4th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders

The 4th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders was a Territorial Force Battalion formed in April 1908.  It was the natural heir to the 1st Volunteer Battalion, Gordon Highlanders and was headquartered at Aberdeen. It was administered by the City of Aberdeen Association and recruited in the city, companies A to H and the HQ all situated there.

The following regimental numbers and joining dates will hopefully provide some pointers for likely enlistment dates of men into the battalion.

1 – 155 all joined in April 1908, the majority of these men having previously served in the 1st VB Gordon Highlanders
454 joined on16th March 1909
1016 joined on 17th June 1910
1135 joined on 3rd April 1911
1307 joined on 15th April 1912
1396 joined on 13th January 1913
1668 joined on 30th March 1914
1976 joined on 11th August 1914

A 2/4th Battalion was formed in September 1914 and upon formation the 4th Battalion became the 1/4th Battalion Gordon Highlanders. The 2/4th Battalion used the same number sequence as the 1/4th.

2502 joined on 25th September 1914
2658 joined on 6th October 1914
2969 joined on 2nd November 1914
3250 joined on 3rd December 1914
3406 joined on 4th January 1915
3544 Joined on 1st February 1915

A 3/4th Battalion was formed in February 1915 and it too used the same number sequence as that being used by the 1/4th and 2/4th Battalions.

3689 joined on 23rd March 1915
3861 joined on 7th May 1915
3950 joined on 1st June 1915
4123 joined on 9th July 1915
4201 joined on 3rd August 1915
4499 joined on 6th November 1915
4630 joined on 4th December 1915
4740 joined on 21st January 1916
4889 joined on 3rd February 1916
5126 joined on 7th April 1916
5248 joined on 1st July 1916
5554 joined on 4th October 1916

When the Territorial Force was re-numbered in 1917, men from the 4th Gordons were issued numbers in the range 200001 to 240000, the lowest number being issued to the man with the lowest number from the first series. For instance, 200061 was issued to James Lewis who had originally joined the battalion on the 31st March 1911 and whose original number, according to his medal index card, was 1129.

For further information on the 4th Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, visit Christopher McDonald's excellent 4thGordons.com.The photo I've used on this post is taken from the 4th Gordon's website.

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