalion on the 11/07/1915. He fell 2 months and 2 weeks later. Alexander was another of the men on the Coatbridge Memorial to fall on the opening day of the Battle of Loos. He was 1 of 99 men from the Coatbridge Memorial who fell during and from injuries from the Battle of Loos. From 7.05am - noon on the opening day of the Battle : On the right-hand 7th Division found that the gas cloud generally moved well in this sector, but local wind variations meant that not all cylinders were turned on here. Many men struggled to breathe in their gas helmets as they advanced into the cloud and removed them, consequently suffering from gas themselves. Heavy losses were incurred by the lead units of 20th Brigade in No Man's Land from German shelling, which had been opened up to try to dispel the gas and smoke cloud. The 8th Devonshire suffered heavy machine-gun casualties, the wire in front of their sector having been only partially cleared. However, the 2nd Gordon Highlanders fared better and soon pushed past the German front line towards Gun Trench and Hulluch. The situation at noon : 7th Division was on the outskirts of Hulluch. SEE PHOTOS x 54 FOR THE 2nd BATTALION GORDON HIGHLANDERS WAR DIARY SEPTEMBER 1915. Alexander is listed as MISSING on War Diary (47). Also SEE PHOTOS x 24 FOR THE 7th DIVISION BOOK SEPTEMBER 1915. Divisional Casualties for the Battle are listed on the final photo. The 7th Division took part in the initial assault north of the Vermelles - Hulluch road, facing the Hulluch quarries and a series of strongpoints. Suffering badly from British poison gas, which was not moved sufficiently by the gentle breeze, and badly cut up by German machine gun fire and artillery, the Division nonetheless seized the quarries and only failed to penetrate the third German line due to the relative weakness of the numbers of men that got through. The Divisional Commander, Major-General Thompson Capper, Died of Wounds received during this action, on the 27/09/1915. Scottish Regiments lost a huge amount of brave men at Loos. Here is a list of Infantry Battalions who lost more than 500 men at the Battle of Loos from 25/09/1915 to 16/10/1915 - 7th Cameron Highlanders 687, of which 19 Officers, 9th Black Watch 680, of which 20 Officers, 6th King's Own Scottish Borderers 650, of which 20 Officers, 10th Highland Light Infantry 648, of which 20 Officers, 7th King's Own Scottish Borderers 631, of which 20 Officers, 8th Devons 619, of which 19 Officers, 8th Royal West Kents 580, of which 24 Officers, 8th Buffs 558, of which 24 Officers, 12th Highland Light Infantry 553, of which 23 Officers, 8th Black Watch 511, of which 19 Officers, 5th North Staffordshire 505, of which 20 Officers, 8th Seaforth Highlanders 502, of which 23 Officers. British casualties in the main Loos front between the 25th September and 16th October 1915 : Formations that lost more than 5,000 men - 15th (Scottish) Division: 6,896 of which 228 Officers, 9th (Scottish) Division: 6,058 of which 190 Officers, 1st Division: 6,030 of which 246 Officers and the 7th Division: 5,224 of which 220 Officers. Alexander was a member of Gartsherrie Prize Silver Band and played the soprano cornet. In his youth he belonged to the 1st Coatbridge Boys Brigade. Alexander is also remembered on the Gartsherrie Church Roll of Honour (see photos). See photos for Alexander's Medal Index Card, a letter to Alexander's wife from Lieutenant George H. Gordon of "C" Company (Newspaper clipping), Alexander and Elizabeth's son James (Jim) listed on the Grave of Elizabeth's parents in Old Monkland Cemetery, his CWGC Grave Registration, his name on the Loos Memorial Panel List, his name on the Loos Memorial, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, Alexander's Pension Records x 2, his Service Records x 11 and the Gordon Highlanders Cap Badge. Also see photos for Newspaper clippings x 4 (Coatbridge Express x 3 and Coatbridge Leader x 1), the 7th Division Order of Battle x 12 (the Division Alexander was with when he died), myself with a wreath at the Gordon Highlanders Panels at the Loos Memorial in July 2023 (Alexander listed middle right), photos of a wreath x 2 placed by myself at Loos Memorial in July 2023 remembering ALL the men who left from the Iron Burgh who are named there and PHOTOS FOR 17 PAGES FROM THE MOST UNFAVOURABLE GROUND BOOK REGARDING THE BATTALION and DIVISION AT THE BATTLE OF LOOS 25/09/1915 (fantastic book on the Battle kindly signed by the author Niall Cherry).

Photos

War Diaries

The battalion War Diary is available on the National Archives website.

Creative Commons License

We have made this information and the images available under a Creative Commons BY-NC license. This means you may reuse it for non-commercial purposes only and must attribute it to us using the following statement: © coatbridgeandthegreatwar.com

Comments

Alexander Gordon was my great uncle. I never knew him but reading all about him has brought him to life. I want to thank him and all the other soldiers for their support and service to the country.. makes me proud. We will never forget xxx
April McIntosh, Aberdeen , 06/09/2024 12:15PM

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