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{{Other people|Jack Gibson}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Jack Gibson
| honorific_suffix =<small>[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]</small>
| image =Jack Gibson, The Doon School.gif
| image size =
| alt =J.T.M Gibson
| alma mater = [[St John's College, Cambridge|St. John's College]], [[University of Cambridge]]
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = 3 March 1908
| birth_place = [[East Preston, West Sussex]], England{{citation needed|date=March 2018}}
| death_date = 23 October 1994
| death_place = [[India]]
| other_names =
| known_for = Schoolmaster at [[The Doon School]]<br> Headmaster of [[Mayo College]]
| occupation = Scholar, academic, [[Schoolmaster]], [[Mountaineer]]
}}
'''John Travers Mends Gibson''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|OBE}}, (more commonly known as '''Jack Gibson''') (3 March 1908 – 23 October 1994), was an English [[schoolmaster]], scholar, academic and a distinguished British [[Himalaya]]n [[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 [[Haileybury and Imperial Service College]] for schooling and later joined the [[University of Cambridge]]. At Cambridge, he earned a [[half blue]] in fencing. He almost made it to the British Olympic Team.<ref name="himalayanclub">{{cite web|url=http://www.himalayanclub.org/journal/in-memoriam-43/ |title=In Memoriam |publisher=Himalayan Club |date= |accessdate=11 November 2013}}</ref> 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]].<ref name="himalayanclub" /> 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 (schoolmaster)|James Dyson]], whom he admired.<ref>Laeeq Futehally, ''The Last Englishman: The Life and Times of Jack Gibson'' (London: Hachette, 10 September 2015), [https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3iw1CgAAQBAJ&pg=PT34 p. 34]</ref> 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.<ref name="himalayanclub" />

He applied to Doon and was offered the post of a housemaster. He joined Doon in January 1937 as the housemaster of Kashmir House.<ref name="himalayanclub" /> Apart from being a housemaster, he also taught Geography to Doon pupils. He took a brief leave while at Doon to fight in the [[Second World War]] for the Royal Indian Naval Reserve.<ref>{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.rmaf.org.ph/Awardees/Biography/pdfbio/RamdasLax.pdf |title=Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation |publisher=Rmaf.org.ph |date= |accessdate=28 October 2013}}</ref> Thereafter, he also served as Principal of the Joint Services Wing, which is now the [[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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Jack Gibson|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2004/20041207/edit.htm#6|website=www.tribuneindia.com|accessdate=23 October 2017}}</ref> He stayed in Doon till 1953, before he was appointed as Principal of [[Mayo College]], Rajasthan.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jtmgibson.typepad.com/Indianexpress.pdf |title=Does India Need The 'Old School Tie' |publisher=Jtmgibson.typepad.com |accessdate=6 March 2014}}</ref> He is widely credited to have brought Mayo College to national prominence.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jtmgibson.typepad.com/GibsonObituary.pdf |title=A Man of Principle : Jack Gibson, guiding light to generations of Mayo College boys, passes away |publisher=Jtmgibson.typepad.com |accessdate=8 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mayocollege.com/mayosite/News11/MayoOnWeekMagazine.pdf |title=Made in Mayo |publisher=Mayocollege.com |accessdate=8 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029211533/http://www.mayocollege.com/mayosite/News11/MayoOnWeekMagazine.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He remained in Mayo for 15 years till 1969. After retiring, he wrote extensively for the [[Alpine Journal]] and the Himalayan Club Journal.<ref name="himalayanclub" />

==Mountaineering career highlights==
* 1937 – Gibson along with his Doon School colleague [[John Martyn (schoolmaster)|John Martyn]] climbed [[Bandarpunch]] with [[Tenzing Norgay]], who later became the first man to climb [[Mount Everest]]. In Tenzing's autobiography, he mentions Gibson several times as "my old friend Mr. Gibson".<ref name="himalayanclub" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=90IPAAAAMAAJ&q=doon |title=Man of Everest: the autobiography of Tenzing – Tenzing Norkey, James Ramsey Ullman – Google Books |accessdate=11 November 2013|last1=Norkey |first1=Tenzing |last2=Ullman |first2=James Ramsey |last3=Stursberg |first3=Otto |year=1955 }}</ref>
* 1946 – Gibson was a member of the mountaineering enthusiasts at Doon along with [[Gurdial Singh (mountaineer)|Gurdial Singh]], [[J.A.K. Martyn]] and [[R.L. Holdsworth]]. He was a member of many successful expeditions, including to [[Kamet]] and [[Trisul]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alpinejournal.org.uk/Contents/Contents_1990-91_files/AJ%201990%20295-319%20In%20Memoriam.pdf |title=In Memoriam |author=Geoffrey Templman |publisher=Alpinejoournal.org.uk |accessdate=8 March 2014}}</ref>
* 1970-1973- Gibson served as President of the Indian mountaineering club called the Himalayan Club.<ref name="himalayanclub" /> He was also a member of the [[Alpine Club]].

==Honours and distinctions==
Gibson was appointed an Officer of the [[Order of the British Empire]] by [[Elizabeth II|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.himalayanclub.org/journal/in-memoriam-43/ |title=In Memoriam |publisher=Himalayan Club |date= |accessdate=5 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/42231/supplements/8909/page.pdf |title=Supplement to the London Gazette : 31 December 1960 |publisher=London-gazette.co.uk |accessdate=8 March 2014}}</ref> It was a rare achievement to have been honoured by both the governments.<ref name="himalayanclub" />

==See also==
*[[Role of The Doon School in Indian mountaineering]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=vUnF8fl2dzcC&dq=doon+school&source=gbs_navlinks_s ''An Indian Englishman''] by Jack Gibson, [[Lulu (company)|Lulu Press]], 2008, {{ISBN|978-1-4357-3461-6}}
* As I Saw It : Record of a Crowded Life in India 1937-1969, by JTM Gibson. Memoirs. Published by Mukul Prakashan,J-2 Kailash Colony, New Delhi. 1976.The book was later edited and abridged under the title 'An Indian Englishman'. See above.
* As We Saw It. Mayo Old Boys' Letters. Compiled by JTM Gibson. 1991. Published by Mayo College Old Boys Association, New Delhi. Printed by Gayatri Offset Press, Noida U.P. India.
* [https://books.google.com/books/about/Martyn_Sahib_the_story_of_John_Martyn_of.html?id=CdU2AAAAIAAJ&redir_esc=y ''Martyn Sahib, the story of John Martyn of the Doon School''], by Mady Martin, [[University of California Press]], 1985.
* [https://books.google.com/books/about/For_hills_to_climb.html?id=3sVlHQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y ''For Hills To Climb''] by Gurdial Singh and Nalni Dhar, The Doon School Old Boys' Society, 2001.
* [https://books.google.com/books/about/Doon_the_story_of_a_school.html?id=NEdmQgAACAAJ&redir_esc=y ''Doon, The Story of a School''], IPSS (1985) edited by Sumer Singh, published by the Indian Public Schools Society 1985.
* [https://books.google.com/books?q=Constructing+PostColonial+India:+National+Character+and+the+Doon+School, ''Constructing Post-Colonial India: National Character and the Doon School''] by Sanjay Srivastva, published by [[Routledge]] 1998 {{ISBN|0-203-98027-1}}.
* [https://archive.is/20121219012747/http://fullcirclebooks.in/content/chhota-hazri-days-doscos-yatra ''Chhota Hazri Days: A Dosco's Yatra''] by Sanjiv Bathla, [[Rupa & Co.]], 2010 {{ISBN|978-81-291-1694-9}}.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=oFRF6vs5algC&q=Doon+School&dq=the+doon+school+sixty+years+on+pushpinder&source=gbs_word_cloud_r&cad=5#v=snippet&q=Doon%20School&f=false ''The Corporeal Image''] by David McDougall, [[Princeton University Press]], 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-691-12156-7}}.
* The Last Englishman: The Life & Times of Jack Gibson, by Laeek Futehally. Published by Hachette India Local, 2015. {{ISBN|978-9350099674}}.

==External links==
* [http://jtmgibson.typepad.com/ Jack Gibson Memorial Website]
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=vUnF8fl2dzcC&dq=Pathania+Public+School&ie=ISO-8859-1&source=gbs_gdata&redir_esc=y An Indian Englishman:Jack Gibson]
* [http://www.himalayanclub.org/journal/mountains-and-rivers-of-the-himalaya-then-and-now/ Essay by Jack Gibson]

{{authority control}}
{{The Doon School}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Jack}}
[[Category:1908 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:English writers]]
[[Category:English mountain climbers]]
[[Category:English explorers]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:The Doon School faculty]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education]]
[[Category:People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:People from East Preston, West Sussex]]

Jack Gibson (schoolmaster) - Revision history

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