[65] Urban wrote: It is possible that he had sexual feelings for these urchins, but there is no evidence that he ever acted upon them. [118], Gordon carried no weapons except for his rattan cane (though the bashi-bazouks were armed with rifles and swords), but Gordon showed utterly no fear while his interpreter and the bashi-bazouks were visibly nervous as the rebels numbered about 3,000. George G. Gordon 80, of Indianapolis, passed away December 18, 2022. George William Gordon Obituary - Tribute Archive George was a wise, strong, hardworking, and unfailingly kind man. "[19], Gordon took part in the expedition to Kinburn, and returned to Sevastopol at the war's end. [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. [184] In his diary, Gordon wrote: "I own to having been very insubordinate to Her Majesty's Government and its officials, but it is my nature, and I cannot help it. During his time in Anatolia, Gordon embraced the new technology of the camera to take what the Canadian historian C. Brad Faught called a series of "evocative photographs" of the people and landscape of Armenia. [187][197] Gordon received a letter from the Mahdi taunting him over the murders of his friends Powers and Stewart, warning that he would be next if he did not surrender. [113], As governor, Gordon faced a variety of challenges. May you know God's Strength ,Peace and Comfort as you face the days ahead. George Gordon - Wynyard, Saskatchewan , Conley Funeral Home - Memories wall [103] A major problem for Gordon was malaria, which decimated his men, and led him to issue the following order: "Never let the mosquito curtain out of your sight, it is more valuable than your revolver". Can hold out for years. [203], During NovemberDecember 1884, Gordon's diary showed the stressful effects of the siege, as he was in a state of mental exhaustion, a man on the brink of madness. [159] By the end of 1883, the Egyptians held only the ports on the Red Sea and a narrow belt of land around the Nile in northern Sudan. Following the destruction of Hicks's army, the Liberal Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, decided that the Sudan was not worth the trouble it would take to keep, and that the region should be abandoned to the Mahdi. Matters then remained quiet until March 1877, when Gordon proceeded to Massawa, hoping to make peace with the Abyssinians. Loved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. An official certificate recognizing your purchase will be included with your email receipt. Gordon L. Arnold Obituary (1982 - 2023) | Batesville, Indiana I fear that there will be treachery in the garrison, and all will be over by Christmas. [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. [163] Gordon offered up a 19th-century anticipation of the domino theory, claiming: The danger arises from the influence which the spectacle of a conquering Mahometan Power established close to your frontiers will exercise upon the population which you govern. After his conversation with Baring, Churchill wrote: "Of course there is no doubt that Gordon as a political figure was absolutely hopeless. Gladstone told the Cabinet that the public cared much about Gordon and nothing about the Sudan, so he ordered Wolseley home after learning of Gordon's death. I repeat to you the words of Allah, Do not destroy yourself. As Gordon travelled via Egypt to take the streamer back to Britain, a man who met him in Cairo described Gordon as a broken man who was "rather off his head". Condolences to George's family. If there is anything that I admire nearly as much as the superb scholarship of Zeng Guofan, it is the military qualities of this fine officer. 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. [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. Those wishing to make a donation in memory of George are asked to consider Compassion Canada. Even more importantly, Gordon had given his word of honour that all of the Taipings who surrendered would be well-treated, and regarded the massacre as a stain on his honour. He was born January 1, 1942 in Indianapolis to the late Lester Gordon and Helen Waldron Gordon. Celebrating the life of George Melvin Gordon [104], Besides acting as an administrator and explorer, Gordon had to act as a diplomat, dealing carefully with Muteesa I, the Kabaka (king) of the Buganda, who ruled most of what is today southern Uganda, a man who did not welcome the Egyptian expansion into the Great Lakes region. [158], The Egyptian forces in the Sudan were insufficient to cope with the rebels, and the northern government was occupied with the suppression of the Urabi Revolt. 2023 from 11:00 a.m. until Funeral Service at 1:00 p.m. Interment will follow at St. George Cemetery, 7808 St. George Way off Siegen Lane. [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. The Cabinet felt highly uncomfortable with the appointment, as they had been pressured by the press to send a man who was opposed to their Sudan policy to take command there. [214] Rudolf Slatin, the Austrian governor of Darfur who had been taken prisoner by the Ansar, wrote that three soldiers showed him Gordon's head at his tent before delivering it to the Mahdi. [46] One British officer serving with the Ever Victorious Army described Gordon at this time as: "a light-built, wiry, middle-sized man, of about thirty two years of age, in the undress uniform of the Royal Engineers. George Gordon Obituary - The Indianapolis Star It arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Thomas Reinke, 77, died Feb. 19, 2022. Asher concludes: "He did not save the country from invasion or disaster, but among the British heroes of all ages, there is perhaps no other who stands out so prominently as an individualist, a man ready to die for his principles. [174] Travelling through Korosko and Berber, he arrived at Khartoum on 18 February, where he offered his earlier foe, the slaver-king Rahama Zobeir, release from prison in exchange for leading troops against Ahmed. It was removed in 1943. George graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1960 and went on to graduate from Purdue University in 1965, majoring in Electrical Engineering. [87], At the end of his Governor-Generalship of the Sudan, Gordon had to admit that he had been a failure, an experience of defeat that so shattered him that he had a nervous breakdown. [51], A furious Gordon wrote that executing POWs was "stupid", writing, "if faith had been kept, there would have been no more fighting as every town would have given in". GORDON, George Colburn. As the Mahdi was long dead, Kitchener had to content himself with blowing up the Mahdi's tomb as revenge for Gordon's death. Gordon himself was honest and incorruptible, but he was almost alone in possessing these qualities, and the venal and corrupt Egyptian bureaucrats usually ignored his orders when they conflicted with the chance to make money. He has written a 526-page flora of County Durham, plus a handbook on wild roses - a. During this time in Khartoum, Gordon befriended Irish journalist Frank Powers, The Times (London) correspondent in the Sudan. [123], Gordon then tried another peace mission to Abyssinia. [187] In a letter that reached Cairo in December, Gordon wrote: "Farewell. George Gordon Obituary - Trident Society Following the Hyson was a fleet of 80 junks converted to gunboats. George Leslie Gordon July 18, 1939 - March 12, 2022 George Leslie Gordon, 82, of Pynn's Brook, NL, passed away peacefully on March 12, 2022, at the Corner Brook Long-term Care Home. We are very sorry to hear about George, It seems we never seem to get together until we have a reason like this. We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. He is greatly missed by all who were touched by his intellectual kindness. [72] Gordon's parents expected him to marry and were disappointed about his lifelong bachelorhood. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. We always teased each other on and off the ice Im really going to miss you George. [88] Isma'il was a Muslim who loved Italian wine and French champagne, and many of his more conservative subjects in Egypt and the Sudan felt alienated by a regime that was determined to Westernise the country with little regard for tradition. 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 . George GORDON Obituary (2017) - The New Zealand Herald [13] Gordon was especially impressed with Philippians 1:21 where St. Paul wrote: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain", a passage he underlined in his Bible and often quoted. He will be missed by all who knew him. Send Flowers: When Is the Ordering Deadline? Tribute will contact you if there are any issues. [261], Equatoria: Building Egypt's empire in the Great Lakes region, Nicoll, Fergus and Nusairi, Osman (last updated 2020), Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, "General Charles Gordon and the Mahdi Faith Under Fire in the Sudan", "Charles George Gordon (18331885): A Brief Biography", "Charles Gordon's Charitable Works: An Appreciation", "Last Stands, Custer, General Gordon, and Being a Christian Warrior", "Did General Charles Gordon Have Aspergers Syndrome? [17], On 18 June 1855, the besieging British and French armies began what was intended to be the final assault that would take Sevastopol, which began with a huge bombardment. George married Lola Shafer and they divorced. In addition, one of the first Woolwich Free Ferry vessels was named Gordon in his memory. 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. [180] Gordon urged that the road from Suakin to Berber be opened, but his request was refused by the government in London, and in April Graham and his forces were withdrawn and Gordon and the Sudan were abandoned. [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. For some years, the Taipings gradually advanced eastwards, but eventually they came close enough to Shanghai to alarm the European inhabitants. Peacefully, in Migdale Hospital, Bonar Bridge, on Saturday, 18th February, 2023, Robert "Bobby" George Bain, The Bungalow, Lower Gledfield Farm, Ardgay. George worked as a custodial supervisor in the Lincoln County School system. Planting will take place in Spring of the following year. My heart goes out to the entire family and friends for the loss of dear George. [18], Gordon spent thirty-four consecutive days in the trenches around Sevastopol, and earned a reputation as an able and brave young officer. Gordon had gone to the Sudan with high hopes that via his iron will and Christian faith he would defeat the Ottoman-Egyptian system of rule, that he would act as a reformer who would change the system from within to make what was unjust, just, and that he would make things better for the ordinary people of the Sudan. I got to know George thru his sons, Greg and Tom, long before I actually met him. In the words of the American historian Immanuel C. Y. Hsu, Gordon was a "man of action" unsuitable for a bureaucratic job. [194] Though the telegraph lines to Cairo were cut, Gordon used the remaining telegraph lines to build his own telegraph network within Khartoum linking the men holding the walls of Khartoum to the Governor-General's palace, thus keeping him well-informed of what was happening. Gordon Newsam. Geoffrey FitzClarence, 3rd Earl of Munster - Wikipedia [124], In March 1880, Gordon recovered for a couple of weeks in the Hotel du Faucon in Lausanne, 3 Rue St Pierre, famous for its views on Lake Geneva and because several celebrities had stayed there, such as Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of Gordon's heroes,[125] and possibly one of the reasons Gordon had chosen this hotel. [170], Gladstone felt that this was a deft political move. Fri,03/03/23-11:56AM, 38 Reads. Their wishes for cremation have been honored. Khartoum. The French hoped that conquering the Sudan would allow them to lever the British out of Egypt, and thus restore Egypt to the French sphere of influence. If we can not answer leave a message and we will get back to you as On 2 September 1877, Gordon clad in the full gold-braided ceremonial blue uniform of the Governor-General of the Sudan and wearing the tarboush (the type of fez reserved for a pasha), accompanied by an interpreter and a few bashi-bazouks, rode unannounced into the enemy camp to discuss the situation. [43], On the morning of 30 May 1863, the Taiping forces guarding the town of Quinsan were astonished to see an armoured paddle streamer, the Hyson, armed with a 32-pounder cannon on the bow, sailing up a canal, at whose prow stood Gordon. When the news of the defeats reached Ansar besieging Khartoum, terrible cries of lamentation rose from the besieging force, which led Gordon to guess that the Ansar had been defeated in battle and that Wolseley must be close. He was predeceased by Beverly Fletcher, his first wife of 35 years, his parents, three brothers, four sisters and one granddaughter. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at the Jurrens Funeral Home in George, IA with Pastor Jeremy Winter, officiating. Gordon, seeing that the Abyssinian difficulty could wait, proceeded to Khartoum. [87] In the Ottoman Empire, power was exercised via a system of institutionalised corruption where officials looted their provinces via heavy taxes and by demanding kickbacks known as baksheesh; some of the money went to Constantinople with the rest being pocketed by the officials. In a world moving inexorably towards conformity, it would be well to remember Gordon of Khartoum. Other lives: Art lover who helped create a radio station, bank, orchestra and arboretum in his passion for making positive social change [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. [90] During the American Civil War, when the Union blockade had cut off the American South from the world economy, the price of Egyptian cotton, known as "white gold" had skyrocketed as British textile mills turned to Egypt as an alternative source of cotton, causing an economic blossoming of Egypt that ended abruptly in 1865. How I look forward to their disbandment". George Gordon Battle Liddy was born in Brooklyn on Nov. 30, 1930, and grew up in Hoboken, N.J. George will be deeply missed by everyone, especially his grandchildren. [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. [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. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. [56] The British journalist Mark Urban, wrote: "People saw a brave man who acted with humanity in an otherwise ghastly conflict, standing out from the other mercenaries, adventurers, and cut-throats in wanting almost nothing for himself". I shared a busride home with him a long time ago and we had the most pleasant conversation. [191] Khartoum was surrounded by the Ansar in March 1884, but was not cut off from the outside world for a considerable time afterward. He ran Gordon's Flea Market for over 50 years and was the owner of Gordon's Construction Company. [187], Gordon energetically organised the defence of Khartoum right from the moment he arrived in Khartoum, using his training as a military engineer to turn the city into a fortress. With Egypt under British rule, the British also inherited the problems of Egypt's colony, the Sudan, which the Egyptians were losing control of to the Mahdi. Obituary. Gordon was a valued member of the West Michigan community and made a tremendous impact on Grand Valley. He attended schools in Ferndale and Eureka, CA. . [258], More balanced biographies are Charley Gordon: An Eminent Victorian Reassessed (1978) by Charles Chenevix Trench and Gordon: The Man Behind the Legend (1993) by John Pollock. PDF The Rev. George Gordon, LL.D. - Cambridge I am nearly dead". I would feel so bad but he was always so patient and easy going. G. Gordon Liddy, undercover operative convicted in Watergate scandal Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. [37] Given Burgevine's alcoholism, open corruption, and tendency to engage in acts of mindless violence when drunk, the Chinese wanted "a man of good temper, of clean hands, and a steady economist" as his replacement. [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. [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. [59] Gordon seemed pleased by his simple lifestyle, writing in a letter that: "One night, I slept better than I have for a long time, by a fire in a fisherman's hut". white, francis george willars, dorothy florence. [94], The siege of Khartoum by the Mahdist forces, commanded by the Mahdi himself, started on 18 March 1884. Very sorry to hear of his passing. . In 1982 disgusted with "Big Brother" encroaching on his business, he educated himself and others on law and courtroom procedure, and established a law school in Boise, Barristers Inn, which name was changed to George Gordon's School of Common Law when he moved to Isabella, Mo in 1984 following his patriarchal marriage to Jacqueline. [195], It took considerable time to hire the voyageurs in Canada and bring them to Egypt, which delayed the expedition. [156], The year 1881 was the Islamic year 1298, and to mark the coming of the new century, Ahmed announced that he was the Mahdi, and proclaimed a jihad against the Egyptian state.