[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". However, in 1953 the statue, minus a large slice of its pedestal, was reinstalled on the Victoria Embankment, in front of the newly-built Ministry of Defence main buildings. [172] Powers, who acted as Gordon's unofficial press attach, wrote in The Times: "We are daily expecting British troops. [176], Gordon's abrupt mood swings and contradictory advice confirmed the Cabinet's view of him as mercurial and unstable. What this almost certainly meant was that Gordon had unresolved homosexual inclinations which, like Kitchener, but unlike Rhodes, he kept savagely repressed. (for "Murderer of Gordon"). You will be taken to the charity's website to process your payment. View obituary. [104] Gordon chose not to meet Muteesa himself, instead sending his chief medical officer, a German convert to Islam, Dr. Emin Pasha, to negotiate a treaty wherein in exchange for allowing the Egyptians to leave the Buganda, the independence of the kingdom was recognised. He was first and foremost a passionate follower of Jesus Christ and lived his life in humble but firm faith, pressing on towards the upward call he felt from a young age. Earth's joys grow very dim, its glories have faded". [178] Additionally, Gordon had guns and armoured plating attached to the paddle wheel streamers stationed at Khartoum to create his own private riverine navy that served as an effective force against the Ansar. [208], The manner of Gordon's death is uncertain, but it was romanticised in a popular painting by George William Joy General Gordon's Last Stand (1893, currently in the Leeds City Art Gallery), and again in the film Khartoum (1966) with Charlton Heston as Gordon. [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. . When he woke up again that afternoon, he found Gordon's body covered with flies and the head cut off. George, 95 THE REV. The relief force, under the command of Gordon's old friend, Field Marshal Sir Garnet Wolseley, was not ready until November 1884. He received no reply as the king had gone southwards to fight with the Shoa. [17] Gordon spent much time in "the Quarries", as the British called their section of the trenches, facing Sevastopol. 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. and "Sultan!" [159] The Ansar captured a large number of Remington rifles and ammunition cases together with many Krupp artillery guns and their shells. [105] Gordon's attempts to establish an Egyptian garrison in the Buganda had been stymied by the cunning Muteesa, who forced the Egyptians to build their fort at his capital of Lubaga, making the 140 or so Egyptian soldiers his virtual hostages. [7], As a cadet, Gordon displayed exceptional talents at map-making and in designing fortifications, which led to his career choice of the Royal Engineers or "sappers" in the Army. [208] On the evening of 24 January 1885, the Mahdi met with his generals, whose leading spokesman was his uncle Muhammad Abd al-Karim, who told him that, with the Nile low and Wolseley close, it was time to either storm Khartoum or retreat. If your email does not go through check the spelling for the double "ss". Gordon's papers, as well as some of his grandfather's (Samuel Enderby III), were accepted by the British Library around 1937. Gordon C. Shaffer age 98 of George, IA died Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society in George, IA. Published on December 13, 2020 Plant a Living Memorial [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. George married Lola Shafer and they divorced. Would not the right honorable Gentleman consider whether this statue [] might not receive special consideration []? Share Obituary. Gordon visited the Seychelles in the summer of 1881 and decided the islands were the location of the Garden of Eden. [219] During a meeting in 1898 in Cairo where Churchill interviewed Baring to gather material for his 1899 book The River War,[250] Baring challenged Churchill about his belief that Gordon was a hero. [40] In Sudan, Sudanese historians have traditionally focused on the Mahdi and his rebellion, with Gordon only being relevant as the enemy general during the Siege of Khartoum, and his abolitionist work largely ignored. [16], In the 19th century, Russia was Britain's archenemy, with many people in both nations seeing an ideological conflict between Russian autocracy and British democracy, and Gordon was anxious to fight in the Crimea. I wanted to share a memory from about ten years ago, George did a presentation to some of us and I have never forgotten it. George G. Gordon, 80, of Indianapolis, passed away December 18, 2022. Due to many aspects of the Taiping ideology resembling Chinese communism, the Taipings are treated sympathetically by Chinese historians who portray them as prototypical communists, with Hong Xiuquan foreshadowing Mao. Nutting made the controversial claim that the basis of Gordon's death wish was that he was gay, noting that Gordon never married, is not known to have had a relationship with any women, and often wished that he had been born a eunuch, which strongly suggested that Gordon wished to have no sexual desires at all. He remained in Mauritius until March 1882. George J Gordon III (Trey) of Azle, TX passed away May 1, 2022. I wish there was anything I could do to help take away some of your pain. [40] Gordon's bravery in battle, his string of victories, apparent immunity to bullets and his intense, blazing blue eyes led many Chinese to believe that Gordon had supernatural powers and had harnessed the Qi (the mystical life-force traditionally believed in China to govern everything) in some extraordinary way. [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. [223] The body of the Mahdi was disinterred and beheaded. On 5 August 1884, the House of Commons voted to send the relief force with a budget of 300,000. His moods were capricious and uncertain, his passions violent, his impulses sudden and inconsistent. In his 62nd year, George Gordon passed unexpectedly into the presence of his Lord and Saviour. He was born January 1, 1942 in Indianapolis to the late Lester Gordon and Helen Waldron Gordon. [160], The only other place to hold out for a time was a region in the south held by the Governor of Equatoria, Emin Pasha. Nephew to John and Delcie Moriarty, Jim Moriarty (late Brenda), Lorraine Hatley (late Bill). He was an amazing man and co-worker and I'm praying for all to have comfort during this difficult time. [87], Gordon had come into conflict with the Egyptian governor of Khartoum and Sudan over his efforts to ban slavery. A serious revolt then broke out in the Sudan, led by a Muslim religious leader and self-proclaimed Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad. George graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1960 and went on to graduate from Purdue University in 1965, majoring in Electrical Engineering. Gordon agreed with Lord Elgin that after the Chinese authorities had murdered a group of British and French officers travelling under a white flag to parley that a reprisal was in order, but called the burning of the Summer Palace "vandal-like" and informed his sister in a letter that "it made one's heart sore" to burn it. [200] The defences Gordon had built with lines of earthwork, mines, and barbed wire presented the Ansar with much difficulty and their attempts to storm Khartoum failed, but the Ansar made good use of their Krupp artillery to gradually batter down the defences. SAT & SUN [99] Joining Gordon on the journey to Equatoria was his old friend Romolo Gessi and a former US Army officer, Charles Chaill-Long, who did not get along well with Gordon. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. Enter [147] Gordon saw his work in building forts to protect Mauritius from a possible Russian naval attack as pointless, and his main achievement during his time there was to advise the Crown to turn the Seychelles islands, whose beauty had greatly moved Gordon, into a new crown colony as Gordon argued it was impossible to govern the Seychelles from Port Louis. [170], Gladstone felt that this was a deft political move. [56], Gordon returned to Britain and commanded the Royal Engineers' project around Gravesend, Kent, to erect forts for the defense of the River Thames. Beloved husband of Helen, a much loved father of Carol, a dearly loved brother of Joey and the late Donnie and loved by all the extended family and friends. [72] Gordon's parents expected him to marry and were disappointed about his lifelong bachelorhood. The prince keeps a great state and I was introduced to him with much ceremony. He is a glorious fellow!With his many faults, his pride, his temper, and his never-ending demand for moneybut he is a noble man, and in spite of all I have said to him or about him, I will ever think most highly of him. There they found four gunboats which had been sent north by Gordon four months earlier, and prepared them for the trip back up the Nile. I am coming. [95] The younger Russell was described by his own father as an alcoholic and spendthrift who "was beyond help" as it was always the "same story-idleness, self-indulgence, gambling, and constant promises" broken time after time, leading his father to get him a job in the Sudan, where his laziness infuriated Gordon to no end. A unique and lasting tribute for a loved one. [195], On 4 September 1884, Gordon's fortunes took a turn for the worse when the most able of his subordinates, Mohammed Aly, together with about 1,000 of Gordon's best troops, were killed in an ambush while conducting a raid. Acton, NH George E. Gordon, 69 of Acton, Massachusetts, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 26, 2022, after a long period of declining health at Lahey Clinic Medical Center in Burlington,. [109], Gordon grew close to the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, an evangelical Christian group based in London dedicated to ending slavery all over the world, and who regularly celebrated Gordon's efforts to end slavery in the Sudan. The Khedive's great dream was to make Egypt culturally a part of Europe, and he spent huge sums of money attempting to modernise and Westernise Egypt, in the process going very deeply into debt. [87] With over half of Egypt's income going to pay the 7% interest on the debt worth 81 million Egyptian pounds that Isma'il had run up, the khedive was supportive of Gordon's plans for reform, but unable to do very much as he lacked the money to pay his civil servants and soldiers in Egypt, much less in the Sudan. [51] When the Emperor's messenger arrived, he had with him servants carrying boxes of silver taels (coins) numbering 10,000 in total, together with banners written in the most eloquent calligraphy celebrating Gordon as a great general and a letter from the Emperor himself written in the best calligraphy on yellow silk thanking Gordon for taking Suzhou and offering all these presents as rewards. [251] By contrast, Gordon is one of the four subjects discussed critically in Eminent Victorians by Lytton Strachey, one of the first texts about Gordon that portrays some of his characteristics which Strachey regards as weaknesses. George was a wise, strong, hardworking, and unfailingly kind man. [164], Stead published his interview on 9 January 1884, on the front page of the Pall Mall Gazette alongside an editorial of his titled, "Chinese Gordon for the Sudan". Your search results for obituary: 24 newspaper articles contained information about obituary filtered by: Newspaper title: Wishaw Press Date from: 1st Jan 1947 - Date to: 31st Dec 1947 1 Still Hopes Dr, West Columbia, SC 29171. We can only speculate that his increasing religious devotion may have been an outward manifestation of an internal struggle against sexual temptation.[61]. [98], From Khartoum, he proceeded up the White Nile to Gondokoro. He was a wonderful man and its such a tragedy to lose him so young. [35] Gordon was attached to his staff as engineer officer. [187] Among the dead were Gordon's unofficial spokesman, the passionate wordsmith and Times journalist Frank Powers, Gordon's Chief of Staff, Colonel Stewart, and the French consul in Khartoum, Lon Herbin[fr], all of whom Gordon was sending to Cairo to plead for relief. The Sudan was judged to be not worth the huge financial costs it would have taken to conquer it, the same conclusion that the Liberals had reached. This man's activity with the scientific knowledge which he possesses is doubtless able to achieve much, but unfortunately, no one backs him up and his orders are badly carried out or altered in such a way as to render them without effect. Gordon was sickened by the poverty of the Irish farmers, which led him to write a six-page memo to the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, urging land reforms in Ireland. I'm thinking of the entire family as you're celebrating the life of our beloved George. You will receive email notifications when changes are made to the online memorial, including when family and friends post to the Guestbook. [139], Gordon went to Beijing and used all his influence to ensure peace. Loved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. He was a very kind man and I was sorry to hear of his passing. Dr. Gordon. He was 96. can stop at any time. He loved Nancy, his cherished wife of 39 years, as Christ loved the church. OBITUARY George M. Gordon June 19, . the passing of George. I got to know George thru his sons, Greg and Tom, long before I actually met him. [32] Gordon had heard of the Taiping Rebellion long before he had set sail for China, and he was at first sympathetic towards the Taipings, led by the charismatic madman Hong Xiuquan, who proclaimed himself to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ, viewing them as somewhat eccentric Christians. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Search by Name. He was kind and caring person and we are blessed to have known him. The soldiers of the Egyptian Army were falln (peasant) conscripts who were both ill-paid and ill-trained. If we can not answer leave a message and we will get back to you as [40], During his time in China, Gordon was well-known and respected by friend and foe alike for leading from the front and going into combat armed only with his rattan cane (Gordon always refused to carry a gun or a sword), a choice of weapon that almost cost him his life several times. Ever since the realisation of the sacrament, I have been turned upside down". Cremation has taken place. [224] This symbolic decapitation echoed General Gordon's death at the hands of the Mahdist forces in 1885. My thoughts are with his family and his Sterling family who I know will miss him very much. Such a kind and calm person. It was a highly dangerous job that frequently put him under enemy fire, and led to him being wounded for the first time when a Russian sniper put a bullet into him. A graveside service was held for Dirk at the family farm March 7, 2014 in Isabella, MO. My friend Obituary George William Gordon II, 73, of Superior, Montana, passed away at his residence on Monday, July 25th, 2022, following a period of declining health. [12] This account was very popular with the British press as it contained much Christian imagery with Gordon as a Christlike figure dying passively for the sins of all humanity. GEORGE GORDON, LL.D. [114] Gordon was well-known for being utterly obstinate, joking that: "The Gordons and the camels are of the same race. [239] Much later, a second casting was made. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. [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. When your purchase is complete, a post will be made on the tribute wall of the deceased signifying the planting of a memorial tree. I also had the honour of working with George for many years and I will miss seeing his smile. [196] For example, Wolseley could have hired Egyptian boatmen who knew the Nile to serve as river pilots instead of bringing over voyageurs from Canada, who knew nothing of the Nile, and moreover, Wolseley only called for the voyageurs after his arrival in Egypt. [148] Gordon was promoted to major-general on 23 March 1882. [192], During this time, Gordon, when he was not organising the besieged garrison with incredible energy, spent his time writing a somewhat rambling diary containing his reflections on the siege, life, fate, and his own intense, idiosyncratic version of Protestantism. Around the base is an inscription referring to Gordon as a soldier, philanthropist, and administrator and mentions those parts of the world in which he served, closing with a quotation from his last letter to his sisters: "I am quite happy, thank God! Yet, for those who have experienced the death of a family member or friend, an obituary means so much more. 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. [179], Gordon made all of his personal dispatches to London public (there was no Official Secrets Act at the time) in attempts to win public opinion over to his policy, writing on one dispatch: "Not secret as far as I am concerned". Whether religion or vanity, or the softening of the brain I don't know, but he seems to be alternatively arrogant and slavish, vain and humble, in his senses and out of them. [152] After his visit, Gordon suggested in his book Reflections in Palestine[153] a different location for Golgotha, the site of Christ's crucifixion. [51] The Emperor was much offended when he received Gordon's message at the Forbidden City, and Gordon's military career in China was effectively over for a time. [53], The Emperor promoted Gordon to the rank of tidu (: "Chief commander of Jiangsu province" a title equal to field marshal), decorated him with the imperial yellow jacket, and raised him to Qing's Viscount first class, but Gordon declined an additional gift of 10,000 taels of silver from the imperial treasury. Survived by his daughter, Melanie (Barry) Thompson.