Gordon C. Shaffer age 98 of George, IA died Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Good Samaritan Society in George, IA. Im grateful to [112] Gordon agreed to return to Cairo, and was asked to take the position of Governor-General of the entire Sudan, which he accepted. [255] In 1953, the British novelist Charles Beatty published a Gordon biography, His Country was the World: A Study of Gordon of Khartoum, which focused on Gordon's religious faith, but for the first time noted what a tormented figure Gordon was: a man of deeply felt Christian convictions, full of guilt and self-loathing over his own sinfulness and inability to live up to his own impossibly high standards over what a Christian should be and desperately longing to do something to expiate his sinfulness. 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. Published on December 13, 2020 Plant a Living Memorial "[19], Gordon took part in the expedition to Kinburn, and returned to Sevastopol at the war's end. [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. [83] Popular legend has it that Gordon and Gessi broke into the pasha's palace at night to rescue the girl, but the truth is less dramatic. [63] Gordon's closest friends were a couple, Frederick and Octavia Freese, whose son Edward, became Gordon's surrogate son. [156], Additionally, Baring's policy of raising taxes to pay off the debts Isma'il had run up sparked much resentment in both Egypt and the Sudan. [114] In his worn-out state, Gordon had some sort of religious rebirth, leading him to write to his sister Augusta: "Through the workings of Christ in my body by His Body and Blood, the medicine worked. [142], Gordon was ordered home by London as the Foreign Office was not comfortable with the idea of him commanding the Chinese Army against Russia if war should break out, believing that this would cause an Anglo-Russian war and Gordon was told that he would be dishonorably discharged if he remained in China. Faught also pointed out that the first hints that Gordon might secretly have been having sex with the boys of the Fort House were made by Lytton Strachey in his book Eminent Victorians (published 1918) which, in Faught's opinion, may have said more about Strachey than it did about Gordon. [58], The traders of Shanghai offered Gordon huge sums of money to thank him for his work commanding the Ever Victorious Army. [43] Gordon disembarked the 4th Regiment with orders to take Quinsan while he sailed up and down the main canal in the Hyson, using the 32-pounder gun to blast apart the Taiping positions on the canal. [256] Like Strachey, Beatty found Gordon a ridiculous figure, but unlike Strachey, who had nothing but contempt for Gordon, Beatty's approach was a compassionate one, arguing that Gordon's many acts of charity and self-sacrifice were attempts to love others since he was unable to love himself. can stop at any time. Dirk attended Lutie and Gainesville schools, St. Pauls of Concordia, Mizzou in Columbia and School of the Ozarks. [180] At one point, Gordon suggested in a telegram to Gladstone that the notoriously corrupt Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Hamid II could be bribed into sending 3,000 Ottoman troops for the relief of Khartoum and if the British government was unwilling and/or unable to pay that amount, he was certain that either Pope Leo XIII or a group of American millionaires would be. He ran Gordon's Flea Market for over 50 years and was the owner of Gordon's Construction Company. [86] In 1873, Gordon received a definite offer from the Khedive, which he accepted with the consent of the British government, and proceeded to Egypt early in 1874. [170], Gladstone felt that this was a deft political move. [51], Gordon believed this approach was militarily counterproductive, as it encouraged the Taipings to fight to the death, which Gordon felt to be very unwise as the Taiping leader Hong Xiuquan, had become murderously paranoid, conducting bloody purges of his followers. [64] Outside of the Fort House were graffito written on the wall by one of the evidently less-educated boys that read: "God Bless the Kernel". The Aylmer Flickering Flames Hockey Club wish the entire Gordon Family our deepest sympathies during this sad time. [25] Gordon called the Romanians the "most fickle and intriguing people on the earth. [12], Gordon was apparently killed at the Governor-General's palace about an hour before dawn. [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. The Reverend Gordon Graham has taken the biblical injunction to "consider the lilies of the field" to extremes. [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. He had an unfaltering testimony of the Gospel, which he happily shared with others, particularly when he and Sybil served two proselytizing missions, one in Edmonton and the other in Las Vegas, Nevada. [40], Gordon was honest and incorruptible, and unlike many Chinese officers, did not steal the money that was meant to pay his men, but rather insisted on paying the Ever Victorious Army on time and in full. When he woke up again that afternoon, he found Gordon's body covered with flies and the head cut off. 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! [46] After the battle, Gordon was hailed as a liberator from the Taipings by the ordinary Chinese people. His moods were capricious and uncertain, his passions violent, his impulses sudden and inconsistent. [96] Gordon was not impressed with the forces of the Egyptian state. George graduated from Arsenal Technical High School in 1960 and went on to graduate from Purdue University in 1965, majoring in Electrical Engineering. Those wishing to make a donation in memory of George are asked to consider Compassion Canada. [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. To follow George's story, enter your email. [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. In March 1896, a French force under the command of Jean-Baptiste Marchand left Dakar with the intention of marching across the Sahara with the aim of destroying the Mahdiyah state. [174], The Mahdi ended his letter with the remark: "I am the Expected Mahdi and I do not boast! [10] The sappers were an elite corps who performed reconnaissance work, led storming parties, demolished obstacles in assaults, and undertook rear-guard actions in retreats and other hazardous tasks. [135] The British diplomat Thomas Francis Wade reported, "The Chinese government still holds Gordon Pasha in high regard", and were anxious to have him back to fight against Russia if war should break out. 05/01/2023. [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. [95], The Egyptian authorities had been extending their control southwards since the 1820s. You rest easy my friend. He will be lovingly remembered by Sybil, his wife of the past 32 years; his . Gordon's papers, as well as some of his grandfather's (Samuel Enderby III), were accepted by the British Library around 1937. He will be missed by all who knew him. SAT & SUN [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? Tribute will contact you if there are any issues. Celebrate the life of George Gordon, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information.
Prince George Obituaries - Prince George Citizen George Gordon Obituary (1925-2021) - Grand Rapids Press The clash led to Gordon informing the Khedive that he did not wish to return to the Sudan, and he left for London. He was a manager of mine for a small while and I will always remember how kind and easy going he was.. and his memorable laugh, Always there [183], Gordon decided to stay and hold Khartoum despite the orders of the Gladstone government to merely report about the best means of supervising the evacuation of the Sudan. He loved their wives, Chelsea, Janine, and Samantha as if they were his own, a trait learned from the great and limitless love he received from his parents-in-law, Tom and Edna Lewis. [188] The Turkish troops at Khartoum were not part of the Ottoman Army, but rather bashi-bazouks, irregulars whom Gordon commented were good for raids, but useless for battle. [120], Gordon returned south and proceeded to Harrar, south of Abyssinia, and, finding the administration in poor standing, dismissed the governor. 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. After meeting his old friend, Gordon assured Li that if Russia should attack he would resign his commission in the British Army to take up a commission in the Chinese Army, an action that if taken, risked prosecution under the Foreign Enlistments Act. He was promoted to captain on 1 April 1859. George worked as a custodial supervisor in the Lincoln County School system. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. George M. Gordon Obituary.
George Gordon James Obituary - The Arizona Republic [60], Following the death of his father, he undertook extensive social work in Gravesend, feeding homeless boys whom he found begging on the street while also attempting to find them homes and jobs. [79] The frequent references in Gordon's letters about his need to resist "temptation" and "subdue the flesh", Faught argued, related to women rather than men who were "tempting" him. whatever God wants will be). [37] Without waiting to reorganise his troops, Gordon led them at once to the relief of Changsu, a town 40 miles northwest of Shanghai. [56] The British Army promoted Gordon to lieutenant-colonel on 16 February 1864,[57] and he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 9 December 1864. Wolseley had earlier served in Canada where he had commanded the Red River expedition of 1870, during which time he gained considerable respect for the skills of French-Canadian voyageurs, and now insisted he could not travel up the Nile without the voyageurs to assist his men as river pilots and boatmen. In his biography of Gordon, Anthony Nutting wrote that Gordon was obsessed with "the ever-present, constantly repeated desire for martyrdom and for that glorious immortality in union with God and away from the wretchedness of life on this earth". [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. [243], In the Presidential Palace in Khartoum (built in 1899), in the west wing on the ground floor, there was, at least until 1936, a stone slab against the wall on the left side of the main corridor when coming from the main entrance with the text: "Charles George Gordon died26 Jan 1885", on the spot where Gordon was killed, at the foot of the stairs in the old Governor-General's Palace (built around 1850). [84] Gordon and Gessi threatened to go to the British and Italian press if she was not released at once, a threat that proved sufficient to win the girl her freedom. [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.
George William Gordon Obituary - Tribute Archive Scorn and reproach were cast upon us, and would we plead that it was undeserved? It arrived two days after the city had fallen and Gordon had been killed. Gordon despite or rather, because of his war hero status disliked publicity and tried to avoid the press when he was in Britain. [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. [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. However, he made his military reputation in China, where he was placed in command of the "Ever Victorious Army", a force of Chinese soldiers led by European officers which was instrumental in putting down the Taiping Rebellion, regularly defeating much larger forces. A militia of Europeans and Asians was raised for the defence of the city and placed under the command of an American, Frederick Townsend Ward, and occupied the country to the west of Shanghai. He was born in Fortuna, CA 75 years ago to Winton and Evelyn Chase Gordon. [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. 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,. She grew up in Rochester and also resided in Caledonia and for the majority of her life in Wayland. It was removed in 1958, shortly after the Sudan became independent. [148] Gordon was promoted to major-general on 23 March 1882. Praying for you Nancy and family. [212], Gordon died on the steps of a stairway in the northwestern corner of the palace, where he and his body servant, Agha Khalil Orphali, had been firing at the enemy. [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. Always kind [116] Faught wrote that Gordon's plans were "farsighted and humane", but Baring had no interest in Gordon's plans to suspend the interest payments. (89 years old). [74] The British historian Denis Judd, wrote about Gordon's sexuality: Like two other great Imperial heroes of his time, Kitchener and Cecil Rhodes, Gordon was a celibate. He also rented a small house in East Terrace for working boys to be taught for free. Jackie was born April 7, 1944, to Rudy . He will be forever cherished by his wife Gail Bowen (nee Reid). 23/01/2023. Grief Support. 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. [96], A tense stand-off ensued, and though the rebels could have easily killed Gordon and his party, as Gordon wrote in a letter to his sister, the rebels were all "dumbfounded at my coming among them". 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. [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". We love you, we love you, we love you. When oil mixes with water, we will mix together". 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". Colonel Valentine Baker led an Egyptian force out of Suakin and was badly defeated by 1,000 Haddendowa warriors who declared their loyalty to the Mahdi under Osman Digna at Al-Teb with 2,225 Egyptian soldiers and 96 officers killed. He was born January 1, 1942 in Indianapolis to the late Lester Gordon and Helen Waldron Gordon. He is also survived by ten grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. [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. He managed the grain elevator in Raymond until he retired manyyears ago and has lived in Raymond ever since. Aug 1931 - Feb 2023. Always happy We cannot bring ourselves to believe that we are to be abandoned". [219] Wolseley, who had been led to believe that his expedition was the initial phase of an operation to re-conquer the Sudan, was furious, and in a telegram to Queen Victoria contemptuously called Gladstone "the tradesman who has become a politician". [172] Gordon was well-received by a crowd of about 9,000 during his return to Khartoum where the crowd continually chanted, "Father!" 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. [137] Gordon arrived in Shanghai in July and met Li Hongzhang, and learned that there was risk of war with Russia. 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. In October 1880, Gordon paid a two-week visit to Ireland, landing at Cork and travelling over much of the island. Southampton, where Gordon had stayed with his sister, Augusta, in Rockstone Place before his departure to the Sudan, erected a memorial in Porter's Mead, now Queen's Park, near the town's docks. After an order is placed, our forestry partners will plant the tree in the area of greatest need (nearest the funeral home), according to the planting schedule for the year. Survived by his daughter, Melanie (Barry) Thompson. In Khartoum, Gordon attended a dinner with the Governor-General, Ismail Aiyub Pasha, entertained with barely dressed belly dancers whom one of Gordon's officers drunkenly attempted to have sex with, leading to a disgusted Gordon walking out, saying he was shocked that Aiyub allowed these things to happen in his palace. white, francis george willars, dorothy florence. [17], During his time in the Crimea, Gordon made a number of friendships that were to last for the rest of his life, most notably with Romolo Gessi, Garnet Wolseley, and Gerald Graham, all of whom would cross paths with Gordon several times in the future. [87] Gordon's reforming zeal made him popular with the ordinary people of the Sudan.