Willoughby Gordon

General Sir James Willoughby Gordon, 1st Baronet GCB GCH (21 October 1772 – 4 January 1851) was Quartermaster-General to the Forces.

Early life
He was the son of William Grant, later William Grant Gordon, and his wife Barbara Gordon of the Gordons of Knockspoke.

Military career
Gordon was commissioned into the 66th Regiment of Foot in 1783.

He was appointed Assistant Adjutant General in Ireland in 1795 and then became Deputy Adjutant-General in the West Indies in 1801. He was Aide de Camp and Military Secretary to the Duke of Kent, He returned to England in 1803 to become Assistant Quartermaster-General. He was made Military Secretary to the Commander-in-Chief in 1804 and was then Commissary-in-Chief to the Forces from 1809. He was made Lieutenant General in 1825.

He was Quartermaster-General to the Forces from 1811 to 1851. During this time, he was one of the many present for the Robert Adams' narration of his adventures as a Barbary slave in North Africa. Despite the veracity of this narration being questioned by many during this time, Gordon publicly proclaimed his faith in the truth of Adams' story, announcing that "if he proved an imposter, he will be the second only to Psalmanazar." Gordon's support of Adams was very significant, due to the controversial nature of The Narrative of Robert Adams.

Honours
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1801. He was made Baronet Gordon of Northcourt in the Isle of Wight in 1818 and awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order (GCH) in 1825 and Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath (KGB) in 1831.

He was also Member of Parliament for Launceston from 1830 to 1831.

Family
His only son Henry Percy Gordon was senior wrangler at the University of Cambridge in 1827.