A British Gurkha Officer's Killed-in-Action Durbar & Great War group of 4: Lieutenant Gordon Manderson Machine Gun Company, 2nd Bn 2nd King Edward's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles), late Indian Army Reserve of Officers & Agra Volunteer Rifles

- 1914-15 Star (2.Lt. G. Manderson, I.A.R.O.)
- British War Medal. Silver issue (2.Lt. G. Manderson.)
- Interallied Victory Medal (2.Lt. G. Manderson.)
- Delhi Durbar Medal 1911. Silver issue (2nd Lieut. G. Manderson, A. V. R.)

Killed-in-Action: Lieutenant Gordon Manderson 2/2 Gurkha Rifles, is confirmed being 'Killed-in-Action' at France, on, 13 October 1915

The memory and supreme self- sacrifice of Lieutenant Manderson is commemorated in perpetuity by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at the Gorre British and Indian Cemetery, located in the Pas De Calais region of France, and where the body of the fallen lies in a marked grave, with his service details, and Gurkha Rifles regimental insignia, with the below epitaph inscription engraved upon it:

Quote,

HE PASSED OVER AND THE TRUMPETS SOUNDED FOR HIM ON THE OTHER SIDE

Unquote

Son of William Manderson, of Field House, Settle, Yorks; husband of Agnes R. Manderson, of 2, Mentone Gardens, Edinburgh. Public Works Dept, Egypt, and the Archaeological Survey of India.

A total of 763 Sirmoori's lost their lives during the First World War of whom 22 were British Officers and 12 were Gurkha Officers. Details of their graves or memorials are shown in the world map above, apart from the casualties incurred by the 2nd Battalion in France in 1914-15. 232 men who died in that campaign are buried in a number of locations shown on the following map. Click on any of the yellow rectangles for more details. A short account of 2nd Battalion operations in France and the two medals awarded for the campaign is available

Important: Lieutenant Manderson is confirmed as being the very last British Officer of the 2nd Gurkha Rifles to be 'Killed-in-Action' serving with the Indian Corps in France, and quite possibly may have been the last British Officer of any Indian unit of the Indian Corps to be killed in France & Flanders 1914-15, prior to the withdrawal of the Indian Corps in October 1915, for transfer to theatre of war Mesopotamia.

Reference the regimental history of 2nd Gurkha Rifles, the below extract is taken:

Quote,

Battalion back in trenches, and last casualties in France 10/10/15: ....The Germans replied with shrapnel, and we lost Lieutenant Manderson, a most keen and promising young officer, who was hit in the head while looking through a periscope, and was buried in Gorre Cemetery

Unquote.

Medals verification: The recipient is confirmed entitled to all 4 x medals, per the respective medal rolls & Medal Index Card cited below:

- 1914-15 Star: Medal Index Card,records him as DOW & Star on roll 'India 1B' page 93
- British War Medal. Silver issue: Ref WO 329/2347
- Interallied Victory Medal: Ref WO 329/2347
- Delhi Durbar Medal 1911. Silver. Ref WO 100/4001 (1 of only 14 x medals to the Agra Volunteer Rifle Corps)

Delhi Durbar Remarks: Under the remarks column of the medal roll is shown the recipients civil appointment as 'Superintendent, Muhammadan and British Monuments, Northern Circle.' It was in his capacity as Superintendent that the honour befell Gordon Manderson, of escorting Her Majesty Queen Mary, during her official visit to the historic Taj Mahal Monument (now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) when the Royal Entourage visited Agra in 1911

The Durbar Medal with piece of original silk riband, as worn by the recipient, and the Great War Medal retaining their original long lengths of silk moire ribands (soil marks on reverse having been removed from a glazed frame)

A most desirable medal group to a former officer of the Agra Volunteer Rifles, serving with the 2nd Gurkha Rifles who had the distinction of having a unique dedicated memorial erected in his memory in the historic grounds of the ancient Qutab Minar complex in New Delhi, India

Condition: GVF

Code: 22880