Major "Patrick Gordon", an officer of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, made a request to stay at the convalescent home at the Downton Abbey in 1918 because he claims to be related to the Crawley family. The soldier has a Canadian accent and major burns and injuries on his face (which is largely covered in bandages) and hands.
Gordon meets Lady Edith. She mentions to him that they haven't found the family connection yet, though there was an aunt who married a Gordon. Gordon tells her that is not the connection, then asks her if she recognizes his voice. He claims they met a long time ago.
Later, Gordon tells Edith he came to Downton frequently while growing up. Suddenly she realizes who he is claiming to be, and tries to ask him but cannot get the words out. Major Gordon then responds to the question that yes, he is Patrick Crawley. He claims that he survived the Titanic sinking, but had developed amnesia and was sent to Canada since he was mistaken for a Canadian. He could not correct them because he had no memory of who he really was. Instead he remained in Canada, taking his surname from a bottle of Gordon's gin. It was only after the fighting, and being caught in the explosion that burned him, that he suddenly regained his memory.
While recuperating, he tells Edith that he verbally told the doctors and nurses there what he could remember about his time on the Titanic and they wrote down his account. It is impossible to recognize Major Gordon or compare a handwriting sample as his face was severely burned and his hand was amputated during the Battle of Passchendaele. He also says he/Patrick Crawley had never been fingerprinted.
Gordon does convince Edith by relating vague experiences in Downton and telling her that Patrick loved her the whole time, tears running down his eyes. Robert Crawley hesitantly visits him. Robert does not believe he is Patrick Crawley, until he rubs his mouth in a peculiar way. Robert is about to leave the room, but stops, recognizing that Patrick Crawley does a movement with his hand in a fashion similar to a thing he taught his children (in a conversation between Mary and Matthew, in which they are talking about their mothers, Mary does the same gesture with her hand and says “no names. No pack drills" - a military saying in the British army, which Robert probably taught his daughters and young cousin). Robert is stunned and asks, "Where did you learn how to do that?" Patrick claims not to know what he means.
Lady Mary however is immediately convinced the officer is lying. Mary refuses to visit him, along with the rest of the family. Lord Grantham sends Major Gordon's story to his solicitor, George Murray, who does some investigating. He learns that a Peter Gordon had worked with Patrick Crawley at the Foreign Office before moving to Montreal in 1913. Violet is then convinced Major Gordon is a fake, most likely Peter (which would explain how he knew some of the private details of the Crawley family and possibly Patrick's strange mannerism of wiping his lips with his fingers). Major Gordon tells Edith that he/Patrick Crawley and Peter were good friends. Edith says they will then try to track down Peter, to which Major Gordon nervously questions what if Peter had joined his regiment.
Frustrated that no one else recognizes him as Patrick, Major Gordon tells Edith that there may be no going back, but Edith encourages him not to give up. Patrick, upset that Robert does not acknowledge him as Patrick Crawley or possibly unwilling to wait and be exposed as a fraud, decides to leave without saying "goodbye" in person to Edith. He leaves a letter for Edith, signing it "P. Gordon." Sybil questions whether P stands for Patrick or Peter. In the end, Edith holds the letter from him, and struggles with her emotions about whether he was really Patrick Crawley or if the whole thing was a cruel fraud.
Appearances[]
| Appearances and Mentions | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series 2 | Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 Appears |
Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Christmas Special |