Gordon Richard was born in 1935 in Jersey, Channel Islands, where he was educated at Victoria College and gained honours in English History. He took an early interest in William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, whose family originated from Jersey, and through him to George A. Custer. That connection inevitably led to the Battle of the Little Horn, which he has studied for over 50 years. Gordon has written articles for the Custer Battlefield Historical & Museum Association, and the Custer Association of Great Britain. He is a member of both and of Friends of the Little Big Horn. Through the message boards of the Little Big Horn Alliance he became friendly with Gordon Clinton Harper, another long-time researcher who was writing a book about June 25-26, 1876.

When Harper died in 2009 without completing his objective, Gordon took over the project and co-authored the book Fights on the Little Horn (Casemate, 2014).