Jack Gibson (schoolmaster)

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For other people named Jack Gibson, see Jack Gibson (disambiguation).

Jack Gibson

Mountaineer
Known forSchoolmaster at The Doon School
Headmaster of Mayo College

John Travers Mends Gibson

mountaineer
.

Early life and career

Gibson was the son of naval officer Charles Gibson and Emmeline Mary Fletcher and was born on 3 March 1908. He studied at Mowden Preparatory School in Brighton before he was sent in 1921 to

half blue in fencing. He almost made it to the British Olympic Team.[1] In 1929, he began his career as a professor in Chillon College, Switzerland, responsible for teaching pupils History and winter sports. While at the college, he became a member of the famed Swiss Alpine Club.[1] When the college suffered due to economic downturn, Gibson went on to teach at Ripon Grammar School. He remained at Ripon from 1932 until 1936, until 1935 under the headship of James Dyson, whom he admired.[2] It was at Ripon that he met Malcolm Hailey, 1st Baron Hailey, who encouraged him to apply to The Doon School in India which had newly opened for Indian boys.[1]

He applied to Doon and was offered the post of a housemaster. He joined Doon in January 1937 as the housemaster of Kashmir House.

National Defence Academy. As Principal, he gave a concrete shape to the academic and extra-curricular activities there and was fondly remembered by all, more so by the cadets undergoing training. Three of the first NDA Course cadets (Gen SF Rodrigues, Admiral L Ramdas and Air Chief Marshal NC Suri) who happened to become Chiefs of the three Services respectively around the same time, together paid a courtesy visit to him in Ajmer where he had settled.[4] He stayed in Doon till 1953, before he was appointed as Principal of Mayo College, Rajasthan.[5] He is widely credited to have brought Mayo College to national prominence.[6][7] He remained in Mayo for 15 years till 1969. After retiring, he wrote extensively for the Alpine Journal and the Himalayan Club Journal.[1]

Mountaineering career highlights

Honours and distinctions

Gibson was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II in 1960, and in 1965 received Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India, from the Government of India for his contributions towards education.[10][11] It was a rare achievement to have been honoured by both the governments.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "In Memoriam". Himalayan Club. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  2. ^ Laeeq Futehally, The Last Englishman: The Life and Times of Jack Gibson (London: Hachette, 10 September 2015), p. 34
  3. ^ "Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation" (PDF). Rmaf.org.ph. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  4. ^ "Remembering Jack Gibson". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Does India Need The 'Old School Tie'" (PDF). Jtmgibson.typepad.com. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  6. ^ "A Man of Principle : Jack Gibson, guiding light to generations of Mayo College boys, passes away" (PDF). Jtmgibson.typepad.com. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Made in Mayo" (PDF). Mayocollege.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  8. ^ Norkey, Tenzing; Ullman, James Ramsey; Stursberg, Otto (1955). "Man of Everest: the autobiography of Tenzing – Tenzing Norkey, James Ramsey Ullman – Google Books". Retrieved 11 November 2013.
  9. ^ Geoffrey Templman. "In Memoriam" (PDF). Alpinejoournal.org.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  10. ^ "In Memoriam". Himalayan Club. Archived from the original on 5 September 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Supplement to the London Gazette : 31 December 1960" (PDF). London-gazette.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2014.

Further reading

External links
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