Obituary: Jamie Gordon

'Always had a story and a joke'

A finance worker by day, Jamie Gordon's desire to live life to the full found expression in the diverse range of passions and commitments to which he devoted much of his time outside the office.

A lover of music, Mr Gordon, 30, played guitar and sang, but also loved horse riding, water-skiing, quad biking and skiing.

At his side for much of the past seven years was his devoted girlfriend, and later fiancée, Yvonne Nash.

"It sounds very clichéd, but he was my soul mate, my best friend," she said in the wake of the attacks.

"We complemented each other. I took a back seat and was the organiser, while he was just happy to entertain everyone."

Sense of humour

Born on 19 December 1974, in south London, to a Zimbabwean mother - Pamela Bond - and a Glaswegian father - David Gordon - Jamie moved to Harare with his family when he was five.

Ten years later he returned to Britain, where he attended Eaglesfield secondary school in Shooters Hill, south London.

I was very much in love with him but I also really respected him and liked him Yvonne Nash

Mr Gordon's family described him as a "kind, caring person who always put other people first. His great sense of humour and personable nature put him centre stage with family and friends.

"He loved life, but didn't take it too seriously. He was very much in love with Yvonne and finally settling down with plans for a wedding and family."

In the words of his father, Jamie "wanted to be a rock star, but fell into financial administration".

For several years he had worked in that field in Old Street, east London.

It was a job that he normally reached by taking the overground train from Enfield in north London, where he lived with Yvonne, to Liverpool Street, before walking the final three-quarters of a mile to his office.

Marriage plan

But on the night before the London attacks Mr Gordon had stayed at a friend's house following a leaving party. His route to work on the Thursday led him to take the No 30 bus that exploded in Tavistock Square.

He had called his fiancée five minutes before the blast, but in the immediate aftermath his whereabouts were unknown and coverage of her desperate search remains among the most distressing memories of the bombings.

Having lived together for four years, the couple had decided six months ago to marry.

"We'd got to that stage in life. We discussed what we wanted, and agreed we wanted the same things," Miss Nash said.

"Here was this gorgeous guy with long blond hair who was... really outgoing and always had a story and a joke.

"I was very much in love with him but I also really respected him and liked him as a person," she told the Daily Mirror.