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. 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. 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. 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. He stayed in Doon till 1953, before he was appointed as Principal of
Mayo College, Rajasthan. He is widely credited to have brought Mayo College to national prominence. He remained in Mayo for 15 years till 1969. After retiring, he wrote extensively for the
Alpine Journal and the Himalayan Club Journal. ==Mountaineering career highlights==