William Gordon

Posted by D.Hall on Saturday 19th of September 2020 21:11

Thank you very interesting. Also just to add. Another younger brother was Alexander Gordon ADC to Wellington. He died from wounds at Waterloo 1815.

Posted by Ian Logan on Wednesday 5th of February 2020 21:49

This appears to be Vice-Admiral William Gordon 1784-1858
There is a lot about him ... Here are some notes as he is buried in Littleham, Devon

Almost unknown now, this man was very famous and important in the 19th, century. He was born in Scotland and a son of Lord Haddo. He joined the Navy in 1797 as a midshipman on HMS Romulus of 36 guns. By 1807 he was in command of the sloop Charwell serving in the West Indies. He continued to serve in various ships until 1830; and was made Rear-Admiral in 1846.
From 1820-24 he was the Member of Parliament for Aberdeenshire and a Lord of the Admiralty from 1841-46. Later, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Nore between 1854 and 1857; a post which effectively made him the ‘Chief Executive’ of the Navy during the Crimean War.
He died, unmarried, in Exmouth in 1858; and does not appear to have had a long term connection to the town Also he is not a relative of Major-General Charles Gordon who was killed in Khartoum.
It is interesting to find that this man was the brother of George Hamilton Gordon, Earl of Aberdeen, who as Prime Minister from 1852-1855 and led the country into the Crimean War.