Richard Gibson, Baron Gibson
Encyclopedia
Richard Patrick Tallentyre Gibson, Baron Gibson (5 February 1916 – 20 April 2004) was a British
businessman in the publishing industry, and later arts administrator.
Gibson was educated at Eton
and Magdalen College, Oxford
. He became a stockbroker in 1937, and he joined the Middlesex Yeomanry
on the outbreak of the Second World War. He served in North Africa, but was captured at Derna in Libya
in April 1941. He was held as a prisoner-of-war at Camp 41 near Parma
in northern Italy, where he shared a room with Edward Tomkins
and Nigel Strutt
, all three becoming firm friends. Strutt was repatriated on medical grounds, and Gibson and Tomkins were moved to another camp. He and Tomkins escaped from the new camp, and spent 81 days walking 500 miles (804.7 km) south to Bari
, crossing the Apennines and German lines, to return to Allied
-held territory. Gibson then served with Special Operations Executive
and the Foreign Office.
He married Dione Pearson in 1945, a member of the Pearson PLC
dynasty and granddaughter of Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray
and of 1st Baron Brabourne
. Gibson joined the family's Westminster Press group of regional newspapers in 1947 as a trainee journalist, rapidly rising up through the business, consolidating and expanding its media interests. He became a director of the Financial Times
, The Economist
, and of Pearson, and chairman of Pearson Longman in 1967, and of the Financial Times in 1975. He was chairman of the Pearson group from 1978 to 1983.
He was a member of the Arts Council of Great Britain
from 1963, and Chair from 1972 to 1977. During his period as Chair, the Council was under pressure due to government-wide spending cuts and reduced corporate patronage
due to an economic down turn. Gibson argued against the imposition of admission fees for public museums and galleries (a measure that in the end was only briefly and partially in place) and defended the Council's more controversial funding decisions against charges of elitism. From 1977 to 1986, he was Chairman of the National Trust
. a position in which he had personal interest as the owner of Penns in the Rocks, a 600 acres (2.4 km²) estate in Sussex
previously owned by William Penn
that he bought from the estate of Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
in 1957. In this period, the National trust acquired Fountains Abbey
in Yorkshire
, Belton House
in Lincolnshire
, Calke Abbey
in Derbyshire
, and The Argory in County Armagh
.
He was made a life peer
in 1975, becoming Baron Gibson, of Penn's Rocks in the County of East Sussex
. In addition to his Sussex estate, he owned an 18th-century villa at Asolo
, near Venice
.
He also served as chairman of the advisory council of the Victoria and Albert Museum
, a director of the Royal Opera House
, a trustee of Glyndebourne
, a member of the National Art Collections Fund
committee, treasurer of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, and advised the Gulbenkian Foundation.
He was survived by his wife and their four sons.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
businessman in the publishing industry, and later arts administrator.
Gibson was educated at Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
. He became a stockbroker in 1937, and he joined the Middlesex Yeomanry
Middlesex Yeomanry
The 47 Signal Squadron is a unit of the Royal Corps of Signals within the British Territorial Army.During the Napoleonic Wars that the Gentlemen of Uxbridge sought permission from the Government to form a Military Association to maintain law and order when the Regular Forces were sent to the coast...
on the outbreak of the Second World War. He served in North Africa, but was captured at Derna in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in April 1941. He was held as a prisoner-of-war at Camp 41 near Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
in northern Italy, where he shared a room with Edward Tomkins
Edward Tomkins
Sir Edward Emile Tomkins, GCMG, CVO was a British diplomat. He was British Ambassador to the Netherlands from 1970 to 1972, and British Ambassador to France from 1972 to 1975. He owned Winslow Hall in Winslow, Buckinghamshire, often attributed to Christopher Wren, from 1959.Tomkins was the son of...
and Nigel Strutt
Nigel Strutt
Sir Nigel Edward Strutt DL TD, was the chairman of the Strutt & Parker Ltd firm of agricultural property consultants, land agents and farm managers. He farmed in Essex and Suffolk. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Essex from 1954, and High Sheriff of Essex in 1966...
, all three becoming firm friends. Strutt was repatriated on medical grounds, and Gibson and Tomkins were moved to another camp. He and Tomkins escaped from the new camp, and spent 81 days walking 500 miles (804.7 km) south to Bari
Bari
Bari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, crossing the Apennines and German lines, to return to Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
-held territory. Gibson then served with Special Operations Executive
Special Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
and the Foreign Office.
He married Dione Pearson in 1945, a member of the Pearson PLC
Pearson PLC
Pearson plc is a global media and education company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world, with consumer imprints including Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird...
dynasty and granddaughter of Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray
Weetman Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray
Weetman Dickinson Pearson, 1st Viscount Cowdray GCVO, PC , known as Sir Weetman Pearson, Bt, between 1894 and 1910 and as The Lord Cowdray between 1910 and 1917, was a British engineer, oil industrialist, benefactor and Liberal politician...
and of 1st Baron Brabourne
Baron Brabourne
Baron Brabourne, of Brabourne in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1880 for the Liberal politician Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen, the second son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 9th Baronet, of Mersham Hatch...
. Gibson joined the family's Westminster Press group of regional newspapers in 1947 as a trainee journalist, rapidly rising up through the business, consolidating and expanding its media interests. He became a director of the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
, and of Pearson, and chairman of Pearson Longman in 1967, and of the Financial Times in 1975. He was chairman of the Pearson group from 1978 to 1983.
He was a member of the Arts Council of Great Britain
Arts Council of Great Britain
The Arts Council of Great Britain was a non-departmental public body dedicated to the promotion of the fine arts in Great Britain. The Arts Council of Great Britain was divided in 1994 to form the Arts Council of England , the Scottish Arts Council, and the Arts Council of Wales...
from 1963, and Chair from 1972 to 1977. During his period as Chair, the Council was under pressure due to government-wide spending cuts and reduced corporate patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
due to an economic down turn. Gibson argued against the imposition of admission fees for public museums and galleries (a measure that in the end was only briefly and partially in place) and defended the Council's more controversial funding decisions against charges of elitism. From 1977 to 1986, he was Chairman of the National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
. a position in which he had personal interest as the owner of Penns in the Rocks, a 600 acres (2.4 km²) estate in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
previously owned by William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
that he bought from the estate of Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
Dorothy Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington
Dorothy Violet Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington , styled Lady Gerald Wellesley between 1914 and 1943, was an English socialite, author, poet, and literary editor...
in 1957. In this period, the National trust acquired Fountains Abbey
Fountains Abbey
Fountains Abbey is near to Aldfield, approximately two miles southwest of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. It is a ruined Cistercian monastery, founded in 1132. Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved Cistercian houses in England. It is a Grade I listed building and owned by the...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, Belton House
Belton House
Belton House is a Grade I listed country house in Belton near Grantham, Lincolnshire, England. The mansion is surrounded by formal gardens and a series of avenues leading to follies within a larger wooded park...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Calke Abbey
Calke Abbey
Calke Abbey is a Grade I listed country house near Ticknall, Derbyshire, England, in the care of the charitable National Trust.The site was an Augustinian priory from the 12th century until its dissolution by Henry VIII...
in Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, and The Argory in County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
.
He was made a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...
in 1975, becoming Baron Gibson, of Penn's Rocks in the County of East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
. In addition to his Sussex estate, he owned an 18th-century villa at Asolo
Asolo
Asolo is a town and comune in the Veneto Region of Northern Italy. It is known as "The Pearl of the province of Treviso", and also as "The City of a Hundred Horizons" for its mountain settings.-History:...
, near Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
.
He also served as chairman of the advisory council of the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, a director of the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
, a trustee of Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
, a member of the National Art Collections Fund
National Art Collections Fund
The Art Fund is an independent membership-based British charity, which raises funds to aid the acquisition of artworks for the nation. It gives grants and acts as a channel for many gifts and bequests, as well as lobbying on behalf of museums and galleries and their users...
committee, treasurer of the Historic Churches Preservation Trust, and advised the Gulbenkian Foundation.
He was survived by his wife and their four sons.