Last year my Friday Fact No 4 was all about the statue of General Gordon at Gordon’s School, which curiously was moved in 1959 from Khartoum in the Sudan to the school. It has taken me quite a while to research the story. If you get the chance to stand by the statue, I’d like you to consider for a moment a little of the history it represents. I’ll try to be brief,
Charles Gordon was born in Woolwich in 1833, the son of a Major-General in the Royal Artillery. Gordon’s military training was in the Royal Engineers as he’d shown an aptitude for drawing and map making.
Serving in the Crimean War and as Chief Engineer in the Chinese Emperor’s service, Gordon’s clear headedness, strength of personality, and determination, allied with his skills in mapping and fortification building, brought him recognition and respect throughout the country.
Back home in Gravesend, after service overseas, Gordon’s fame increased, resulting from his successful efforts to alleviate poverty of young boys in the area. In Gravesend’s Gordon Memorial Gardens there’s a plaque on his monument recognising this good work.
Gordon’s next 10 years were spent mostly in Egypt and Sudan, eventually as Governor General of Sudan, during which time he brought peace to the region, fought hard against slavery, built fortifications, and established sound river communication to the upper and lower Nile. However, in seeking to pacify Sudan, Gordon was killed at the end of a 317 day siege of Khartoum. The British relieving force arriving only the day after his death.
At the news of Gordon’s death, there was uproar. Prime Minister Gladstone was blamed for dithering and not sending a relief force soon enough, and Queen Victoria openly criticised him, such that soon afterwards his government fell.
More prevalent then, than now, was a national desire to erect memorials to national hero’s and leaders. The government paid for one such memorial to General Gordon, which now stands on the Embankment, opposite the Ministry of Defence.
Meanwhile, soldiers and officers of the Royal Engineers subscribed to erect their own memorial at the Royal Engineers Institute at Chatham. This statue of Gordon, seated on a camel, is the work of Edward Onslow Ford. Finding the exact type of camel in London Zoo, he spent the best part of two years in sculpting a likeness. This statue was unveiled in 1890 by the Prince of Wales.
The pressure from Egypt and the British government to reclaim control over the Sudan was successful, when in 1898, General Kitchener, a friend of Gordon, recaptured the Sudan culminating at the battle of Omdurman.
Nationally there remained a desire to raise a memorial to General Gordon at the site of his death in Khartoum. General Kitchener and his friend the owner of the Morning Post newspaper campaigned for this to happen, such that the reader’s of the Morning Post subscribed sufficient funds to have a replica of the statue of Gordon seated on a camel. Briefly, before shipment to Khartoum, the statue was on public display near Trafalgar Square.
The ship transporting the statue, the SS Cedardene, was in collision with a Russian ship in the Thames and sank. It was refloated after three tides, the statue, in its skeleton crate, was hosed down and put on the SS Lesbian that was sailing to Alexandria a few days later. Prior to its arrival in Khartoum the statue was submerged in the Nile. A most eventful journey.
The rise of nationalism in Egypt and Sudan in the 1950’s led to independence from Britain, and in 1958 the Sudanese government took down the statues of Gordon and Kitchener. The government reported to Parliament that Sudan had offered them to Britain, which the government accepted, organising their return, and deciding that the statue of Gordon should be given to Gordon’s School.
The statue was erected at Gordon’s School in April 1959, and unveiled in May 1959 in the presence of a distinguished company of over 1500 people, including a representative of the Sudanese Embassy in London.
Finally, if you get the opportunity to see both statues of General Gordon seated on a camel, one at Gordon’s School, and the original at Chatham, you’ll soon notice a significant difference in colour, also that a few bits are missing from the School’s statue. At Chatham, Gordon is a glorious deep dark bronze, while at the School, Gordon is a splendid silvery grey.
An important part of our nation’s history is here in our Borough. We should be pleased that it’s here.
UPDATE: Read the full story here, A history of General Gordon’s Statue at Gordon’s School – Mar2011
Lightwater 
Gordon of Khartoum was a fascinating character. Thanks so much for this interesting post.
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Thanks so much for your interesting posts. I have a vintage postcard in my collection of the statue of General Gordan in Khartoum and was googling to find out what happened to the statue and found your posts.
You can see the postcard here http://www.flickr.com/photos/24882261@N04/5178979081/in/photostream/
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The statue is actually starting to disintegrate. Gordon’s School are having to begin raising a substantial sum of money to prevent the decay which has now reached an advanced stage. Any offers of help or advice would be very welcome, as it’s unlikely to survive many more years without restoration. Annie Hughes is leading on this, so please let her know if you are able to contribute to saving the statue. She can be contacted via the switchboard on 01276 858084.
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its in west end not lightwater
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In 1953 I lived in Khartoum and remember the statue in its original location which was in the centre of a large roundabout near to the Governors Palace.
Then a few years ago as I returned to Yorkshire from France I made a special visit to Gordon’s Scool and was reacquainted with the statue.
It really is magnificent.
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Fascinating. Do I understand that this was a cast made from a mould of the statue at Chatham, or were they both cast from the same mould?
The Royal Engineers Historical Society conducted a tour of the barracks at Chatham and the gave the true reason why the camel has a horses tail: that is to cover the camels private parts as a sop to Victorian modesty! What tail do you have at Gordon’s School?
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Hi Nick, the statue at Gordon’s School was cast from the same mould, and therefore it’s a horse’s tail on the statue.
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Hi Tim – interesting. I now understand that the sculptor was well aware of what a camel’s tail looked like because there were examples in London Zoo. However, the location of the memorial meant that Queen Victoria would be at eye level and facing its bottom when she left the Institution of Royal Engineers building (now HQ RSME) and approached the monument. Do avoid offence it was decided that a rather more prominent tail was required to preserve the camels modesty. Truth stranger than fiction?
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Sorry – ignore my last post – I’d forgotten what the original question was! The story previously was that the sculptor did not know what a camel tail looked like so he guessed. that story was clearly incorrect
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My father told me about his history with this statue. It was when he was in 223 Sqdn RAF in Khartoum in 1939. The squadron was getting ready to deploy to the western desert on the start of WW11. Saturday nights could be a little wild in 1939 Khartoum and to wind the army types up they painted RAF roundels on both Gordons and Kitcheners statues. It went down like a lead balloon and the culprits were made to remove the offending paint jobs! I was a pupil at the Gordon school and was on parade when the statue was unveiled there, also my father was in attendance and was re-united with the scene of the crime. There was no sign of the RAF’s handiwork to be seen at the unveiling.
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