James Gordon (Royal Navy officer) James Gordon (Royal Navy officer) Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Alexander Gordon, GCB (6 October 1782 – 8 January 1869) was a Royal Navy officer. As a volunteer, he fought at the Battle of Groix, at the Battle of the Glorious First of June and at the Battle of Cape St Vincent during the French Revolutionary Wars and then, as a midshipman, served under Admiral Sir Horatio Nelson at the Battle of the Nile. Gordon became commanding officer of the 28-gun frigate which took part of a hard-fought action between three British ships and the combined forces of a
Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Reserve known as the Reserve Decoration (RD) was a medal awarded in the Royal Naval Reserve of the United Kingdom to officers with at least fifteen years of active duty. The medal was instituted in 1908. The medal had an oval medallion, consisting of the cypher of the reigning monarch in silver gilt surrounded by a silver rope tied with a reef knot at the base and surmounted by a gilt crown which acts as the ribbon suspension, hung from a ribbon which was