19/05/2026
William James Gordon, VC
(19 May 1864–15 August 1922), was a Jamaican soldier in the British Army and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery in combat. He enlisted in the 1st Battalion, West India Regiment in 1885.
In 1892, during the Second Gambia Campaign, Gordon was deployed to Toniataba to counter local resistance.
On 13 March 1892, during an attack on the town, Gordon, then a lance corporal, saved Major G. O. Madden by throwing himself between the officer and hidden muskets, warning him and pushing him to safety. Gordon was shot through the lungs but survived.
His bravery earned him the Victoria Cross. Promoted to sergeant, he later attended Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
After leaving the army in 1902, he worked as a firing range warden in Kingston, Jamaica.
Gordon died of a stroke in 1922 and was buried with military honors at Up Park Camp.
His VC is displayed at the Jamaica Defence Force Museum.