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[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. [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. View Gordon Averyt Murrill's obituary, send flowers and find service dates or sign the guestbook. [211] The orders were not obeyed. [187] To counter Gordon's armoured streamers, the Mahdi built a series of forts along the Nile equipped with Krupp guns that over time proceeded to make it almost impossible for Gordon's navy to operate. [12], The British government asked Gordon to go to Khartoum to report on the best method of carrying out the evacuation. [60] Gordon's father was against his son working in Chinese service, an estrangement that had not been settled at the time of his death, and Gordon felt immense guilt that his father had died before they were reconciled. He will be lovingly remembered by Sybil, his wife of the past 32 years; his . He will be forever cherished by his wife Gail Bowen (nee Reid). Jamie Wyble passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on February 24, 2023, at the age of 55 after a very brief battle with brain cancer. [94], The siege of Khartoum by the Mahdist forces, commanded by the Mahdi himself, started on 18 March 1884. (89 years old). With heavy hearts, we announce the death of George Gordon Ross (Columbia, South Carolina), born in Berkeley, California, who passed away on February 2, 2023 at the age of 89. [112] Gordon agreed to return to Cairo, and was asked to take the position of Governor-General of the entire Sudan, which he accepted. [4], In 1843, Gordon was devastated when his favourite sibling, his sister Emily, died of tuberculosis, writing years later, "humanly speaking it changed my life, it was never the same since". [21], Following the peace, he was attached to an international commission to mark the new border between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in Bessarabia. [248], Long after his death, and despite the popularity of Strachey's essay in Eminent Victorians, the appeal of the Gordon legend lived on. [121], In March 1879, Gessi had inflicted a sharp defeat on Zobeir even before Gordon had joined him to pursue their old enemy. Nutting's book was noteworthy as the first book to argue that Gordon had a death wish. 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. [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. [69], King Leopold II then asked Gordon again to take charge of the Congo Free State. 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. 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. [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. After he arrived in Britain, Gordon announced to the press that he "did not want to board the tram of the world" and asked to be left alone. We will remember him forever. [222], Egypt had been in the French sphere of influence until 1882 when the British had established control over Egypt. [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 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. and "Sultan!" [213], A merchant, Bordeini Bey, glimpsed Gordon standing on the palace steps in a white uniform looking into the darkness. [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. He was always professional, approachable, kind, helpful and had an easy smile. Box 297 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.He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in the British Army.However, he made his military reputation in China, where he was placed in command of the "Ever Victorious Army", a force of Chinese . 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. Fri,03/03/23-11:56AM, 38 Reads. [227], After the Battle of Omdurman, Kitchener opened a letter from the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, and for the first time learned the real purpose of the expedition had been to keep the French out of the Sudan and that "avenging Gordon" was merely a pretext. My Prayers are with all your family especially Nancy and children and Grandchildren. 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. It is with heavy hearts the family of Don Bowen announce his passing at the Northumberland Hills Hospital Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the age of 79. 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 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. [215] When Gordon's head was unwrapped at the Mahdi's feet, he ordered the head transfixed between the branches of a tree "where all who passed it could look in disdain, children could throw stones at it, and the hawks of the desert could sweep and circle above. The true joy of George's life were his five beloved and oftentimes spoiled grandchildren: Maeve, Emmett, Isla, Felicity, and Nixon. George was a wise, strong, hardworking, and unfailingly kind man. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Raymond Stampede and Exhibition or to the Canadian Cancer Society. I shall hold on here as long as I can, and if I can suppress the rebellion, I shall do so. The Reverend Reginald Barnes, who knew him well, describes him as "of the middle height, very strongly built". [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. [115], In 1876, Egypt went bankrupt. George Gordon 1925 - 2021 BORN 1925 DIED 2021 ABOUT Cornell University FUNERAL HOME Metcalf & Jonkhoff Funeral Service 4291 Cascade Road SE Grand Rapids, MI GEORGE GORDON OBITUARY George H.. (for "Grand Old Man"), to "M.O.G." [195] Wolseley was a bureaucratic general whose talents lay in administrative work, and as a field commander, Wolseley was slow, methodical, and cautious, making him, in the opinion of Urban, supremely unqualified to lead the relief expedition as he found one excuse after another to proceed up the Nile at a sluggish pace. Powers was delighted that the charismatic Gordon had no anti-Catholic prejudices and treated him as an equal. Family and friends are welcome to send flowers or leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. He was a very kind man and I was sorry to hear of his passing. [244], Charlton Heston played Gordon in the 1966 epic film Khartoum, which deals with the siege of Khartoum. [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. [59] Gordon disapproved of the forts he was building at the mouth of Thames to guard against a possible French invasion, regarding them as expensive and useless. [39] These requirements led Staveley to choose Gordon. Gordon declined all honours of financial gain, writing: "I know I shall leave China as poor as I entered it, but with the knowledge that, through my weak instrumentality, upwards of eighty to one hundred thousand lives have been spared. [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". [17] Gordon spent much time in "the Quarries", as the British called their section of the trenches, facing Sevastopol. Obituary. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. Pallbearers will be some of Gordon's beloved nephews. [91] As part of his Westernisation programme, Isma'il often hired Westerners to work in his government both in Egypt and in the Sudan. George G. Gordon, 80, of Indianapolis, passed away December 18, 2022. [146], Gordon compared his plans for rural reform in Ireland to the abolition of slavery in the British Empire in 1833, and ended his letter with the claim that if this was done, the unity of the United Kingdom would be preserved as the Irish would appreciate this great act of justice and the Irish independence movement would cease to exist as "they would have nothing more to seek from agitation". Dirk was an avid photographer and winner of awards, and a law school instructor working right up to the time of his death. Aug 1931 - Feb 2023. Words cannot express how shocked and saddened I am to hear about [41], In March 1863, Gordon took command of the force at Songjiang, which had received the name of "Ever Victorious Army". Such a kind and calm person. Matters then remained quiet until March 1877, when Gordon proceeded to Massawa, hoping to make peace with the Abyssinians. George married Lola Shafer and they divorced. Gordon made a point of treating POWs well to encourage the Taipings to surrender, and many of his men were former Taipings who chose to enlist in the Ever Victorious Army. 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. Christopher Paul Senior. 23/01/2023. I've worked with George the past five years and have a great deal of respect for him. My heart breaks for George's family because we went through the same not too long ago with my own George.. May God wrap His mighty arms around each of you at this time! [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. Prepare a personalized obituary for someone you loved.. December 10, 1933 - Im so deeply sorry for the loss of your father. [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. [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. The garrison at Berber surrendered in May, and Khartoum was completely isolated. It was removed in 1943. [154] Gordon's interest was prompted by his religious beliefs, as he had become an evangelical Christian in 1854. A second and larger expedition under Prince Hassan was sent the following year and was routed at Gura. [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". [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 personally explored Lake Albert and the Victorian Nile, pushing on through the thick, humid jungle and steep ravines of Uganda amid heavy rains and vast hordes of insects in the summer of 1876 with an average daily temperature of 95F (35C), down to Lake Kyoga. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. [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. [240], Gordon's Tomb (in fact a cenotaph), which was carved by Frederick William Pomeroy, lies in St Paul's Cathedral, London. 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. 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. [209] As dawn broke on the morning of 26 January 1885, the Ansar regiments, led by their riflemen and followed by their spearmen, marched out of their camps under their black banners. 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. He was exhausted by years of incessant work. George Gordons School of Law To slow down the Ansar assaults, Gordon built primitive landmines out of water cans stuffed with dynamite and to confuse the enemy about his numbers, he put up wooden dummies in uniform along the walls of Khartoum facing the Blue Nile. He has written a 526-page flora of County Durham, plus a handbook on wild roses - a. [218] Stones were thrown at the windows at 10 Downing Street as Gladstone was denounced as the "Murderer of Gordon", the Judas figure who betrayed the Christ-like figure of Gordon. [106], Moreover, considerable progress was made in the suppression of the slave trade. In a world moving inexorably towards conformity, it would be well to remember Gordon of Khartoum. George was predeceased by his father, and is survived by his mother. "[193], On 9 September 1884, an armoured steamer, the Abbas, on its way to Cairo, was captured by the Ansar for the first time and all aboard were killed. [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. [117] Gordon disliked Baring, writing he had "a pretentious, grand, patronizing way around him. [96] Isma'il Pasha told Gordon that he wished to expand Equatoria into the rest of Uganda, with the ultimate aim of absorbing the entire Great Lakes region of East Africa into the empire that Isma'il wanted to build in Africa. 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. [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. He devoted himself fully to being a wonderful father to his three sons, Thomas, Greg, and Curtis, raising them up to be men of strong faith and good character. [43] At times, Gordon feared that assaults by the Taiping would take the Hyson, but all the attacks were repulsed. [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. [223] The body of the Mahdi was disinterred and beheaded. This Gordon would later use as a reason for staying in Khartoum. What this almost certainly meant was that Gordon had unresolved homosexual inclinations which, like Kitchener, but unlike Rhodes, he kept savagely repressed. [65] Another "scuttler" later recalled: "He made me feel, first of all, the meaning of the phrase, the Goodness of God. [25] Gordon called the Romanians the "most fickle and intriguing people on the earth. [40] Gordon's insistence on paying his men meant that he was always pressing the Imperial government for money, something which often irritated the mandarins who did not understand why Gordon did not just let his men loot and plunder as a compensation for wages. To send flowers [56] A colleague recalled that Gordon's time at Gravesend was the "most peaceful and happy of his life", but Gordon was often bored, and constantly asked the War Office for an assignment to somewhere dangerous. He first displayed his death wish as he wrote at the time that he had gone "to the Crimea, hoping, without having a hand in it, to be killed". The Mahdi had given strict orders to his three Khalifas not to kill Gordon. [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 was a valued member of the West Michigan community and made a tremendous impact on Grand Valley. [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. A graveside service was held for Dirk at the family farm March 7, 2014 in Isabella, MO. Our deepest sympathies go out to cousin Nancy, and her family. Authorize the publication of the original written obituary with the accompanying photo. Condolences to George's family. So shocked and saddened to hear of George's passing. [81], In October 1871, he was appointed British representative on the international commission to maintain the navigation of the mouth of the River Danube, with headquarters at Galatz. [66] The council subsequently acquired the gardens of his official residence, Fort House (now a museum), for the town. Kindly submit the form below if you wish to notify the family of your donation. He loved his Heavenly Father and his Saviour, and he was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for which he held many positions and worked faithfully in many capacities. [100], Gordon established a close rapport with the African peoples of Equatoria such as the Nuer and Dinka, who had long suffered from the activity of Arab slave traders, and who naturally supported Gordon's efforts to stamp out the slave trade.