| Activity | Gilbert was born in Norfolk and went to school in Norwich. He was an undergraduate at Queen Mary College, University of London, remaining there as a postgraduate. His doctoral research, jointly supervised by Professor J. F.Kirkaldy and Dr H.DightonThomas at the British Museum (Natural History), was on the systematics of cribrimorph bryozoans from the Cretaceous. These cheilostome bryozoans are very diverse in the English Chalk, usually encrusting the tests of echinoids. W.D.Lang had studied them in the early part of the current century, recognizing parallel evolutionary trends in the elaboration and thickening of the overarching spines forming the frontal shield of the zooid which he interpreted as orthogenetic and non-adaptive. In the 1950s Gilbert set about synonymizing many of Lang's taxa as a prelude to re-examining the by now seriously unfashionable theory of orthogenesis. Gilbert's thesis was subsequently published as a substantial (285 page) Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) in 1962.
After QMC, Gilbert was employed first at King's College, Newcastle, and then as a demonstrator in the Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge, where he was a member of St Catharine's College, before being appointed Lecturer in Palaeontology at the University of Durham in 1963. Thenceforth, Gilbert's energies were channelled predominantly into teaching and administration, both within and outside the university. It was primarily the style and clarity with which he delivered his lectures that endeared him to generations of students, many of whom were encouraged to pursue careers in palaeontology. Gilbert cared intensely about the welfare of his students, and his diplomacy and innate sense of the correct way of going about matters were greatly valued by staff and students alike. He was a tireless administrator at Hatfield College and elsewhere in the university, taught numerous extra-mural courses, building up a loyal following of amateur geologists in County Durham, and was a chief GCE examiner, thus further expanding the breadth of his commitment to geological education.
Gilbert acted as a secretary for the Systematics Association for over 20 years, providing continuity during changes in council membership, as well as ensuring that the interests of palaeontology continued to be fully represented and were not overwhelmed by neontology. He edited or co-edited three conference volumes for the Systematics Association: Biology and systematics of colonial organisms (1979), Extinction and survival in the fossil record (1988), and Major evolutionary radiations (1990). For the International Bryozoology Association Gilbert hosted two conferences in Durham, edited or co-edited four proceedings' volumes, and was President for six years. Between 1976 and 1978 he served on the council of the Palaeontological Association.
With all of this teaching and administrative activity, it is hardly surprising that Gilbert's personal research output suffered. His role in research developed more into that of a facilitator: his own research students and fellow bryozoologists and palaeontologists from many parts of the world reaped the benefits of Gilbert's measured guidance and encouragement.
Source: Paul D. Taylor, Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum (Palaeontology newsletter http://www.palass.org/pages/archive/News35_2.html)
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