July 2012 - Ipswich Grammar School

LATEST ALUMNI NEWS & NOTES
While gathering information
for Ipswich Grammar’s 150
celebrations, Old Boys from the
1930s and 1940s were interviewed.
In order of their school attendance,
the list includes:
• Donald ‘Sandy’ McNab
(1929-1935): Is one of three
surviving members of the
premiership-winning 1934
rugby team and was selected at
fullback for the Combined GPS
Firsts. His career as a teacher
was interrupted by WWII,
where he served in the RAAF
as a navigator in England.
He resumed teaching in 1946
and was deputy principal of
Humpybong State School for
a number of years. Mr McNab
currently lives in Sandgate.
• John Barwick Porter (1926-
1930): Is Ipswich Grammar’s
oldest known Old Boy and
entered his 100th year on 30
June. Mr Porter is the oldest
master of both IGS and BGS and
was a dentist by profession. He
now lives in Toowoomba.
• Frederick Rennie From
AO (1931-1935): Is another
member of the 1934 rugby
team, recorded as a breakaway
weighing 54kg. Mr From served
in the RAAF during WWII
and in the Army in the Korean
War. His long involvement
in primary industry was
recognised in 1999 with an
Order of Australia for service
to the tropical and sub-tropical
grains industry.
• Duncan King Saxelby (1931-
1932): Enlisted in the Army in
March 1941 and transferred
to the RAAF in December
1941, training as a navigator in
Canada. On arrival in England
he was posted to 462 Squadron
RAAF, flying special missions
in Halifax bombers. After the
war he established a successful
partnership in the automotive
industry at Darra. Mr Saxelby
now lives in Corinda.
• James Greives Hunt (1932-
1936): The 1936 School Captain is
one of three surviving members
of the 1934 rugby team. He
also won the GPS 100 and 440
yards races in 1936. Mr Hunt
was principal at a number of
Queensland schools and now
calls Silkstone home.
• Kenneth Stewart Bannerman
(1933-1936): A former bank
officer who enlisted in the Army
in 1939. By 1943 Mr Bannerman
transferred to the RAAF, where
he trained as a navigator, bomb
aimer and gunner and flew
special missions in England.
Following discharge in 1946,
he returned to banking and
later worked as a law-clerk. Mr
Bannerman lives in Greenslopes.
• Prof Malcolm ‘Mickey’ Whyte
AO (1934-1937): Dux in 1937
and a Rhodes Scholar, Prof
Whyte established a reputation
as a leading medical researcher
with appointments in Australia,
England and the USA. Later in
his career he shifted his focus to
socio-behavioural pursuits and
involved himself in community
health and counselling. Prof
Whyte now lives in the ACT.
• John Henry Curtis CB (1936-
1939): Became an engineer in the
then PMG Department following
RAAF service in WWII as a
pilot. Mr Curtis became the first
managing director of Telecom
Australia in 1975 when the PMG
and postal departments merged.
He now lives in Sinnamon Village.
• Dr Wylie Talbot Gibbs (1936-
1939): Had an early career in
medicine before being elected
to the Australian House of
Representatives as the Liberal
Member for Bowman in 1963.
Dr Gibbs retired to the Isle of
Wight after working as a medical
consultant in the UK and spends
the rest of his time in Cyprus.
• Dr Brian Gilmore Wilson
(1937-1940): The youngest son of
Dr Gilmore Wilson, Chairman
of Trustees from 1928-1943,
has vivid memories of his time
at IGS during the 1930s with
his father and older brothers
Harry and Chester. Dr Wilson
had a distinguished career as a
pioneering ophthalmologist and
retired to Cleveland.
• Graham Pringle (1940-1943):
The 1943 co-School Captain
taught at IGS from 1947-1953.
Mr Pringle later joined the state
system before retiring in 1986 as
a regional director. He was OBA
President in 1982 and 1983.
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