What became of Iris Gibson, the runner-up?

When Alistair Maclean won a short-story competition run by the Glasgow Herald’s Weekend page in 1954, Iris I.J.M. Gibson, of Wellmeadow House, Paisley, was the runner-up with 'Now Such Light', earning herself the (then) grand sum of £50.

We all know what happened to Alistair MacLean after the publication of 'The Dileas' but what about the others?

While not know for thrillers like the ones Alistair MacLean wrote, Iris Gibson did like mysteries, though these were more of the medical kind.

Medical Journals
Iris Gibson went on to become a consultant physician in geriatric medicine, and published rather prolific in renowned medical journals. Her most cited article is titled 'Death Masks Unlimited'(1985) in which she traced the history of death masks[1].

Iris Gibson also tried to find out what ailed Dorothy Wordsworth (1771-1855)[2].

Dorothy Wordsworth was an English author, poet, and diarist. She was the sister of the Romantic poet William Wordsworth (1770-1850), and the two were close all their adult lives. Dorothy Wordsworth had no ambitions to be a public author, yet she left behind numerous letters, diary entries, topographical descriptions, poems, and other writings. In 1829, Dorothy Wordsworth fell seriously ill, followed by a brief recovery period, and eventual relapse in 1831. Despite battling a degenerative illness, Dorothy Wordsworth continued writing.

Iris Gibson suggests that Dorothy Wordsworth must have suffered from migraine 'due to considerable physical and mental activity, to the stress of William's problems and struggles with composition, and her undue anxiety about him. At this time Samuel Taylor Coleridge played a large part in their lives. He was a poet of genius, a man of great vitality and charm, evasive, an opium addict, and had an unhappy marriage. I am in no doubt that Dorothy found him sexually attractive and that this and Coleridge's own problems contributed to the migraine. It is not so much when Coleridge is actually present that she gets migraine, but farewells precipitate attacks.'

'It is difficult to make clear the degree of Wordsworthian physical and mental overactivity,' Iris Gibson continues, 'They walked incessantly. They talked incessantly. They wrote letters and read incessantly.'

The phrase 'a Drench of sleep' is a vivid, somewhat archaic expression meaning a heavy, saturating, or profound bout of sleep — like being thoroughly 'drenched' or soaked in it. It originates from Dorothy Wordsworth's journals (the above entry is from January 10, 1803), where she describes staying in bed for an extended, restorative sleep, likely to recover from fatigue or headache. In modern contexts, especially among those familiar with migraine, this phrase is sometimes referenced to describe the intense, overwhelming need for deep sleep that can accompany or follow a migraine attack.

Death
Archaeology was also a passion of Iris Gibson, but when on an expedition to Turkey, she tumbled into a deep pit and was badly injured. She never fully recovered, and was forced to retire in 1988. Iris Gibson died untimely on April 15, 1993.

Nowadays, Iris Gibson is largely forgotten, but maybe this article helps a bit to revive her and her writings.

[1] Gibson, Iris I.J.M.: Death Masks Unlimited in British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition) - 1985. See here.
[2] Gibson, Iris I.J.M.: Illness of Dorothy Wordsworth in British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition) - 1982. See here.

First publication: 26 January 2026