Gibbens, dean of Montreal biz journalists, dies at 92

Robert Gibbens, the longtime business editor at the Montreal Star, died Saturday at the age of 92.

Bryan Demchinsky and Graeme Hamilton of the Financial Post write, “Gibbens, who died Saturday at age 92 from complications of a heart and lung condition, earned a reputation as the dean of Montreal financial writers – a walking encyclopedia of business knowledge for whom doors always seemed to open.

“His newspaper career spanned nearly 70 years, beginning in his native England soon after the end of the Second World War. In Canada, he was business editor at the Montreal Star, a correspondent for the Financial Times and Globe and Mail and, for the last 28 years, a freelancer for the Financial Post and the Montreal Gazette. His final Gazette story was published last year when he was 91.

“Born in 1924 in Potters Bar, now part of London, Gibbens’ adventures in journalism were preceded by military service during the war. He joined the Royal Armoured Corps (4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards) in 1942, and two years later was in the D-Day landings.

“Fighting through France and Germany, his outfit reached Bremerhaven, Germany, on V-Day, May 8, 1945. Along the way, Gibbens and the men under his command captured a German town without firing a shot, and for that he was awarded the Military Cross. He remained with the Dragoons until 1947, serving in Egypt and Palestine.”

Read more here.