Marjean Gibson (1924 – 2012)

Marjean Gibson was a long time and highly respected employee of the Vancouver School Board, where she worked as a photographer. During the course of her career, she took thousands of high quality photographs. Judging from the keepsakes Marjean left in care of the Vancouver School Board, the highlight of her career was photographing the visit of Field Marshall Viscount Montgomery to Vancouver Technical High School in May 1960.

It is easy to understand why Marjean might have felt this way. Montgomery was a world famous and celebrated hero of the Second World War. During military campaigns in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, he commanded the British Eighth Army. Later, he led all Allied ground forces during the Battle of Normandy in France. During the final stages of the war, he led Allied forces, including Canadian units, to victory in the Netherlands and north-west Germany.

Following the war, he became Commander-in-Chief of the British Army of the Rhine. Later, he served as NATO’s Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Europe until his retirement in 1958.

 

 

Visit to Vancouver Technical High School, May 1960