His father William Joseph Jordan was a member of the lifeboat crew that earned fame and exploits on the Goodwin Sands.

[2] William then attended St Luke's Parochial School, Old Street in London and wore the characteristic old-fashioned uniform which was well known.

Aged 12 he left school (1892) and became an apprentice coach painter, from which he resigned on account of the scourge of lead poisoning.

[3] Jordan emigrated to New Zealand in 1904, initially working as a labourer in Manawatu, Nelson and Wellington[4] and went bush farming.

In 1911 he unsuccessfully stood for the Wellington City Council on a Labour Party ticket,[5] as he did in the 1919 election in the Raglan constituency.

[8] Her grandfather, John Bycroft, established the first flour mill in Auckland,[8] now a part of Howick Historical Village.

[10] Unlike many other early Labour Party leaders, e.g. Harry Holland, Michael Joseph Savage and Peter Fraser, Jordan was not a conscientious objector.

He transferred to the Army Education Service, where he served as an instructor on beekeeping until the end of the war, returning to New Zealand in 1919.

He frequently refused instructions from Wellington on the basis that remote officials at home could not accurately assess New Zealand's position.

In 1949, with the Labour Party defeated from office, the incoming National Government decided to retain Jordan in his post, until 1951.