James Willoughby Gordon
British general
General Sir James Willoughby Gordon, 1st Baronet, (21 October 1772 – 4 January 1851) was a general officer in the British Army. He notably served as most long-standing Quartermaster-General to the Forces, holding the position for some 40 years.
Early life
He was the eldest son of Captain Francis Grant-Gordon RN and Mary, daughter of Sir Willoughby Aston, 5th Baronet of Risley, Derbyshire. His younger brothers were Admiral Charles Gordon and Rear-Admiral Henry Gordon, who was twice mayor of Bath.
Military career
Gordon was commissioned into the 66th Regiment of Foot in 1783.
He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General in Ireland in 1795 and in 1801 under Colonel William Henry Clinton commanded the 85th Regiment of Foot in Madeira following its capture. Later the same year he became Deputy Adjutant-General in the West Indies. After serving as Aide de Camp and Military Secretary to the Duke of Kent, he returned to England in 1803 to become Assistant Quartermaster-General. He was made Military Secretary to Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in 1804, during which period he gave what Thomas Creevey regarded as "pompous, impudent evidence" to the House of Commons enquiry into the Mary Anne Clarke Affair. He was subsequently Commissary-in-Chief to the Forces from 1809.
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