Charles Townshend (British Army officer) known for his theatrical style, and he liked to associate with actors. In 1884, Townshend was part of the relief expedition to rescue the besieged army of General Charles Gordon, better known to the British public as "Chinese Gordon", at Khartoum. As a Royal Marine officer, he strictly speaking should not had been part of an Army expedition, but he wrote to Field Marshal Garnet Wolsely asking if he could go, and his request was granted. The way that Gordon had defied the orders of the government to leave Khartoum, knowing full well that the government could not abandon a
Siege of Khartoum currency the siege of Khartoum (the first two of which are illustrated in the table). Bearing a date of 25 April 1884, the first Sudan piaster issue was printed, in the following denominations: 1, 5, 10, 20, 100, 500, 1000, 2000, 2500 and 5000 piastres. Also bearing the same issue date is the 50 Egyptian pound note (approximately 12 pieces known). A third type issued on 25 April 1884 is a 20 British pound note (extremely rare), with text in French, and signed "Gordon Pasha". Finally, on 1 August 1884, a second issue of the 100 piastre note (extremely rare) was