Professor Robert Myles Gibson, a pioneering British neurosurgeon known for his contributions to pre-hospital emergency medicine and sports injury safety, died on August 11, 2026, at the age of 99.
Born on May 6, 1927, in Dunragit, now part of Dumfries and Galloway, Gibson was one of four children to Robert Gibson and Mary Harvey. He attended Kilmarnock Academy before studying medicine at Glasgow University. During his time at Glasgow, he was notably involved in the 1950 Scottish Nationalist student effort to remove the Stone of Scone from Westminster Abbey, fabricating a replica from medical supplies.
After graduating, Gibson pursued postgraduate studies in neurology and neurosurgery at McGill University in Montreal. He later held clinical positions at Glasgow and Edinburgh Royal Infirmaries before being appointed consultant neurosurgeon at Leeds General Infirmary in 1960, a role he held until retiring from the NHS in 1992.
Gibson’s work in the 1970s was instrumental in developing the Glasgow Coma Scale, a standardized tool used globally by paramedics and clinicians to assess levels of consciousness, particularly in patients with traumatic brain injury. This innovation, alongside advances in radiology and neurology, marked a significant shift in neuroscience practice. His research helped lay the groundwork for the creation of the Faculty of Pre-Hospital Care (FPHC) of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1995. Gibson served as its chairman for six years.
Beyond clinical practice, Gibson had a distinguished military career in the Royal Army Medical Corps, holding the rank of honorary brigadier and serving as honorary neurosurgeon to the Army. His service included deployments in Korea, the Rhineland, and at Catterick Military Hospital in Yorkshire. During his posting in West Germany, he was part of the medical team that conducted neurological assessments of Nazi prisoners detained at Spandau Prison, including Albert Speer and Rudolf Hess.
Gibson was also deeply involved in sports medicine, particularly football. As honorary consultant adviser to the Football Association from 1972, he established training courses for managing football injuries and implemented screening programs to prevent overuse injuries and detect cardiomyopathy, a condition linked to sudden death in young athletes. Following the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, he chaired a committee that helped define medical safety standards for sports grounds and club doctors, leading to the development of the Crowd Doctors & Practitioners Course run by the FPHC.
A fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh from 1952, Gibson served as its vice-president from 1982 to 1985 and received an OBE in 1992. In the 1990s, he supported the international "Save a limb, save a life" campaign aimed at reducing unnecessary amputations. In recognition of his lifelong contributions, he was awarded the Society of British Neurological Surgeons Medal in 2023.
Gibson is survived by his wife Ena, and their daughter and son.