A LEADING social and political researcher from Bournemouth who worked for presidents and prime ministers around the world has died.
Ronald Reagan, Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, Queen Elizabeth II and Pope John Paul II – these are just a few people who Gordon Ignatius Heald worked with in a glittering career that spanned vast corners of the globe.
Gordon Heald was born in Bournemouth on January 14, 1941. His father was a waiter who worked on the liners between Southampton and New York, while his Irish mother Catherine ran a two-bedroom guest house at 25 Oxford Road next to the coach station in Bournemouth.
Gordon was an only child and attended St Peter’s School in Southbourne. His teenage years were spent playing chess, playing his violin with skiffle music groups, dancing at various music clubs and coffee bars, cycling, going to the beach in his lunchtimes from school and working as a commis waiter at The Ambassador hotel.
Gordon was one of four schoolboys who cycled to Lourdes in France from Bournemouth. As a youngster, he perfected his sales technique by filling up his mum’s guesthouse with recently arrived train passengers.
His time at St Peter's School was always fondly remembered by Gordon, who became a regular at the Old Boys Dinners, whilst supporting Reach the Unreached – a charity associated with the school, throughout his adult life.
Gordon gained entry to Christ College Cambridge and went on to complete three degrees, including mechanical engineering at Queen Mary University in London.
Whilst on the tube with his fellow mechanical engineers for the final set of interviews to become nuclear engineers, he decided instead to pursue a lifelong career in social studies, market research and opinion polling.
Prior to starting his career, he toured America selling encyclopaedias.
Gordon ran Gallup Poll in the UK between 1979 and 1994 and ORB International from 1994 to 2009.
During these times he inspired countless young researchers around the world to seek public opinion on the most important issues of the day.
Of Gordon, Gallup Poll chair George Gallup Jr said: “You played a vital role in Gallup International. With your wit and sparkle and insight, you energised the group and encouraged it to expand its horizons.”
He ran numerous studies exploring changing religious attitudes and had a career highlight of an audience with Pope John Paul II on work he had carried out for the Vatican, whilst also being instrumental in the expansion of what is known today as the World Values Study.
Gordon returned to America to give an address at the White House, under Ronald Reagan’s presidency, with figures including Robert Maxwell in the front row.
He went on to work for various heads of state, including UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher. He was also in the Grand Hotel with Thatcher in Brighton the night it was bombed by the IRA in 1984.
Later, he worked on John Major’s Back to Basics campaign while Gordon’s wife Christine was Edwina Currie’s personal assistant. He served on the board of Gallup International and expanded the network across Eastern and Central Europe once the wall had fallen. Between 1990 and 1994, many of these institutions worked with him to launch the European Commission’s inaugural Central & Eastern Eurobarometer.
Gordon also had dealings with the CIA and KGB during his distinguished career.
A family man, Gordon relished in the storytelling of his adventures during his retirement. Even after a stroke in his 60’s, he returned from a trip to South Korea with a medal from the South Korean Transport Workers Union.
When quizzed on the medal, he said that he had met workers from the union in a park after a conference had finished and they enquired as to whether he knew The Beatles. Nine hours later, with lots of sake and karaoke bars under his belt, he received the honour from his new set of friends.
Gordon and his wife Christine had three sons, who enjoyed trips to their beach hut on Bournemouth beach in the 1970’s and 80’s.
Gordan died peacefully at home on Thursday, October 28, aged 80, with his loving wife Christine by his side.
He is survived by Christine, his sons Johnathan, Timothy and Andy as well as eight grandchildren.
Gordon’s funeral is to be held on Monday, November 22 in Dulwich, London.
The family has asked for any donations to be made to Reach the Unreached. Visit rtu.org.uk/Appeal/donate for more information.
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