J. M. (Joseph Maria) Gordon

Born in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, in March 1856, Gordon came from a family of Scottish and Irish background and went on to build a long military career in the British Army. He later served in Australia, including as Commandant of the South Australian Military Forces, and was eventually Chief of the General Staff in the Australian Army.

He also saw active service in the Second Boer War, and his military life gave him the material for the book most closely associated with his name, The Chronicles of a Gay Gordon. The work is remembered as a memoir with an energetic, anecdotal tone, reflecting both his unusual upbringing and his wide-ranging experiences.

Gordon died in 1929. Today he is chiefly of interest to readers of military memoir, imperial history, and lively autobiographical writing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.