BIOGRAPHY OF THE DAY: W.S. GILBERT OF GILBERT AND SULLIVAN en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._S._Gilbert On 29 May 1911, Gilbert was about to give a swimming lesson to two young women, Winifred Isabel Emery (1890–1972), and 17-year-old Ruby Preece in the lake of his home, Grims Dyke, when Preece lost her footing and called for help. Gilbert dived in to save her but suffered a heart attack in the middle of the lake and died. He was cremated at Golders Green and his ashes buried at the Church of St. John the Evangelist, Stanmore. The inscription on Gilberts memorial on the south wall of the Thames Embankment in London reads: His Foe was Folly, and his Weapon Wit. There is also a memorial plaque at All Saints Church, Harrow Weald.
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 20:04:14 +0000