In Memoriam Michael Andrew Chisholm Lyon Gibbs’ 1945–1949 Michael Lyon, a retired GP and Obstetrician, died on 8 September 2021. He was 89. Michael was born in Ardleigh near Colchester in 1932, where he grew up on the family farm along with his younger brother Jeremy, who also attended Lancing. He came to Lancing from a prep school in East Anglia in 1945 after the school had returned from Shropshire to where it had been evacuated during WW2. He quickly showed his athletic prowess in joining the Colts Soccer House team and thereafter represented the school in 1st XI teams at cricket and football. He was a keen sportsman and excelled at squash whilst at Lancing, representing the school in the Drysdale Cup matches with considerable success and coached his brother who went on to become the captain of the England squash team for many years. His fellow OL and friend, Geoffrey Cunningham described Michael as having ‘a delightful generous personality with no pretentions about his successes and frequently invited friends with nowhere to go up to his home in Ardleigh for weekends and exeats where his family gave them a great welcome’. Michael trained as a doctor at Guy’s Medical School where he was appointed House Surgeon on the Surgical Unit upon qualifying. In 1959, he married Judy Saville Wood and the two of them remained married for over 70 years. Michael had an adventurous spirit, and shortly after getting married, he and Judy set sail for Singapore where he served with the Brigade of Gurkhas spending four years delivering Gurkha babies while Judy worked for the Foreign Office. In 1963, Michael and Judy emigrated to Australia and settled in Western Australia near Perth in Darlington. He could easily have found work as a doctor in Sydney or Melbourne, but he could see that there was a greater need and opportunity for a young doctor of his skills in Western Australia. In 1966, he founded the Swan Medical Group in Midland, a suburb of Perth and home of the main workshops for the Western Australian Government Railways. At the time there were very few doctors in Midland, whilst at the same time there
were considerable accidents and injuries occurring to workers in the railway workshops and other industrial sites in the area. His reputation as a highly intelligent and skilled GP who worked tirelessly, often seven days a week, garnered much appreciation and respect from the community. He served for over 40 years until his retirement in 2011. Despite his dedication and commitment to his medical practice, Michael also found the time to indulge his passion for gardening and sailing. In 1975 Michael and Judy built their dream house in Glen Forrest where he planted more than 3,000 trees. Forever the adventurer, in 1992 Michael (aged 58) and Judy sailed round the world on their 50-foot yacht named Darling.
It was a journey that took over four years in several legs in between which they were able to return to Australia. After successfully completing his great adventure, Michael was offered the opportunity to be the ship’s doctor on the Saga Rose, which he was very pleased to take, and he and Judy spent several more years voyaging around the world. Michael was an exemplary doctor, a pioneer, a gentleman, and someone very generous with his time in pursuit of helping others. He is survived by his wife Judy and is greatly missed by his family and friends. ALICE LYON
LENT 2022
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