The wave of mourning was not just confined to Britain. This memorial website was created in memory of George Gordon, 31, born on December 25, 1955 and passed away on March 0, 1987. [201], Gordon and the Mahdi never met, but the two men, both charismatic and intensely religious soldiers who saw themselves as fighting for God, had developed a grudging mutual respect. His words started out with "I'm here to serve" and ended with those words, after humbly explaining all the amazing things he did at Sterling. [169] Gladstone had gone to his estate at Hawarden to recover from illness and thus was not present at the meeting on 18 January where Gordon was given the Sudan command, but he was under the impression that Gordon's mission was advisory, whereas the four ministers present at the meeting had given Gordon the impression that his mission was executive in nature. General Gordon was a figure outside and above the ranks of military and naval commanders." [131] Gordon's very strong religious feelings led him to devote much time and money to charity both at home and abroad and he was well-known for sticking Christian tracts onto city walls and to throw them out of a train window. He is greatly missed by all who were touched by his intellectual kindness. In New York, Paris, and Berlin, pictures of Gordon appeared in shop windows with black lining as all over the West, the fallen general was seen as a Christ-like man who sacrificed himself resisting the advance of Islam. He was born in Fortuna, CA 75 years ago to Winton and Evelyn Chase Gordon. [218], Baringwho deeply disliked Gordonwrote that because of the "national hysteria" caused by Gordon's death, saying anything critical about him at present would be equal to questioning Christianity. We will remember him forever. [174], The Mahdi ended his letter with the remark: "I am the Expected Mahdi and I do not boast! He was deeply loved by all who knew him and he will be dearly missed every day, with joyful anticipation of an eventual heavenly reunion. [172], Urban wrote that Gordon's "most stupid mistake" occurred when he revealed his secret orders at a meeting of tribal leaders on 12 February at Berber, explaining that the Egyptians were pulling out, leading to almost all of the Arab tribes of northern Sudan declaring their loyalty to the Mahdi. With Egypt bankrupt, the money to carry out the reforms Gordon wanted was not there. [193], To keep up morale, Gordon had a military band perform concerts in the central plaza every Friday and Sunday evenings for free, and cast his own decorations for his men. [47] Gordon felt very uncomfortable commanding this force and at one point had to order the summary execution of one of his officers when the latter tried to take the Ever-Victorious Army over to the Taipings, who had offered a generous bribe for switching sides. [140] At one point during a meeting with the Council of Ministers, an enraged Gordon picked up a Chinese-English dictionary, looked up the word idiocy, and then pointed at the equivalent Chinese word with one hand while pointing at the ministers with the other. Gordon's papers, as well as some of his grandfather's (Samuel Enderby III), were accepted by the British Library around 1937. 05/01/2023. You used to tell me darn I can't hide when I used to come to your office with an issue. Gordon was nostalgic for China, and knowing of the Sino-Russian crisis, he saw a chance to do something significant. Gladstone himself took Gordon's attacks on his Sudan policy very personally. [172] Baring disapproved of sending Gordon to the Sudan, writing in a report to London that: "A man who habitually consults the Prophet Isaiah when he is in a difficulty is not apt to obey the orders of anyone". You will never hear from me again. [191] Khartoum was surrounded by the Ansar in March 1884, but was not cut off from the outside world for a considerable time afterward. Im so deeply sorry for the loss of your father. He was named for a prominent lawyer and Tammany Hall leader. Gordon L. Arnold Obituary (1982 - 2023) | Batesville, Indiana [96] The peoples of Equatoria had traditionally worshipped spirits present in nature, but were steadily being converted to Christianity by missionaries from Europe and the United States, which further encouraged Gordon in his efforts as governor of Equatoria, who notwithstanding his position working for the Egyptian government, saw himself as doing God's work in Equatoria. Anything you need, Im here. [238], The Corps of Royal Engineers, Gordon's own Corps, commissioned a statue of Gordon on a camel. Funeral services 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 28 from the Dain-Cullinan Funeral Home and at 9 a.m. in St. Paul's Churc [50] The Ever-Victorious Armywhich was inclined to lootinghad been ordered not to enter Suzhou, and only Imperial forces entered the city. Barbara Hatley (Matt Cudahy), and his twin brother George. Obituary for George Gordon, Jr. | Friend Funeral Homes This is the figure which, since April 1959, stands at the Gordon's School in Woking. [203], In 1982, a documentary on Gordon's life was written and presented by the actor and historian Robert Hardy, entitled "Gordon of Khartoum". [21], Following the peace, he was attached to an international commission to mark the new border between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in Bessarabia. [15] He was sent to the Russian Empire, arriving at Balaklava in January 1855. A second and larger expedition under Prince Hassan was sent the following year and was routed at Gura. [232], Gordon's memory, as well as his work in supervising the town's riverside fortifications, is commemorated in Gravesend; the embankment of the Riverside Leisure Area is known as the Gordon Promenade, while Khartoum Place lies just to the south. [102] Faught argued that since no one else who knew Gordon in Equatoria described him in these terms, and given that Gordon's accusation that Chaill-Long was a spy for Aiyub Pasha seems to be justified, that Chaill-Long was engaging in character assassination as an act of revenge. [93], Typical of the men that Khedive Isma'il Pasha hired was Valentine Baker, a British Army officer dishonorably discharged after being convicted of raping a young woman in England that he had been asked to chaperon. Proceeding him in death was his legal partner and beloved step-son Dirk DeJong and the family's special friend U.S Representive Helen Chenowith. quickly as possible. It was removed in 1958, shortly after the Sudan became independent. He doesn't want money!". Would you like to offer George Gordon Rosss loved ones a condolence message? . A funeral service will be held on Wednesday, March 8th 2023 at 11:00 AM at the St. Louis Church (13 E St Louis Pl, Batesville, IN 47006 . It is often suggested that that campaign by William Randolph Hearst's paper that led to the US invasion of Cuba in 1898 was the world's first episode of this kind, but the British press deserves these dubious laurels for its actions a full fourteen years earlier". Thomas Reinke, 77, died Feb. 19, 2022. My thoughts are will you all (Chelsea, Janine, Samantha and the grandkids). In the 1980s this quiet civil servant . [60] Gordon's father was against his son working in Chinese service, an estrangement that had not been settled at the time of his death, and Gordon felt immense guilt that his father had died before they were reconciled. The Khedive Isma'il was deposed in 1879 in favour of his son, Tewfik, by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Hamid II following heavy diplomatic pressure from the British, French, and Italian governments after Isma'il had quarreled with Baring. Gordon is survived by his three children Scott, Dana and Whitney, His sister Dee and three step sons Bob, Kirk and Jeff, and "eight of the best grandkids . [257] In his Mission to Khartum The Apotheosis of General Gordon (1969), John Marlowe portrays Gordon as "a colourful eccentrica soldier of fortune, a skilled guerrilla leader, a religious crank, a minor philanthropist, a gadfly buzzing about on the outskirts of public life", who would have been no more than a footnote in today's history books, had it not been for "his mission to Khartoum and the manner of his death", which were elevated by the media "into a kind of contemporary Passion Play". [18], Gordon spent thirty-four consecutive days in the trenches around Sevastopol, and earned a reputation as an able and brave young officer. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. The Europeans whom the Egyptians had hired to work as civil servants in the Sudan were no better and proved to be just as corrupt as the Egyptians. [193] During this period, Gordon was lionised by the British press, which portrayed him as a latter-day Christian crusader and a saint, a man of pure good, heroically battling the Mahdi, who was depicted as a man of pure evil. [249], As a young man, Winston Churchill shared in the national consensus that Gordon was one of Britain's greatest heroes. George Gordon Obituary (1952 - 2022) - Acton, NH - Concord Monitor [12], Gordon believed in both predestinationwriting that, "I believe that not a worm is picked up by a bird without the direct intervention of God"and free will with humans choosing their own fate, writing, "I cannot and do not pretend to reconcile the two". He was 96. He devoted himself fully to being a wonderful father to his three sons, Thomas, Greg, and Curtis, raising them up to be men of strong faith and good character. The system remained the same creaking slow, utterly corrupt, and oppressive apparatus trampling down ordinary people that it had always been. Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster - Wikipedia Sincere sympathy Edna & Tom in the loss of your beloved son-in-law. Those wishing to make a donation in memory of George are asked to consider Compassion Canada. [184] The British government had decided to abandon the Sudan, but it was clear that Gordon had other plans, and the public increasingly called for a relief expedition. He was present during the capture of Peking and at the destruction of the Summer Palace. The countenance bore a pleasant frank appearance, eyes light blue with a fearless look in them, hair crisp and inclined to curl, conversation short and decided". [210], The British press criticised the relief force for arriving two days late, but the main relief force was nowhere near Khartoum by then and only the reconnaissance party under Sir Charles Wilson on two gunboats had attempted to reach Khartoum, though it was later argued that the Mahdi's forces had good intelligence, and if the camel corps had advanced earlier, the final attack on Khartoum would also have come earlier. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. [91] As part of his Westernisation programme, Isma'il often hired Westerners to work in his government both in Egypt and in the Sudan. [256], Another attempt to debunk Gordon was Anthony Nutting's Gordon, Martyr & Misfit (1966). [12], Reference is made to an 1889 account of the General surrendering his sword to a senior Mahdist officer, then being struck and subsequently speared in the side as he rolled down the staircase. [206], A particular aspect of Gordon's personality that stood out was his death wish, as everyone who knew him was convinced that he wanted to die. [40], No monuments to Gordon exist in China today, though the British journalist Rob Stallard noted that the modest Gordon would have no doubt wanted it that way. [202], The note read "Khartoum all right. [108] Gordon often personally intercepted slave convoys to arrest the slavers and break the chains of the slaves, but he found that the corrupt Egyptian bureaucrats usually sold the freed Africans back into slavery, and the expense of caring for thousands of freed slaves who were a long away from home burdensome. "[129] Gordon was an ardent Christian cosmologist, who also believed that the Garden of Eden was on the island of Praslin in the Seychelles. Box 297 He loved his Heavenly Father and his Saviour, and he was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for which he held many positions and worked faithfully in many capacities. The Aylmer Flickering Flames Hockey Club wish the entire Gordon Family our deepest sympathies during this sad time. [190], Gladstone was opposed to hanging onto the Sudan, saying in a speech in the House of Commons that sending a relief force to Khartoum would be "a war of conquest against a people struggling to be free. Gordon clashed repeatedly with Prince Chun, the leader of the war party in Beijing, who rejected Gordon's advice to seek a compromise solution as Gordon warned that the powerful Russian naval squadron in the Yellow Sea would allow the Russians to land at Tianjin and advance on Beijing. George was born August 4, 1948 in Chicago, Illinois to George and Sophie Gordon. George was a wise, strong, hardworking, and unfailingly kind man. In the months before the fall of Khartoum, Gordon and the Mahdi corresponded; Gordon offered him the Sultanate of Kordofan and the Mahdi requested Gordon to convert to his religion and join him, to which Gordon replied abruptly: "No! It's a great pity!" George worked as a custodial supervisor in the Lincoln County School system. [97] Baker's annual salary as governor of Equatoria had been 10,000 (Egyptian pounds, about US$1 million in today's money) and Ismail was astonished when Gordon refused that salary, saying that 2,000 per year was more than enough for him. Thence he returned to Cairo and resigned his Sudan appointment. [177] Gordon's attempt to have his former archenemy Zobeirthe "King of the Slavers" whom he had hunted for years and whose son he had executedinstalled as the new Sultan of the Sudan appalled Gladstone and offended his former admirers in the Anti-Slavery Society. [198], On 24 January, two of the steamers, under Sir Charles Wilson, carrying 20 soldiers of the Sussex Regiment wearing red tunics to clearly identify them as British, were sent on a purely reconnaissance mission to Khartoum, with orders from Wolseley not to attempt to rescue Gordon or bring him ammunition or food.