Bob Gemmill (20 February 1930 – 25 December 2014) was a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who played for

Glasgow HSFP Glasgow HSFP are a former rugby union team that played their home games at Glasgow, Scotland. The team was founded in 1884 by former pupils of the High School of Glasgow. The team no longer exists. In 1982 it merged with the Kelvinside Academi ...

and Glasgow District at provincial level.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He played for

and won the unofficial Scottish championship with them in the 1950-51 season. He did his National Service for the Royal Signals and played rugby for the Army and Combined Services in England. He moved on to play for Sale,

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, Newcastle Northern and Dublin Wanderers; each time moving due to his business career with Procter & Gamble. He finished his career with

and again won the unofficial Scottish championship with them in 1962.

Provincial career

Gemmill played for the Scotland Possibles side in 1947. He was selected for Glasgow District. He played for Glasgow in the 1950-51 season, winning the Inter-City against Edinburgh District. He also won the Inter-City with Glasgow in the 1952-53 season. He also played counties rugby for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and Northumberland when in England. Moving back to Glasgow, he was again selected for Glasgow District for the

Scottish Inter-District Championship The Scottish Inter-District Championship is a rugby union competition between regional sides in Scotland. Established in 1953, the tournament went through several formats. The Scottish Rugby Union confirmed in January 2023 that the Scottish In ...

. He played in the 1960-61 season, however Glasgow came last in the table. He also played in the 1961-62 season's Inter-District Championship, but Glasgow fared no better.

International career

He was capped for

seven times between 1950–51, making his debut against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the age of nineteen. His last cap was against Ireland in 1951, a 6-5 defeat. The defeat against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

was to be the first loss in a series of 17 defeats during which Scotland used another 9 locks, but there was to be no international return for Gemmill. Although exceptionally fit, his international caps were limited as he suffered in the debate that he was not big enough for second row at international level. He was invited onto the Barbarians side in the 1950-51 season.

Outside of rugby

Family

He married twice; his first wife, Anne, died from cancer in 1979, he married his second wife, Elisabeth, in 1980. He had three children, from his first marriage, John, Andrew and Alison and five grandchildren. His son, John, died of motor neuron disease in 2013.

Hobbies

Gemmill was a keen golfer, and liked travel and music. In his younger days he was a keen scout and attended the 1947 International Jamboree in France; a trip that he later recounted to the Scouts of St. Gilbert's Church for their own jamboree.

Church

He was treasurer of his local church, Sherbrooke St Gilbert’s Church in Pollokshields, for eight years. His period of treasurer was notable for his successful organising of a fund raising campaign to pay for church repairs after a disastrous fire.

University

He gained a first class honours degree in economics from Glasgow University. After graduation he served on the business committee of the general council of the University and also served on the University court. In recognition of his services to the university he was given an honorary doctorate in 2000.

Business

Gemmill worked for Procter & Gamble then PA Management Consultants. His move to PA Management Consultants meant that he could return home to Glasgow, and he resumed his rugby with

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemmill, Bob 1930 births 2014 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Glasgow HSFP players Glasgow District (rugby union) players Scotland Possibles players Rugby union players from Glasgow Rugby union locks