25/04/2026
Stories Beyond the Graves | Faces from the Past
Lieutenant-Colonel George Grant Gordon (1836–1912)
Military Hero
Born in 1836
in Belgravia, London,
George Grant Gordon
was the first child
of Lord Francis Arthur Gordon,
a Lieutenant-Colonel,
and Isabella Keir Gordon,
née Grant.
His father
was one of the ten children
of the 9th Marquis of Huntly,
and the family lived
at 5 Wilton Crescent,
Hanover Square.
Royal service
came early.
On 28 April 1844,
Queen Victoria
appointed young George
as her First Page of Honour,
a role given
to teenage sons
of the nobility and gentry,
requiring attendance
at important state occasions.
He held the position
until 1852,
serving within
the royal household
during his youth.
His military path
began at Sandhurst,
where in 1851
he was recorded
as a Gentleman Cadet.
When he left the academy
he joined the army,
obtaining his commission
as Ensign and Lieutenant
in the Scots Fusilier Guards
on 13 February 1852.
War soon followed.
During the Crimean War
from 1854 to 1855,
George served as a Captain
with the 1st Battalion,
Scots Fusilier Guards.
He fought
at Alma,
Balaclava,
and Inkerman,
and during the siege
and fall of Sebastopol.
Severely wounded
in the campaign,
he nevertheless continued
to serve with distinction.
For his service
he received
the Crimean Medal
with four clasps,
the 5th Class
of the Order of the Medjidie,
and the Turkish Medal.
Between August 1855
and November 1856
he served as
Aide-de-Camp
to General Sir James Simpson,
commanding forces
in the Crimea.
Promotion followed.
He became
Lieutenant and Captain
on 26 December 1854,
and later
Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel
on 23 February 1863.
In 1863
George retired
from active military service,
though his connection
to the army continued
as Lieutenant-Colonel
of the 2nd Battalion,
Royal Scots Reserve Regiment,
and later
Honorary Colonel
commanding the
3rd Battalion (Militia)
Royal Scots,
the Lothian Regiment.
That same year
he married
Constance Augusta Lennox Peel
on 8 August 1863
at St Paul’s Church,
Knightsbridge.
Constance,
born in Brighton,
was the daughter
of Lieutenant-General
Laurence Peel
and Lady Jane Lennox.
Together
they had three children
two sons
and a daughter.
Their eldest son,
Laurence George Frank Gordon,
would later fight
in the Boer War
and rise
to the rank
of Brigadier-General.
George’s royal service
continued for decades.
From 1866 to 1896
he served as
Equerry and Controller
of the Household
to Prince and Princess Christian
of Schleswig-Holstein.
In 1871
the family lived
at Frogmore Cottage
in New Windsor,
while by 1881
he was residing
at Royal Lodge
in Windsor Great Park,
serving as
a Royal Equerry.
Public honour
followed his service.
In 1891
he was appointed
Companion
of the Order of the Bath (CB),
and also served
as Justice of the Peace
for the County of London
and later
for Berkshire.
By 1910
Colonel and Mrs Grant Gordon
were living in Worthing,
at their home
named Inkerman
in Shelley Road
a name recalling
one of the great battles
of the Crimean War.
There he lived
as a retired army colonel,
still respected
for a lifetime
of military
and royal service.
Lieutenant-Colonel
George Grant Gordon
died in 1912,
his life reflecting
a path of duty,
honour,
and loyalty
to Crown and country.
Burial research by Liz Lane
Click for more information: https://www.heenecemetery.org.uk/burial/george-gordon-buried-1912
