Notre Dame de Rouen. The façade of the Gothic Church in France. Photographer: Hippo1947. Licence: SHUTTERSTOCK.

Friday 15 December 2017

Scottish Regiments. The Gordon Highlanders.



"When The Battle Is Over".
The Gordon Highlanders.
Available on YouTube at


The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encylopaedia,
unless stated otherwise.

The Gordon Highlanders were a Line Infantry Regiment of The British Army that existed for
113 years, from 1881 until 1994, when they was amalgamated with The Queen's Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons, and Camerons).


The Gordon Highlanders Regimental Cap Badge.
The Motto " Bydand " means "
abiding", "steadfast",
an adjectival use of The Middle Scots Present Participle of Bide.

The Regiment was formed on 1 July 1881, instigated under The Childers Reforms.

The new Two-Battalion Regiment was formed out of The 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot —which became The 1st Battalion of the new Regiment — and The 92nd (Gordon Highlanders) Regiment of Foot, which became the 2nd Battalion.

The 1st Battalion fought at The Battle of Tel el-Kebir in September 1882 during The Anglo-Egyptian War, and then took part in The Nile Expedition in an attempt to relieve Major-General Charles Gordon during The Mahdist War.

The 1st Battalion then took part in The Chitral Expedition and then The Tirah Campaign; it was during operations on The North West Frontier in October 1897, during the storming of The Dargai Heights, that one of the Regiment's most famous Victoria Crosses was earned. Piper George Findlater, despite being wounded in both legs, continued to play the Bagpipes during the assault.


"Cock O' The North".
Played by Piper John Kidd, despite his injuries,
during The Charge of The Gordon Highlanders at Dargai Heights, Pakistan.
An attack on Dargai Heights, during The Tirah Campaign, resulted in the award of four Victoria Crosses. The Heights were held by Afridi tribesmen, but were successfully stormed by The Gordon Highlanders and The Gurkhas on 20 October 1897.
of The Derbyshire Regiment and Samuel Vickery of The Dorsetshire Regiment were Medal Recipients. The Action was Commemorated in verse by William McGonagall, the Pipe March "The Heights of Dargai" by J. Wallace, and the Fiddle Tune "Dargai" by James Scott SkinnerRichard Thompson later arranged and recorded a version of the Skinner Tune for the Guitar.
Available on YouTube at


Another of the heroes involved in The Charge of The Gordon Highlanders at Dargai Heights was Piper John Kidd. Piper Kidd was with Piper Findlater when, half-way up The Heights, both Pipers were shot down. Unmindful of his injuries, Piper Kidd sat up and continued to play "The Cock o' the North" as the Troops advanced up The Heights.

The 2nd Battalion fought at The Battle of Elandslaagte, in October 1899, and The Siege of Ladysmith, in November 1899, during The Second Boer War. Meanwhile, The 1st Battalion, who arrived a little later, saw Action at The Battle of Magersfontein, in December 1899, and was again in Action at Doornkop, where they suffered severe losses, in May 1900.


English: 92nd Highlanders and 2nd Gurkhas
storming The Gaudi Mullah Sahibdad at Kandahar 1 September 1880.
Polski: Druga wojna anglo-afgańska.
Date: Late-19th-Century.
Source: D. Chandler (ed.): The Oxford Illustrated History of The British Army,
Oxford University Press 1994, ISBN 0-19-869178-5.
Author: Richard Caton Woodville, Jr. (1856–1927).
(Wikimedia Commons)


In 1908, the Volunteers and Militia were reorganised nationally, with the former becoming The Territorial Force and the latter The Special Reserve; The Regiment now had one Reserve Battalion and four Territorial Battalions.

After The Second World War, The Gordons saw Active Service in The Malayan Emergency, Cyprus, and Northern Ireland. The Regiment was amalgamated with The Queens' Own Highlanders (Seaforth and Camerons) on 17 September 1994 to form The Highlanders (Seaforth, Gordons, and Camerons).

In 1997, The Gordon Highlanders Museum opened, in the former Regimental Headquarters in Aberdeen.

The Gordon Highlanders Museum Web-Site is HERE

Gordon tartan (Vestiarium Scoticum).png

The Gordon Tartan, as published in "Vestiarium Scoticum".
Modern Thread Count: B60 Bk2 B2 Bk2 B8 Bk28 G52 Y2 G2 Y4 G2 Y2 G52 Bk28 B40 Bk2 B8.
Date: 22 July 2007.
Source: Own work.
Author: Celtus.
(Wikimedia Commons)

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