george gordon obituary george gordon obituary

In addition, one of the first Woolwich Free Ferry vessels was named Gordon in his memory. 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. [192] Gordon's armoured steamers continued to sail in and out of Khartoum with little difficulty for the first six months of the siege, and it was not until September 1884 that the armoured steamers first had trouble reaching the city. I repeat to you the words of Allah, Do not destroy yourself. Never expected His subordinate, Gessi Pasha, fought with great success in the Bahr-el-Ghazal district in putting an end to the revolt there. 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. In 1904, it was moved to Khartoum, where it stood at the intersection of Gordon Avenue and Victoria Avenue, 200 metres south of the new palace that had been built in 1899. [38] Li Hongzhang, the governor of the Jiangsu province, requested Staveley to appoint a British officer to command the contingent. [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. During peak periods such as Valentines Day, Memorial Day and most holidays, florists are not always able to keep up to demand. George Gordon - Wynyard, Saskatchewan , Conley Funeral Home - Memories wall The British sinologist Demetrius Charles Boulger published a biography of Gordon in 1896 which depicted him as a staunch patriot and a Christian of immense virtue who displayed superhuman courage in the face of danger. Obituary for George Gordon | Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Service Gordon passed away peacefully Monday, October 31 at the glorious age of 91, at Good Samaritan Prairie Ridge in Raymond. Celebrating the life of George Melvin Gordon He was a devoted husband and a loving, tender, and selfless man who made many friends during his lifetime. [122] On 15 July 1879, Gessi finally captured Zobeir together with 250 of his men. [119] Gordon also promised that those rebels who laid down their arms would not be punished and would all be given jobs in the administration. the passing of George. [162] Gordon wanted to talk about the Congo, but Stead kept on pressing him to talk about the Sudan. He has written a 526-page flora of County Durham, plus a handbook on wild roses - a. He was 96. Gordon's willingness to renounce his British citizenship in order to fight with China in the event of war did much to raise his prestige in China. He is survived by : his wife Mary Ruff Ross; his sons, Dr. Greg Ross (Patty) of Florida and David Ross (Changsook) of South Korea; his step-children, Dr. John Beasley (Ann) of Columbia and Joye Beasley Harpe (Stan) of Columbia; and his sister-in-law Sally Wiseman (Jim) of Columbia. In the 1980s this quiet civil servant . We would like to offer our sincere support to anyone coping with grief. Box 297 [12] However, the British public and Kitchener himself saw the expedition as one to "avenge Gordon". [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. [59], During a visit to Bulgaria, Gordon and Gessi become involved in an incident when a Bulgarian couple told them that their 17-year-old daughter had been abducted into the harem of an Ottoman pasha, and asked them to free their daughter. [46] After the battle, Gordon was hailed as a liberator from the Taipings by the ordinary Chinese people. He entered the service of the Khedive of Egypt in 1873 (with British government approval) and later became the Governor-General of the Sudan, where he did much to suppress revolts and the local slave trade. [238], The Corps of Royal Engineers, Gordon's own Corps, commissioned a statue of Gordon on a camel. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. George Gordon of Isabella, Mo died in his wife's arms at his farm August 30 and was buried that same day in the family cemetery on the farm. [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. His beloved wife passed in June of 2019. View Tribute Book. William Gordon, minister of Glenlivet, he entered Marischal College, The pedestal bears the arms of the Gordon clan and of the borough of Southampton, and also Gordon's name in Chinese. Gordon". [51], On 1 January 1864, Gordon was informed that a messenger from the Tongzhi Emperor was coming to see him and that he should put on his finest uniform. Can hold out for years. Mr. Pinsent, who was long famous in Canada, but who did not gain wider international recognition until one of his final performances, in the 2006 film "Away From Her," died on Feb. 25 in . [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. Our deepest sympathies go out to cousin Nancy, and her family. 1Corinthians 15:54 . [18] Despite the best efforts of the Allies, the French failed to take the Malakhov fortress while the British failed to take the Redan fortress on 18 June. In the article, Stallard pointed to the egalitarianistic attitudes displayed by Gordon towards the Chinese, and argued that if Chinese historians paid closer attention to the activities of Gordon in China, it would improve Anglo-Chinese relations. George Gordon Obituary We are sad to announce that on May 13, 2020, at the age of 51, George Gordon (Raymore, Saskatchewan) passed away. Public opinion would be satisfied with "Chinese Gordon" going to the Sudan, but at the same time, Gordon was given such a limited mandate that the evacuation would proceed as planned. In both cases, naval power was the key factor, as gunboats in the Red Sea and on the Nile provided a degree of firepower with which the Ansar could not cope. [121], In March 1879, Gessi had inflicted a sharp defeat on Zobeir even before Gordon had joined him to pursue their old enemy. [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. [52] Gordon then returned to Kunshan and disbanded his army in June 1864. [64] Persuaded by his friends in 1867, he became a trustee for the local Ragged school committee. Parcourez la ncrologie de Donald Don Gordon Bowen 2023 rsidant dans la province Ontario pour le dtail des funrailles . So sorry and in shock! [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. Such a kind and calm person. One observer noted that whenever he left and entered the Governor's Palace in Khartoum: "Government officials, consular agents, and native people awaited him in large numbers. The wave of mourning was not just confined to Britain. His parents were first cousins, thus making Geoffrey a great-grandson of William IV twice over. 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. [228], News of Gordon's death caused an outpouring of public grief across Britain. Nutting's book was noteworthy as the first book to argue that Gordon had a death wish. The B.C. [51] A Scotsman who knew Gordon in China wrote: "he shows the Chinese that if even an able and reliable man, such as he is, is unmanageable". The American historian John Semple Galbraith described Gordon as suffering from "utter boredom" during his time in Mauritius. The prince keeps a great state and I was introduced to him with much ceremony. How I look forward to their disbandment". [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". [143] Although the Qing court rejected Gordon's advice to seek a compromise with Russia in the summer of 1880, Gordon's assessment of China's military backwardness and his stark warnings that the Russians would win if a war did break out played an important role in ultimately strengthening the peace party at the court and preventing war. 05/01/2023. [217], The failure to rescue General Gordon's force in Sudan was a major blow to Prime Minister Gladstone's popularity. Gordon visited the Seychelles in the summer of 1881 and decided the islands were the location of the Garden of Eden. The bashi-bazouks were extremely susceptible to corruption and were notorious for their brutality, especially to non-Muslims. He was predeceased by Beverly Fletcher, his first wife of 35 years, his parents, three brothers, four sisters and one granddaughter. [37] After its surrender, Gordon personally guaranteed that any Taiping rebel who laid down his arms would be humanely treated. The system remained the same creaking slow, utterly corrupt, and oppressive apparatus trampling down ordinary people that it had always been. [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. [257] Behrman wrote that the first part of Nutting's thesis, that Gordon had a death wish, is generally accepted by historians, but the second part, that Gordon was homosexual, is still the subject of much debate. "[1] Besieged by the Mahdi's forces, Gordon organised a citywide defence that lasted for almost a year and gained him the admiration of the British public, but not of the government, which had wished him not to become entrenched there. George GORDON / GEORGE / HANSLOW Obituary Events Guestbook Claim Story Follow story Text size GORDON, George aka George Gordon GEORGE and George HANSLOW Born December 1935 and passed in December 2020. 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. [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. [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. The "Ever-Victorious Army" resumed its high tempo advance, leading to the Battle of Changzhou, and culminating in the capture of Changzhou Fu, the principal military base of the Taipings in the region. 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. [142] After meeting with him there, Hart described Gordon as "very eccentric" and "spending hours in prayer", writing that: "As much I like and respect him, I must say he is 'not all there'. [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. You will never hear from me again. An interment will take place in Raymond at the Temple Hill Cemetery following the service. [207] Gordon defiantly told the merchant: "Go tell all the people of Khartoum that Gordon fears nothing, for God has created him without fear! [54][55] Only forty men were allowed to wear the Yellow Jacket, which was the Emperor's ceremonial bodyguard, and it was thus a signal honour for Gordon to be allowed to wear it. George Gordon of Isabella, Mo died in his wife's arms at his farm August 30 and was buried that same day in the family cemetery on the farm. Receive obituaries from the city or cities of your choice. When your purchase is complete, a post will be made on the tribute wall of the deceased signifying the planting of a memorial tree. [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. [56] The savage Taiping Rebellionwhich was the bloodiest war of the entire 19th century, taking somewhere between 20 and 30 million livesis largely forgotten in the West today, but at the time, the civil war in China attracted much media attention in the West, and Gordon's command of the Ever Victorious Army received much coverage from British newspapers. [12], The British government asked Gordon to go to Khartoum to report on the best method of carrying out the evacuation. Find the obituary of Gordon L. Arnold (1982 - 2023) from Batesville, IN. View obituary. Because of his knowledge and expertise, when George spoke, everyone listened. Cremation has taken place. [117], Slavery was the basis of the Sudanese economy, and Gordon's attempts to end the slave trade meant taking on very powerful vested interests, most notably Rahama Zobeir, known as the "King of the Slavers" as he was the richest and most powerful of all the slave traders in the entire Sudan. 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. Your email will not be used for any other purpose. [201] However, Faught wrote that there was a fundamental difference between Gordon and the Mahdi in that Gordon never tried to convert the Muslims of the Sudan to Christianity whereas the Mahdi was an "Islamic extremist" who believed he would establish a worldwide caliphate, looking forward to the day when he would "see the world bow before him". The Egyptian soldiers were miserable falln conscripts who had no interest in being in the Sudan, much less in fighting the Mahdi, and morale was so poor that Hicks had to chain his men together to prevent them from deserting. [93], Reflecting these realities, Gordon had to undertake much of the administrative work himself, travelling ceaselessly and constantly all over the Sudan via camel in attempts to make the bureaucracy actually obey his orders, something that occurred when he was present, but stopped as soon as he left. and, like Lawrence, I have tried to do my duty. Share. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. [61] Many of the "scuttlers," as Gordon fondly called the homeless boys, were lodged at his own home, the Fort House. Of Marton, formerly of Auckland. OBITUARY George Forbes Gordon March 28, 1938 - May 15, 2022 It is with heavy hearts we bid a final farewell to Mr. George Forbes Gordon, 84, of Fountain Valley, California, who departed our world on May 15, 2022. He was a very kind man and I was sorry to hear of his passing. The best evidence suggests that Gordon went out to confront the enemy, gunned down several of the Ansar with his revolver and, after running out of bullets, drew his sword only to be shot down. For information and online condolences, please visit:www.northviewfuneralchapel.com. George Harold Folk, 84, of Findlay, passed away peacefully Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton. (Right beside the Raymond Hospital) Friends can meet the family prior to the service between 10:00 AM and 10:45 AM. [218] Critics said Gladstone had neglected military affairs and had not acted promptly enough to save the besieged Gordon. [184] The Cabinet itself was divided and confused about just what to do about the Sudan crisis, leading to a highly dysfunctional style of decision-making. [241][242], The Church Missionary Society (CMS) work in Sudan was undertaken under the name of the Gordon Memorial Mission. 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. [14] Before 1870, there was no universal school system in Britain, and the Ragged Schools were a network of privately-funded schools that gave a free education to children whose parents were too poor to afford the school fees. Following the Hyson was a fleet of 80 junks converted to gunboats. In 1869, Isma'il spent 2 million Egyptian pounds (the equivalent to $300 million U.S. dollars in today's money) just on the party to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, in what was described as the party of the century. Born in the Manse of Urquhart, Morayshire, on 23rd July, 1801, the son of the late Eev. [220] As late as 1901, on the anniversary of Gordon's death, The Times wrote in a leader (editorial) that Gordon was "that solitary figure holding aloft the flag of England in the face of the dark hordes of Islam". Search by name or location to find online obituaries. George Gordon (1955-1987) *31, Grave #45742967 - Sysoon [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. Search by Name. [85] In 1872, Gordon was sent to inspect the British military cemeteries in the Crimea, and when passing through Constantinople, he made the acquaintance of the Prime Minister of Egypt, Raghib Pasha. He was shot! Staveley selected Gordon, who had been made a brevet major in December 1862 and the nomination was approved by the British government. In 1885, at a meeting in London, 3,000 were allocated to a Gordon Memorial Mission in Sudan. [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. . [65], Octavia Freese published a book in 1894 about his charity work and Christian beliefs. [140], Gordon further advised the Qing court that it was unwise for the Manchu elite to live apart from and treat the Han Chinese majority as something less than human, warning that this not only weakened China in the present, but would cause a revolution in the future. George married Lola Shafer and they divorced. George was a wise, strong, hardworking, and unfailingly kind man. Just for the love of it | The Independent | The Independent 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. [170], Gladstone felt that this was a deft political move. In 1877, he wrote in a letter: "This life is only one of a series of lives which our incarnated part has lived. It was removed in 1943. My sincerest condolences to the Gordon family for their loss. He received no reply as the king had gone southwards to fight with the Shoa. [179] The hero-worshiping Powers wrote about Gordon: "He is indeed I believe the greatest man of this century". Im so grateful that my sister and nephews had such a wonderful father-in-law and grandpa. [248], Long after his death, and despite the popularity of Strachey's essay in Eminent Victorians, the appeal of the Gordon legend lived on. Prince George Obituaries - Prince George Citizen Leopold tried very hard to convince Gordon to enter his service, not least because Gordon was known to be modest in his salary demands, unlike Leopold's current agent in the Congo, Henry Morton Stanley, who received a monthly salary of 300,000 Belgian francs. This eventually led to the Warlord Era and the Chinese Civil War which saw the communists defeat the nationalists and establish control over China. Share. I know how much he meant to you and us here at Sterling. An expedition was sent up the White Nile, under Sir Samuel Baker, which reached Khartoum in February 1870 and Gondokoro in June 1871. He was so erratic, capricious, utterly unreliable, his mood changed so often, his temper was abominable, he was frequently drunk, and yet with all that, he had a tremendous sense of honour and great abilities". George will be missed. [52], Instead, the Ever Victorious Army was given the task of taking the secondary cities of Yesing, Liyang, and Kitang. In early 1884, Gordon was sent to Khartoum with instructions to secure the evacuation of loyal soldiers and civilians and to depart with them. We can only speculate that his increasing religious devotion may have been an outward manifestation of an internal struggle against sexual temptation.[61]. [223] The body of the Mahdi was disinterred and beheaded. Nancy, [222], Egypt had been in the French sphere of influence until 1882 when the British had established control over Egypt. Notably, Strachey emphasises the claims of Charles Chaill-Long that Gordon was an alcoholic, an accusation dismissed by later writers like Alan Moorehead[252] and Charles Chenevix Trench. [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. [78] Faught argued that no-one at the time suspected Gordon of having sexual relations with the legions of teenage boys living with him at the Fort House. Gordon then took his force through the country, seizing towns until, with the aid of Imperial troops, capturing the city of Suzhou in November. [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. quickly as possible. [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. He thereafter received the honorific rank and title of pasha in the Ottoman aristocracy. We will remember him forever. Always kind When he woke up again that afternoon, he found Gordon's body covered with flies and the head cut off. [224] This symbolic decapitation echoed General Gordon's death at the hands of the Mahdist forces in 1885. I will keep him in my thoughts and prayers all the time. (for "Grand Old Man"), to "M.O.G." [133], In May, the Marquess of Ripon, who had been given the post of Governor-General of India, asked Gordon to go with him as private secretary. "[216] His body was desecrated and thrown down a well. [246], For the six months after the British public learned of Gordon's death, newspapers and journals published hundreds of articles celebrating Gordon as a "saint". Write your message of sympathy today. [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". [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". [102] Chaill-Long in return painted a very unflattering picture of Gordon in his 1884 book The Three Prophets, whom he portrayed as a bully, a raging alcoholic, an incompetent leader, and a rank coward. When oil mixes with water, we will mix together". As such, Gordon's role in suppressing the rebellion has caused his reputation to suffer in China, in addition to his role as a general in service of the Manchu-dominated Qing government, which systematically oppressed the Han Chinese majority. Besides working to end slavery, Gordon carried out a series of reforms such as abolishing torture and public floggings where those opposed to the Egyptian state were flogged with a whip known as the kourbash made of buffalo hide. [77] Together with his sister Augusta, Gordon often prayed to be released from their "vile bodies" in which their spirits were "imprisoned" so that their souls might be joined with God. He was born January 1, 1942 in Indianapolis to the late Lester Gordon and Helen Waldron Gordon. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. He was born Sept. 12, 1938, in Findlay, to Earl E. and Mary N. (Corron) Folk. [25] As the maps that delineated the Russian-Ottoman frontier were all old and inaccurate, Gordon spent much time clashing with his Russian counterparts about where precisely the frontier was and soon discovered that the Russians were very keen to have the frontier on the Danube, which Gordon had orders from London to prevent. George Charles Gordon - Northview Funeral Chapel [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. Dearest Dad and Grandpa, [199] The Pall Mall Gazette, in a front page leader, wrote that Gordon stood "out in clear relief against the Eastern sky. [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. [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. 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. [248], In the 20th century, many British military leaders came to have a critical view of Gordon, with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery writing that Gordon was "unfit for independent command, mentally unbalanced, a fanatic, self-imposed martyr", adding that he should never have been sent to the Sudan and the GladstoneGordon relationship was a case study in dysfunctional civilmilitary relations. [82] During his second trip to Romania, Gordon insisted on living with ordinary people as he travelled over the countryside, commenting that Romanian peasants "live like animals with no fuel, but reeds", and spent one night at the home of a poor Jewish craftsman whom Gordon praised for his kindness in sharing the single bedroom with his host, his wife, and their seven children. [173] Gordon immediately confirmed Baring's fears as he started to issue press statements attacking the rebels as "a feeble lot of stinking Dervishes" and demanded he be allowed to "smash up the Mahdi". 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. In October 1880, Gordon paid a two-week visit to Ireland, landing at Cork and travelling over much of the island. Ismai'il's Chief of General Staff was the American general Charles Pomeroy Stone, and a number of other veterans of the American Civil War were commanding Egyptian troops. He was a lifelong resident of the Ozarks and of Isabella since 1968. (89 years old). George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron FRS (22 January 1788 - 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. May God be your strength and comfort. Thomas Reinke, 77, died Feb. 19, 2022. [107] Gordon wrote in a letter to his sister about the Africans living a "life of fear and misery", but in spite of the "utter misery" of Equatoria that, "I like this work". Located in the town centre of his birthplace of Woolwich is General Gordon Square, formerly known as General Gordon Place until a major urban landscaped area was developed and the road name changed. At the beginning of 1884, Gordon had no interest in the Sudan and had just been hired to work as an officer with the newly-established Congo Free State. [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. [47] The suffering of the Chinese people strengthened Gordon's faith, as he argued that there had to be a just, loving God who would one day redeem humanity from all this wretchedness and misery.