Herbert Matthew Dickson
| Herbert Matthew Dickson MBE | |
|---|---|
 Herbert Matthew Dickson | |
| Nicknames | Gaffer, Gad |
| Died | 20 June 1967 |
| Education | Natural sciences, Fitzwilliam Hall, Cambridge |
| Roles | Head of the Science Department; Senior Master from 1949, and later Deputy head (c1950-1962); Acting headmaster (1954) |
| Years at BGS | 1927-1962 |
| Departments | Science |
| Notable work(s) | Air Training Corps; received an MBE in 1962 |
| Home town | Swindon (Wiltshire) |
| Children | John Lewis Dickson |
Herbert Matthew Dickson was a teacher of science at Boston Grammar School (1927-62).
Dickson was brought up in Swindon. He came to BGS as a science teacher in 1927 with an honours degree in natural sciences from Fitzwilliam Hall, Cambridge and after a spell lecturing at Woolwich Polytechnic. Dickson was acting headmaster for a while, when Leslie Thomas Waddams left in 1954. In 1962 he was awarded the MBE and he also left BGS in that year.
He was a founder governor and Chairman of Pilgrim College a member of Boston Preservation Trust, Secretary of the Caledonian Society of Holland, a member of the Civil Defence Corps and formed the CCF:BGS Air Training Corps.
Upon his retirement, the annual Dickson Science Prize was instituted by the Old Bostonian Association in his honour.
Dickson was awarded an MBE in the New Year Honours List of 1963. The award was for his Civil Defence work. He had been Chief Scientific Intelligence Officer of Holland Corps of Civil Defence since 1952.
Edwin Killick (BGS 1955-1962) remembers...
...the time we bought Gaffer ("Gad") Dickson a parcel of candles after he had complained about the poor lighting in the Boston area. We were reprimanded for it by our form-master, "Laddy" Lockwood, but Gaffer saw the funny side and actually apologised to us for Laddy's actions afterwards. I remember Gaffer`s habit of picking the warts on the back of his hand.
Obituary
From The Bostonian 1967
We were deeply shocked to hear of the death of Herbert Matthew Dickson on 20th June after a short illness. Since his retirement in 1962 he had retained an active interest in the affairs of the school and was a keen and loyal supporter of the Old Bostonian Association, whose functions he attended very regularly until a few weeks before his death.
He spent his childhood in the railway town of Swindon from whence he made his way up to Cambridge University and obtained an Honours degree in Natural Sciences at Fitzwilliam Hall after active service in the RFC and RAF in the First World War, in which he received wounds which left him always with a slight limp. His early teaching was at Woolwich Polytechnic, and he left London for reasons of health to join the staff at Boston Grammar School in 1927 under the headship of Mr Morris, soon after the opening of the new classroom block, at a time when the school had first reached the 200 mark. This was the beginning of a highly successful teaching career as Head of the Science Department and later as Deputy Headmaster, during a period of great expansion of the school, in which he was responsible for building up the very strong Science side. He had a great insight into boys and followed, with keen interest, their careers; he had a remarkable memory and was rarely at a loss to recall the school days or subsequent achievements of his former pupils. They, no doubt, will remember with gratitude the inspiration which he gave them and the sound scientific learning which resulted from his teaching.
He will be remembered by a wide section of the community for his many and varied interests. He was a founder Governor, and at one time chairman of Pilgrim College, where he taught for many years, and established a strong link with the teaching staff of the school. He virtually created the WEA in the thirties, not only in Boston but also in Spalding, and was chairman of the branch. He was a member of the Boston Preservation Trust and was for a time the teachers' representative on the Education Committee. He was keenly interested in sport, particularly athletics, in the Caledonian Society, and was deeply involved in Civil Defence, where his devotion led to the award of the MBE.
Among his memorials at school is the CCF, which he started as the Air Training Corps and ran throughout the Second World War. His name will be perpetuated in the school by the annual award of the Dickson Science Prize with the Old Boys instituted in his honour on his retirement only five years ago. Our deepest sympathies are with [[]Mrs Dickson]] and their son John, who was himself a Parry Gold Medallist and who, after a distinguished career at Cambridge, is now on the staff of the Atomic Energy Authority.