In 1952 Robert Gambles became senior history teacher at the Merchant Taylors’ school, Crosby, in Liverpool, where he remained for 31 years. I was a pupil of RHG – the staff were usually referred to by their initials in those days – and was slightly in awe of him. He could let fly a stern rebuke if you touched a sore spot. But I am immensely grateful to Robert, who has died aged 99, as the teacher with responsibility for guiding and coaching many generations of boys towards Oxford and elsewhere.
Although not an eccentric History Boys-style teacher, he was a respected force in the school. As we later agreed, he knew he had failed to ignite in me an enthusiasm for history, but he helped me on my way to study English at Oxford.
