THE VICTORIAN EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
Gordons Alive - But Not for Long
Perry Miniatures diorama
The painting its based on. This famous painting of General Gordon’s last stand has been copied in film a few times over the years and in mini form by the Perrys. Gordon was sent to Khartoum in the Sudan as the country fell to the Mahdist uprising. Instead of evacuating he stood came under siege and waited for British forces to come to his rescue and defeat the Mahdi. The British Government wasn’t that keen on sending a force into the Sudan but finally crumbled due to public opinion. The relief force was too late to save Gordon. How he died is open to debate but it’s believed he had his head cut off. The romantic image of him in all his splendor facing the hordes may have some truth in it. After his death the British public elevated him to a martyr of empire. The British would avenge his death with the reconquest of the Sudan over ten years later.
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