William Gordon was a native of Kingussie, Inverness-shire, and joined the City of Glasgow Police in 1877.
In 1878, he was appointed as a Detective Constable in the ‘A’ (Central) Division and in 1884 was promoted to the rank of Detective Sub-Inspector in the ‘C’ (Eastern) Division.
In 1891, he was transferred back to ‘A’ (Central) Division and involved in many important cases during that period. In 1900, when Det. Lt. Archie Carmichael retired, Mr. Gordon was promoted to Detective Lieutenant.
In this role, he was detailed for special duty on the occasions of visits of royalty to Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland and in 1911 was awarded the King’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service. He was the first Glasgow detective to receive the award.