George Gilbert (1925 - 2008)
George Gilbert was born in Vancouver and he was nine when his family moved to the Cariboo mining town of Wells, B.C. Gilbert joined the Canadian Air Force near the end of the Second World War and served for two years.1) He returned from the war to work at several jobs before joining the Cariboo Gold Quartz mine. He worked for the firm for twenty years and eventually became the mine manager.2) The mine closed in 1967 and Gilbert moved to Whitehorse to become the resident geologist for Newmont Mining. He and his crews prospected many properties including those in the Kluane Ranges and Bonnet Plume regions.3)
Gilbert joined Keno Hill Explorations Ltd. in 1970, managing several exploration programs for three years, and then joined the Geology Division of the federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. He became the Chief Mining Inspector of the Placer Mining Division, a position he kept until his retirement in 1989. Gilbert had a keen sense of humour and many of his stories are documented in his book Kicked by a dead moose…and other stories of 65 years in the bush (so far). Gilbert died in Whitehorse. He was greatly respected and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.4)