Warden Gibbs Memorial

On the afternoon of Saturday 17th June a memorial service was held in the College Chapel for former Warden David Gibbs. Mr Gibbs was Warden from 1974 to 1988, and died in June 2020 (he was born in 1926) when pandemic restrictions meant that such a service was not possible.

A considerable gathering came to the Chapel, consisting of family, friends, former colleagues, and current and former Fellows, to remember a man who had an enormous impact on the life of the College. That was made clear in an address given by Mr Ninian Falkiner which described Mr Gibbs’s early life, and then the deep influence he had on St Columba’s. Another angle was given by Mr Shazad Contractor, who had been a pupil at St Paul’s School, Darjeeling from 1962 to 1968 (Mr Gibbs was Rector of that School from 1964 to 1972). He made it clear how affectionately those Indian pupils regarded Mr Gibbs by reading out tributes from some of them.

Thomas Gibbs, grandson, read the first lesson, and the Warden the second. The choir (Soloist: Emily McCarthy) sang ‘The Cloud’s Veil’, and the prayers were led by former Whitechurch Rector Canon Horace McKinley and former Chaplain, Reverend Michael Heaney. The Chaplain, Reverend Daniel Owen conducted the service and said the final prayers, as all present went down to Whispering House for tea and continued reminiscences of a most remarkable man.