Tiger & Sphinx Association
Remembering the Finest Regiment that ever was

The Gordon Highlanders
This section provides information about the Regiment, its history and people.

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Click this photo to hear
Heart of a Gordon Highlander
(informal performance by Capt Stuart Samson)
(2.5M file)

 

 

The Tiger & Sphinx Association Welcomes you!

We hope that the following pages will be useful to your understanding and appreciation of the Gordon Highlanders, its men, and its 200 years of service.

 

The Royal Tiger of India
For the first twenty-five years of its existence, the 75th (Highland) Regiment of Foot served in the sweltering heat of India.  In recognition of their remarkable service, the battalion was accorded the privilege of bearing the Royal Tiger of India on its drums and Colours.  In the depths of the Indian Mutiny (1857), the battalion reaffirmed the distinction when it marched into the teeth of the mutineers' position on the approach to Delhi and carried it against all odds.  Shown to the left is the collar insignia of the 75th with the Tiger, the regimental number, and the battle honor 'Seringapatam.'

 

The Sphinx
Near the height of his power, Napoleon Bonaparte moved to threaten Britain's connection to India by controlling the eastern Mediterranean and Egypt.  Nelson's crushing victory in the Battle of the Nile (1798) stranded thousands of French soldiers in Egypt until a British expedition, including the92nd (Gordon) Highlanders, arrived in 1801.  After a physically demanding series of engagements, the French were finally ejected from the region.  The 92nd was granted the honor of the Sphinx to commemorate their important role in the campaign. Shown to the left is the 92nd's collar device with the Sphinx and the regimental number.  Note that the national flower of Scotland, the thistle, takes the place of a battle honor.

The British Army underwent a massive reorganisation in 1881 and these two fine battalions were combined to form the Gordon Highlanders.  From that time until they were amalgamated with the Queen's Own Highlanders (1994) the Gordons carried on the very finest traditions of Highland regiments.  The two symbols, the Tiger & Sphinx, were maintained as emblems of the proud heritage the regiment had inherited and so steadfastly preserved.

 

Please note that this site is undergoing some reconstruction; pardon our dust!

 

This page was last updated on Sunday, 11 July 2010.
All pages (including text, images, and recordings from the GS McLennan Piping Competitions) associated with this site are copyrighted by ISKelly, PhD, 1996-2010.