Gordon, Stanley Edward

Date of death:: April 17th, 1945
Buried on:: Commonwealth War Cemetery Becklingen
Plot: 3. Row: B. Grave: 16.
Service number:: 331196
Nationality:: British

Biography

Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!

Military Cross (MC)

Period:: Second World War (1939-1945)
Rank:: Lieutenant
Unit:: 5/7 Battalion Gordon Highlanders
Awarded on:: July 12th, 1945

Recommendation:
"Lieutenant Stanley Edward Gordon (331196). On 24th March 1945, the Battalion was holding a small bridgehead on the East bank of the Rhine in open country with no cover. The whole position was overlooked by a road which was strongly held by the enemy and subjected continually by heavy machine gun fire. On the morning of 24th March, Airborne troops passed over the position. Enemy anti-aircraft fire was fairly heavy and some of the planes were shot down and pilots had to bale out in the area of the river. One of these pilots, an American, drifted back towards the enemy lines and came down in front of "A" Company in full view of the enemy. Lieutenant Gordon immediately, and without any regard to his own safety, organised his rescue. He took one man with him and dashed across the open ground to the airman who was injured, cut him loose and commenced to drag him back towards his own slit trench. The enemy was firing heavily and directly at the party the whole time and with the lack of cover the operation was extremely difficult and dangerous. Lieutenant Gordon's assistant was wounded and both he and the airman could progress only at a slow crawl. In and effort to distract the fire from the two men Lieutenant Gordon rose to his feet and dashed off at a tangent thereby drawing the enemy fire on himself and at the same time exhorted the two men to crawl as fast as possible to the trench. The trench was reached and the airman was being lifted in when he was hit by a burst of machine gun fire and mortally wounded. Lieutenant Gordon displayed courage of the highest order and gave a wonderful example to his men in unselfishness and cool action whilst under close enemy fire."