military role in Greece With the arrival of Prince Otto of Wittelsbach as the new King of Greece, Gordon returned to Greece in 1833 and was commissioned colonel in the Hellenic Army. His campaigns that year included rooting out brigands in Aetolia and Acarnania, who were supported by Turks across the border. Gordon spoke the Turkish language fluently, to the astonishment of local pashas, and this was of considerable value in negotiations. He was also appointed the president of the military court set up to try the rebels in the Messenian disturbances. Due to poor health, Gordon resigned his commission in February 1839 and returned to Cairness, although he made another short visit to Greece in 1840. Death and controversy Gordon died at Cairness and was survived by his wife. He had no issue with her and in his will left most of his estate, including a large landholding in Jamaica, to an illegitimate son called James Wilkinson, who later took the surname Gordon. His existence seems to have been a secret from the rest of the family as he had been brought up by a tutor in Elgin. The inheritance caused much scandal and led to a long period of litigation within the family. Thomas Gordon's historical library and manuscripts were sold in March 1850, and his antiquities in the following June, although some items remained at Cairness House until 1938, after the last of the Gordons sold the estate. Honours Gordon was awarded various honours, including being made Grand Commander of the Order of the Redeemer by the Greeks on his retirement. He was a member of many learned societies including the Royal Society (1821), the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland (1828), and the Royal Asiatic Society (1834), and in Greece the Society for Natural History (1837) and the Archaeological Society (1840). Bibliography D. Dakin, British and American philhellenes during the War of Greek Independence, 1821-1833 (1955) William St. Clair, That Greece might still be free: The Pilhellenes in the War of Independence, London 1972 A. E. Kasdagli, 'The papers of Thomas Gordon of Cairness (1788-1841)’, Northern Scotland, 14 (1994), pp109–114 A. E. Kasdagli, 'Exploring the papers of the Scottish philhellene Thomas Gordon (1788-1841)’, Kambos, Cambridge Papers in Modern Greek, 3 (1995): 45–69. J. A. Petropulos, Politics and Statecraft in the kingdom of Greece 1833-1843 (1968) Under the Flags of Freedom: British Mercenaries in the War of the