Ruth, Nick, Joe, Val, family, and friends…
Jonathan and Downie have already spoken very eloquently and movingly about Gordon the devoted family man and Gordon the complete business man, I would just like to add a few words on behalf of Jackie, myself, and many others about Gordon - our friend.
I first met Gordon and Ruth in October 1968: two fearsomely bright students, very young, newly married and living in a rented flat near Brent Cross that I recall as a jumble of their books and papers. Gordon and I were classmates at the London Business School, and it soon became apparent to all that Gordon, whilst being one of the youngest in our group, stood intellectually head and shoulders above most of us. Early on in our friendship he demonstrated his patience and generosity of spirit in being there to help those of our older classmates who found some areas of formal business education to be a bit of a struggle. If Gordon had not gone on to forge such a successful career outside academia, he would have been a great teacher.
Gordon and I hit it off from the start and we got to know each other very well.
Our friendship has led us to travel extensively together, both as couples and as families, providing many fond memories.
In 1987, for instance, on a summer holiday In Turkey with our children, I remember it was incredibly hot and Ruth and Jackie were a little perplexed as to why Gordon said he and I needed to go the bank every day. Only after a couple of days did they find out that this was the only location in Kusadasi with air conditioning where Gordon and I could literally chill out …
Pre kids I remember the four of us, squeezed with some difficulty, into a tiny Fiat navigating the narrow streets of Corfu in 1974 , Gordon driving as usual , and then again 25 years later, much more improbably, in Palma de Mallorca; Fiats had not got bigger by then but…

As an engineer he had a passion for all transport; planes, helicopters, boats, trains and cars, no doubt inspired by his engineer father, who as he proudly told me designed the undercarriages of fighter planes.
When it came to cars and driving, the faster the better, and he relished the opportunity, in those years between children and grandchildren, to have his own 911.

Gordon also loved all sports, both to play competitively in his younger days, and then as a spectator. After his football days in Regents Park were over due to dodgy knees, and he had retired from the “Really Bad Tennis Players Club” of which he was a founder member, I even managed to convert both him, a proud Lancastrian, and Joe to supporting the “right” side of North London and he became a regular at White Hart Lane, even if Nick never quite agreed.
Football, Rugby, Tennis, Golf, Tour de France, Motor Racing…. we shared many happy days track and pitch side.
He also loved sailing, and John Lawrence will gladly share some nautical anecdotes with you over tea later.

But there was so much more to Gordon. He read voraciously and remembered everything; Jackie once said to me that before we had Google we had Gordon. Wherever we went and whatever we did together, Gordon had already mugged up on what we all needed to know, but he wore his knowledge lightly and greatly enriched our visits to theatres, opera, galleries and museums all over the world.
When it came to theatre, which it often did, he really preferred plays with a more intellectual content – something historical, scientific or political, even better all 3 – but was also happy to go along, mostly, with some of the more esoteric offerings that the girls booked for us during our regular pilgrimages to the Edinburgh Fringe.
Gordon was inherently a practical man but with a creative streak and this came to the fore over the last few years as he found new opportunities to engage his brain and use his experience.
After RTZ he became a Non Exec Director of, amongst others, ERM and Rail -Track, immediately putting his skills and experience to good use in the areas of the Environment and Safety.
When I asked him to join me and some friends in a small Investment Club a few years ago he quickly accepted seeing that this was another way to put his knowledge to work more or less profitably, but also to have a sociable dinner every six weeks.
One of our Club, who could not be here today as he is in China, wrote to me:
“Gordon was a super chap and, even though he hadn't been part of our group for long, I had great respect for him. We shall miss his wit and wisdom”. Sentiments I am certain we all share.

Over the years, we have enjoyed many, many meals together. Gordon had an unerring nose for a good restaurant, and his strict “white table cloth and proper napkins test” was every bit as reliable an indication of quality as any review you might read on Trip Advisor today. Even as his health, in the past few years, gave more cause for concern and sadly restricted the number of things he was still keen to do, he was always up for checking-out new eateries wherever he found himself.

Gordon also proved to us that good chemists make great cooks. He developed his love of good food into a real talent for cooking and I remember many delicious meals he made for us, especially on visits down to their lovely house in France.
He was ever the most genial host: fresh croissants appeared every morning for breakfast, together with a selection of English newspapers, and I think that all of us who were able to enjoy his generous hospitality would agree that Haute Terre was the best 5-star residence we knew.
To sit on the terrace under the vines, look out over the Mediterranean, share a joke or a story and put the world to rights in his company, gave us memories we will cherish for ever. I certainly will always remember his infectious grin.
Gordon was very aptly named – my dictionary defines “Sage” as “a profoundly wise person” and I don’t think any of us can argue with that.
Whatever aspect of our lives Gordon touched, he was always generous and giving, and we can all be very proud to say “Yes I knew Gordon, he was my friend”.