Gordon returned to Britain and commanded the Royal Engineers' efforts around Gravesend, Kent, to erect forts for the defence of the River Thames. After he arrived in Britain, Gordon announced to the press that he "did not want to board the tram of the world" and asked to be left alone. Following the death of his father he undertook extensive social work in the town including teaching at the local Ragged school. Before 1870, there was no universal school system in Britain, and the Ragged Schools were a network of privately funded schools that gave a free education to children whose parents were too poor to afford the school fees.