Gus (Gary) Gilmour, a friend and teammate on the Australian Schoolboys Tour of the West Indies
Gordon District Cricket Club | April 10, 2025
Back in March 2014, I was talking with our much respected former Gordon player and Knox Junior School Headmaster Bob Thomas (pictured) at a game at Chatswood Oval and as he had said on several occasions before made the comment, “We must organise a reunion of the Australian Schoolboys team who toured the West Indies in 1969”. As a fellow tourist with Bob, my reply as it had been many times before was “What a great idea, let’s do it”
During the discussion we talked about where we could find players and I mentioned Arthur Jessop to which Bob responded in a quiet voice. “We lost Arthur to a heart attack late last year”. I responded with natural sadness after having seen Arthur at Drummoyne the season before with his son watching a grade match between Sydney and Gordon.
We promised to follow up and get moving on finding out where all the tourists were. Players like Gary Gilmour, Ian Davis, Trevor Chappell, Gary Cosier and Graeme Joslin came to mind but finding 16 of them would be a task. As always happens we didn’t get around to it.
The news of Gary Gilmour’s son Clint losing his battle to a brain tumour a few weeks after that day and then Gus passing away in June, 2014, certainly made us all reflect on what might have been for the most naturally talented cricketer I have ever seen.
In an excellent article by Malcolm Knox in the SMH on Wednesday, he mentioned a match against St. Kitts Combined Clubs which was the last match of the Australian Schoolboys tour in late January 1970 when Gus took 10 for 58 over the two innings of the match.
What he didn’t mention however was the match a week earlier against the Trinidad and Tobago team which contained the future Test cricketer Larry Gomes and was considered almost a Schoolboys West Indies Test team.
The game at Queens Park Oval in Trinidad (capacity 25,000) was played to a packed crowd on each of the four days during school holidays and the lasting memory was the fact that a fair proportion of the crowd were actually outside the ground hanging off tree branches as they tried to get a glimpse of play. The match also was broadcast on Trinidad Radio with school children around the town being glued to their transistors to hear about the Australians playing against their heros. And we were only the Australian Schoolboy team!
The Australians started the match well with the twins Bob Thomas and Ian Davis (twins in batting style) scoring 107 and 102 respectively to help get Australia to all out for 344. The Trinidad team batted very slowly against a first class attack and eventually crawled to 8 for 326 well into the third day when they declared 18 runs behind. One of their players had been injured and was unable to bat and Larry Gomes was not out 152 when they declared.
Australia posted 3 for 73 by the end of the third day and a draw seemed on the cards with one day left. Gus Gilmour who had scored 4 in the first innings and taken 1 for 58 during the marathon Trindad innings decided he was going to have some fun on the last day.
Batting at No.6 in the order Gus came in soon after the start of play when Bob Thomas was out for 15 and we were 4 for 82 off about 30 overs on a very slow and low Queens Park wicket.
What followed was a sight I will always remember. Gus took on the bowling and started to give the spectators in the trees around the oval some catching practice. After 58 overs Australia were 5 for 260 when Gus was caught on the boundary for 120 and Ian Davis was 50 not out at the other end. One was hitting them over the fence and the other, when he got the strike, was hitting it majestically along the ground for 4. Another quick wicket and Australia declared at 6 for 260 with a lead of 278 and still about 75 overs left.
The Trinidad team continued with their slow play but with an opening partnership of 100 and then at 2 for 157 they were looking like they would win easily. A timely run out put them at 4 for 159 and our captain Graeme Joslin thought it was time to bring back Gus who had gone wicketless in his first spell.
Although we probably didn’t know what it was called in those days the ball started reversing and Gus soon bowled their captain Dudnath Ramkissoon who later played 50 first class games for Trinidad. In his next 5 or so overs, Gus went LBW, LBW, LBW, bowled and bowled to win the game with Trinidad 9 for 200 and their no. 11 unable to bat.
Gus finished with 6 for 25 off 15 overs which had followed his 120 during the morning’s play, certainly a performance that would be very hard to repeat. I definitely can’t recall many players who scored a century and took 6 wickets in the same day. We had got the news that day that the final leg of the tour in Guyana had been cancelled due to rain and we were instead going to St. Kitts in the Leeward Islands so it prompted a flow of Rum and Coke that kept going well into the night, until Bob Thomas did the responsible thing and told everyone they should go back to the team hotel. Well, that’s what he says!!
On arrival at Warner Park in St. Kitts a few days later Australia decided to bat against a combined St. Kitts senior club team and only scored 137, which was probably due to the after effects of the events in Trinidad a few days before. After not playing in Trinidad, a certain quick by the name of Paul Stephenson got to open the bowling with Gus Gilmour and as mentioned by Malcolm Knox in his article Gus took match figures of 10 for 38. What wasn’t reported was the quick at the other end took 10 for 54 and the two bowled out the St. Kitts team for 58 and then 44 in their second innings with no other bowlers being used in either innings. I don’t think anyone else could stand up except maybe the keeper Arthur Jessup who took 8 catches.
To my regret I didn’t see a lot of Gus after this tour, but we managed to catch up a few times, the first being when I was watching my son play rugby for a junior Gordon team against a touring Newcastle team in about 1985. I remember feeling this big hand on my shoulder and a welcoming “G'day Stepho, I haven’t seen you in ages” came from that large as life figure of Gus Gilmour. Gus was there watching his son Clint play for Newcastle. Naturally we talked about every ball during those two innings in St. Kitts and how we got late swing, cut and bounce on a flat wicket. On reflection I think it might have been the opposition weren’t as strong as a few days before in Trinidad, but they have gotten better as each year has passed.
During the tour Bob Thomas and Gus become good friends when they formed the “Lefties” club and refused to allow any right handers to room with them during the tour. There were four left handers on tour as well as Ian Madden who batted left handed and bowled right handed. Bob only let him stay with the lefties club half of the time.
Bob and I both recall Gus as a “ridiculously talented, laid back, great bloke who played his cricket for the love of the game and was a fantastic team man”.
There were no “airs and graces” when it came to Gus, he was as natural as the day is long and everyone was his friend. He wasn’t the famous Test cricketer, he was just Gus from Newcastle happy to see you and wanting to catch up again. Gus’s laconic nature probably didn’t help his ability to become a long term Test cricketer and when he ended up playing 55 one-day “World Series” games in faraway Australian destinations it didn’t truly reflect his ability.
We all know Gus didn’t have the best of health in his later years and got a special hand with a liver transplant in 2005, but to lose his son at age 33 must have been a devastating blow and would have made it hard to keep going.
It is well known that Gus did wonderful things for sport in Newcastle and no doubt his legend will live on as someone who was devoted to his family, was always available to help and will be remembered as a true “Aussie” cricketer who played the game with great gusto, respected his opponents, always stood up for his mates and played the game to win but most importantly to enjoy it.
If anyone wants to watch a classic left arm fast bowling action go to youtube and search for Gary Gilmour 1975 World Cup. There is no better!!
Paul Stephenson
P.S Bob and I eventually did organise a reunion, when the remaining 14 players from NSW, Queensland and Victoria got together to watch the West Indies play in Sydney in 2016 and have a series of dinners to reflect on a great tour some 45 years earlier. Sadly, fellow tourist Ian Madden of Bankstown fame, passed away in September 2024, however maybe there is time for another reunion.
