I'd be most grateful if anybody could supply any information whatsoever about the following soldier: Major John Gordon-Duff (1899-1996). I've read in one of the fleeting references to him online that he "had a distinguished military career in India & the Middle East," but there's nothing more floating around apart from the fact that he attended Winchester and Sandhurst and in later life privately published four volumes of memoirs. Strangely, his entry here: http://thepeerage.com/p5476.htm#i54756 cites an entry at www.unithistories.com but I can't find it anywhere. Has he turned up in anybody's reading or research? Edit: According to the description of a film held at the IWM, he was six miles east of Mareth Line, Tunisia on 26/02/1943 with 5/7th Gordon Highlanders! That would chime with his name and make him part of the 153rd Infantry Brigade (of the 51st Highland Division). More: full name: MAJOR JOHN BEAUCHAMP GORDON DUFF, M.B.E., P/15381 By 6th Jan. 1944 he was on Malta and had moved to the Rifle Brigade (in which he served in WW1 and inter-war) and by 21st Nov. 1945 he was serving as Liaison Officer to Lieutenant-General Sir Alan Gordon Cunningham, who had been appointed High Commissioner & C in C for Palestine. Can anybody manage anything more personal? Edit2: War Diary online but no reference: http://www.warlinks.com/pages/diary.php
I managed to find a mention of a John Gordon Duff receiving his commission as a 2/Lieutenant on 9th February 1941. His name does not have a hyphen, so we cannot be sure it is definitely him. See attached London Gazette. I've placed an arrow against the relevant entries. View attachment LG 28:03:1941.pdf
Name: John Beauchamp Gordon-duff Registration Year: 1899 Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar Registration district: Shipston on Stour Inferred County: Warwickshire Volume: 6d Page: 742 Name: John Beauchamp Gordon Duff Birth Date: 15 Feb 1899 Date of Registration: Oct 1996 Age at Death: 97 Registration district: Tenbury Inferred County: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire Register Number: 9A District and Subdistrict: 5251 Entry Number: 60 Name: John Beauchamp Gordon-Duff Gender: Male Age: 38 Birth Date: abt 1899 Departure Date: 17 Nov 1937 Port of Departure: Southampton, England Destination Port: Vancouver, Canada Ship Name: Europa Search Ship Database: Search for the Europa in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database Shipping line: East Asiatic Company, Limited Master: A Rasmussen Name: John B Gordon Duff Birth Date: abt 1899 Age: 39 Port of Departure: Montréal, Québec, Canada Arrival Date: 28 Nov 1938 Port of Arrival: London, England Ports of Voyage: Montreal Ship Name: Ascania Search Ship Database: Search for the Ascania in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database Shipping line: Cunard White Star Official Number: 147307 1901 Census: Name: John Beauchanp G Duff [John Beauchamp G Duff] Age: 2 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1899 Relation to Head: Son (Child) Gender: Male Father: A F Gordon Duff Mother: Francis Blanche Duff Birth Place: Ebrington, Gloucestershire, England Civil Parish: Ebrington Ecclesiastical parish: St Ethelburgha Town: Ebrington County/Island: Gloucestershire Country: England Street address: Occupation: Condition as to marriage: Education: Employment status: View image Registration district: Shipston on Stour Sub-registration district: Blockley ED, institution, or vessel: 5 Neighbors: View others on page Piece: 2945 Folio: 76 Page Number: 4 Household schedule number: 41 Household Members: Name Age A F Gordon Duff 37 Francis Blanche Duff 35 Ellen Alice Gordon Duff 3 John Beauchanp G Duff 2 Julia Giffin 57 Martha Shoebridge 22 Jessie Thorne 28 Charlotte Duke 15 Amy E G Eames 30 C Sarah Eames 18 1911 Census - Boarding School Name: John Beauchamp Gordon Duff Age in 1911: 12 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1899 Relation to Head: Boarder Gender: Male Birth Place: Ebrington, Gloucestershire Civil Parish: Hove County/Island: Sussex Country: England Street address: The Wick Furze Hill Hove Occupation: school Registration district: Steyning Registration District Number: 80 Sub-registration district: Hove ED, institution, or vessel: 4 Household schedule number: 208 Piece: 5178 TD
Hi Charley, You did say "Can anybody manage anything more personal?" Marriage to Ellen Susan Williams 1937 9 Nov Age: 38 TD
Thank you, chaps. Wondering whether he might have got a mention in anybody's autobiography or memoirs.
In case you don't have it, here is the Gazette entry for his MBE. I think we can discount my previous post with the addition of Beauchamp in the title. View attachment MBE.pdf
I was wondering about the age, but a commission from the ranks does of course explain it. All the best Andreas
Interesting chap - he is shown here in the LG 21 Dec 1917 as a cadet being promoted to 2nd Lt View attachment data.pdf He is also apparently a descendant of William the Conqueror TD
Pretty certain that that isn't our man. The hyphenation is not consistent for our man, but he certainly has 'B' as an initial, which seems to occur in all official paperwork - also the service number doesn't match. Of course, he could have transferred for almost any reason under the sun, but having apparently served in the Rifle Brigade during the first world war and the inter-war years, is there any obvious reason he'd turn up in the Gordon Highlanders in North Africa and then transfer back to the Rifle Brigade at some point later that year 1943. He's of Scottish blood and I've heard of 'Scottish' formations trying to hoover up as many of their kin as possible from other places. Following another train of thought, could he, conceivably, have been wounded? Was Malta used as an evacuation point once the siege was over? And do we think it conceivable that he would be related to the Captain T. R. Gordon-Duff who fought with the Rifle Brigade and was captured at Calais in 1940 (as mentioned in Airey Neave's Flames of Calais)? Edit: My interest has been piqued enough to order a copy of his second book of memoirs, It Was Wartime Then, so I may well be able to answer some of my own questions then. By the way, I love privately published books - they're hard to obtain and frequently overlooked but full of gems and sidelights. I've started on a copy of Hugh Mainwaring's Three Score Years and Ten With Never a Dull Moment [1976] - which took me a while to find - and there's a wealth of information that really sets the scene for the desert war (he was BGS to Scobie in Greece and on Monty's staff before being captured along with Monty's stepson Dick Carver).
Hi, You're absolutely right, as soon as I saw the update which included the name Beauchamp, I realised that this wasn't your man. I agree with you about privately published books and memoirs, they can shine new light on many a subject. Good luck with your continued search. Steve
Addendum: The Gordon-Duffs are multiple! The chap in the Gordon Highlanders at Mareth Line is not the one for whom I was searching. The second chap - whom I had in Malta and Palestine - is MAJOR JOHN BEAUCHAMP GORDON DUFF, M.B.E., P/15381 - the one about whom I was originally enquiring. He was in the Rifle Brigade officer and served as personal assistant to Lord Gort at first Gibraltar, then Malta and finally Palestine, where he stayed on for a spell after Gort's health failed. I now have his book (mentioned above), but, frustratingly, it seems that his distinguished soldiering in India and the Middle-East was likely during either the Great War or inter-war years, neither of which are covered by the volume I have - although it does look interesting in itself. I feel as if I now have a small duty to delve into the mysterious Gordon Highlander and enlighten myself! Incidentally, Captain T. R. Gordon-Duff, who fought and was captured at Calais, was John's cousin, it seems. He was known by his middle name - Robin.
Fantastic, how did you acquire that? Bought, found or inherited? (Can anybody more qualified that I am decode that ribbon?)
Charley, a couple of pages I've scanned from a book The Gordon Highlanders A Concise History by Trevor Royle. Palestine briefly mentioned on page 176. No reference to John Gordon Duff or Mr. Cunningham.
I think as a L.O. to a senior general, he'd likely be far from his original unit yet retain the cap badge etc. That said, an interesting read--so thank you.
Had a very quick dig around in Ancestry, and frankly can't add much! But anyway: according to his medal index card John Beauchamp Gordon Duff went to France on 2nd April 1918 as a subaltern in 12th Bn Rifle Brigade, serving in France from 2nd April 1918, finishing the war as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Bn. The theatre of operations given for the 1942 award of his MBE was 'Middle East (Malta)'. Cheers, Pat.
Ribbons from left to right are: - MBE/OBE (both had same ribbon); - War Medal, 1914-1918 - Victory medal WW1 - 1939-1945 Star - Africa Star (maybe with 1st army number?) Wondering why no War Medal 1939-1945 and WW2 Defence Medal. And would like to see a close up of those black buttons. Don't know if Gordon Highlanders had black buttons. Thought that was typical of Rifle regiments...
Hi Charley Purchased from a vintage cloathing dealer who got it from a recycling company so it was nearly shredded ! Best Regards Lee
This is as much as I can find on him ?/?/1917 WW1 Rifle Brigade ? Wounded WW1 ?/?/1926 ?/?/1930 Aide Du Camp To Viceroy Of India ? M.I.D Mentioned In Despatches WW2 ?/?/1942 ?/?/1945 Assistant Military Secretary To Field Marshal Gort 06/01/1945 M.B.E Member Of The British Empire Liasion Officer To General A. G. Cunninham Palistine ?/?/1945 ?/?/1964 Deputy Lieutenant Aberdeenshire