Wharfinger: Gordon of Khartoum
General Gordon Place in Woolwich not only commemorates the nearby birthplace of the military "saint" but also the location of his training - Woolwich Military Academy.
Charles George Gordon (1833-1885) first saw serious action in the Crimean War in 1855, and, after successes in the 1860 "Arrow" war against the Chinese.
During the campaign raised a peasant force to defend the European trading centre of Shanghai and he returned home a hero, claiming a place in the public's affections that he was to reinforce time and again.
Between 1874 and 1876, he mapped the upper Nile and established stations as far south as present-day Uganda and was promoted to governor-general, ruthlessly suppressing rebellion.
He returned to the Sudan in 1884 after a spell of ill health and was forced to evacuate Egyptian forces from Khartoum. However the city came under siege from Sudanese rebels and, during a final assault, Gordon was killed and beheaded.
It was the manner of his death that caught the public's imagination - standing to face the foe rather than surrender his position and, again, he became the ultimate icon of the empire.
Again the British public hailed "Gordon of Khartoum" although his role in the disaster is probably less clear cut.
Memorials can be found at the Victoria Embankment, St Paul's Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.
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