Because of his knowledge and expertise, when George spoke, everyone listened. Pallbearers will be some of Gordon's beloved nephews. 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. [17] Gordon spent much time in "the Quarries", as the British called their section of the trenches, facing Sevastopol. [191] Khartoum was surrounded by the Ansar in March 1884, but was not cut off from the outside world for a considerable time afterward. The employees sent by the Moldovan government to take over the ceded territory have been receiving bribes and trafficking in the most disgraceful manner. George Gordon GORDON, George - 1919-2007, peacefully at the Apotex Jewish Home for the Aged on Monday, May 7th. Gordon Newsam. 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. In defiance of those instructions, after evacuating about 2,500 civilians he retained a smaller group of soldiers and non-military men. George M. Gordon Obituary. 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,. [187] In his last weeks, those who knew Gordon described him as a chain-smoking, rage-filled, desperate man wearing a shabby uniform who spent hours talking to a mouse that he shared his office with when he was not attacking his Sudanese servants with his rattan cane during one of his rages. [172], Owing to the fact that his Turkish and Egyptian (and many Sudanese) troops were Muslim, Gordon refrained in public from describing his battle with the Mahdi as a religious war, but Gordon's diary showed he viewed himself as a Christian champion fighting against the Mahdi just as much for God as for his nation. 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". [79] The South African minister, Dr. Peter Hammond, denied that Gordon was a homosexual, citing the numerous statements made by Gordon condemning homosexuality as an abomination, charging that the claim that Gordon was a homosexual was a theory with no foundation in fact. If you are having trouble, click Save Image As and rename the file to meet the character requirement and try again. Nancy, Order by 3:00PMThe day before, SAT & SUN Echovita Inc is a registered trademark. [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. The Lord Mayor of London opened a public subscription to raise funds for a permanent memorial to Gordon; this eventually materialised as the Gordon Boys Home, now Gordon's School, in West End, Woking. He was a wonderful man and its such a tragedy to lose him so young. May the words of Psalm 46 bring a sense of peace and hope to all of his family in this season of loss. George married Lola Shafer and they divorced. [80] The British historian, Paul Mersh, has suggested that Gordon was not a homosexual, but rather his awkwardness with women was due to Asperger syndrome, which made it extremely difficult for him to express his feelings for women properly. Gordon hoped to have the influential local leader, Sebehr Rahma, appointed to take control of Sudan, but the British government refused to support a former slaver. [207] Gordon defiantly told the merchant: "Go tell all the people of Khartoum that Gordon fears nothing, for God has created him without fear! He was shot! The long exploitation of the Sudan by Egypt led many Sudanese to rally to the Mahdi's black banner as he promised to expel the Egyptians, whom Ahmed denounced as apostates, and he announced he would establish an Islamic fundamentalist state marking a return to the "pure Islam" said to have been practised in the days of the Prophet Mohamed in Arabia. Taught by his father to love the sea and all things nautical, George was a boater through and through. About 2,500 people had been removed before the Mahdi's forces closed in on Khartoum. OBITUARY George M. Gordon June 19, . [51] In China, the penalty for rebellion was death. The site lies north of the traditional site at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and is now known as "The Garden Tomb", or sometimes as "Gordon's Calvary". Always trusting He is greatly missed by all who were touched by his intellectual kindness. Aged 86 years. In a House of Commons speech on 5 May 1948, then opposition leader Winston Churchill spoke out in favour of the statue's return to its original location: "Is the right honorable Gentleman [the Minister of Works] aware that General Gordon was not only a military commander, who gave his life for his country, but, in addition, was considered very widely throughout this country as a model of a Christian hero, and that very many cherished ideals are associated with his name? [237], An identical statue by Thornycroftbut with the pedestal intactis located in a small park called Gordon Reserve, near Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia. Gordon grew up in Climax, Sask., and worked in the Grain industry all his life, which he loved. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Still Hopes Retirement Community, located at 1 Still Hopes Drive, West Columbia, SC 29169 and First Baptist Church, located at 1306 Hampton Street, Columbia, SC 29201. He quickly learned that before he could establish stations to crush the slave trade, he would have to first explore the area to find the best places for building them. [225][226] Lord Kitchener kept the Mahd's skull and it was rumoured that he intended to use it as a drinking cup or ink well. [254] Even more devastatingly, Strachey depicted Gordon as a monumental hypocrite, noting the contrast between Gordon's lofty Christian ideas of love, compassion, charity, grace, and hope vs. a career full of hate, war, carnage, death, and destruction. [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. Very sorry for your family loss. Accepted file types: jpg, png, gif, Max. Praying for you Nancy and family. [43], Gordon's breakthrough caught the rebel army off guard and caused thousands of the enemy to panic and flee. They celebrated H.E's [His Excellency] arrival with an indescribable uproar". Always happy [233], In 1886, the Western Hospital for Fistula, Piles and other Diseases of the Rectum, at 278 Vauxhall Bridge Road, and backing onto Vincent Square London,[234] was renamed in honour of Gordon. He was kind and caring person and we are blessed to have known him. As late as 1933, the French historian Pierre Crabits wrote in his book Gordon, le Soudan et l'esclavage (Gordon, the Sudan and Slavery) that as a Frenchman, the Gordon legend had meant nothing to him when he began researching his book, but after examining all of the historical evidence, he could not help but admire Gordon, who "died as he lived, a Christian, a gentleman, and a soldier". [56], Gordon returned to Britain and commanded the Royal Engineers' project around Gravesend, Kent, to erect forts for the defense of the River Thames. Matters then remained quiet until March 1877, when Gordon proceeded to Massawa, hoping to make peace with the Abyssinians. George will be deeply missed by everyone, especially his grandchildren. [121], In March 1879, Gessi had inflicted a sharp defeat on Zobeir even before Gordon had joined him to pursue their old enemy. [257] On the basis of such statements and actions, Nutting argued that Gordon's suicidal courage of going into battle armed only with his rattan cane, which so impressed the Victorian public, reflected darker desires. Of Marton formerly of Auckland. You can then forward the email to the family or print it and give it to them personally. [52], Instead, the Ever Victorious Army was given the task of taking the secondary cities of Yesing, Liyang, and Kitang. Queen Victoria sent him a telegram of rebuke which found its way into the press. Tom, Greg, and Curtis, [123] As Zobeir had broken his oath to the khedive by rebelling, Gordon had given Gessi orders to execute Zobeir, and so later that day Gessi had Zobeir and his men publicly beheaded as an example of what happened to those who broke their oaths. . [35] The British arrived at a crucial time. During his time in Sudan, Gordon was much involved in attempting to suppress the slave trade while struggling against a corrupt and inefficient Egyptian bureaucracy that had no interest in suppressing the trade. [12] Even an observer as sympathetic as Winston Churchill wrote about Gordon: "Mercury uncontrolled by the force of gravity was not on several occasions more unstable than Charles Gordon. Im grateful to Major-General Charles George Gordon CB (28 January 1833 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and administrator. [138], Gordon informed the Foreign Office that he was willing to renounce his British citizenship and take Chinese citizenship as he would not abandon Li and his other Chinese friends should a Sino-Russian war begin. [253], Strachey, a member of the Bloomsbury Group of intellectuals, depicted Gordon as a ludicrous figure, a bad-tempered, deranged egomaniac with a nasty habit of knocking out Arabs whenever he was unhappy, and who led himself into disaster. During his "career break" in the Holy Land, the very religious Gordon sought to explore his faith and biblical sites. [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. [151] After the Battle of El Obeid, Egyptian morale, never high to begin with, simply collapsed, and the black flag of the Mahdi soon flew over many towns in the Sudan. [52] The Ever Victorious Army did not take part in the final offensive that ended the war with the Capture of Nanking as the "Imps", as Gordon called the Imperial Army, wanted the honour of taking Nanking, the Taiping capital, for themselves. May your faith guide you through this difficult time. After Gordon's death, Barnes co-authored Charles George Gordon: A Sketch (1885),[126] which begins with the meeting at the hotel in Lausanne. He was born Sept. 12, 1938, in Findlay, to Earl E. and Mary N. (Corron) Folk. [40], The mercenaries of the Ever Victorious Army, comprising some of the worst social elements of Chinese society, were notorious for their practice, whenever they marched into a new district, of stealing everything while raping all of the women, leading Gordon to impose harsh discipline, with those soldiers accused of looting or rape being summarily shot. In 1878, Gordon fired the governor of Equatoria for corruption and replaced him with his former chief medical officer from his time in Equatoria, Dr. Emin Pasha, who had earned Gordon's respect. The Reverend Gordon Graham has taken the biblical injunction to "consider the lilies of the field" to extremes. white, francis george willars, dorothy florence. View obituary. [187] In his final months, Gordon oscillated between a longing for martyrdom and death versus an intense horror at the prospect of his own demise as the hour of his destruction rapidly approached. As a toddler he moved to Basking Ridge, NJ. [130] Gordon believed that God's throne from which He governed the universe rested upon the earth, which was further surrounded by the firmament. 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 . [93], During the 1870s, European initiatives against the Arab slave trade caused an economic crisis in northern Sudan, precipitating increasing unrest. Box 297 You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Nephew to John and Delcie Moriarty, Jim Moriarty (late Brenda), Lorraine Hatley (late Bill). 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. In all the cities of Egypt, it will be felt that what the Mahdi has done, they may do; and, as he has driven out the intruder, they may do the same. [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. [222], Egypt had been in the French sphere of influence until 1882 when the British had established control over Egypt. [189] Gordon had a low opinion of the Egyptian, Turkish, and Arab Sudanese troops under his commandwhom he constantly described as a mutinous, badly disciplined, and ill-trained rabble good only for looting but had a much higher opinion of his Black Sudanese soldiers, most of them former slaves who would rather die fighting as free men than live as slaves again; it was well known that the Mahdi's forces were going to enslave the Blacks of Khartoum once they took the city.