David's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

All discussion related specifically to David Gilmour.
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Lymbo1981
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David's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by Lymbo1981 »

Here I come again, you know I am all about historic facts.........

I have read that Douglas Gilmour (David Gilmour's dad) was a Senior Lecturer in Zoology in Cambridge University. I have also read that he was a Phd in genetics from an unofficial source. What is the exact nature of Mr. Douglas Gilmour academic studies and research? His work in the field of genetics has been (unofficially) referred as groundbreaking, is this true? Is it a fact that he moved to the US to become a researcher for NYU (the university of New York)? when did this happen? did his wife Sylvia Gilmour (college teacher and film editor) move with him, or separately, or not at all? If they both did, who took care of teenager David Gilmour and his brothers Mark and Peter in their absence?
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Re: DAvid's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by popelaura2003+- »

David has remarked publicly, more than once, that he didn't have a home to go to as a young man because his parents moved to New York for career reasons. I think this is why he is so devoted to being there for his kids -- from his little girl to his oldest, in her 30s. He also expressed guilt at making a fortune at so young an age, more than his brilliant father!
I get the impression that David felt a bit abandoned by his parents and that he had no real safety net. His only recourse would have been to follow his parents to the US but instead, he worked jobs and played music and by the age of 27 had hit the big time. In other remarks, he mentioned that his parents sometimes helped transport equipment to gigs for Pink Floyd. Perhaps David's parents felt he was strong enough to make it on his own, which he did.
As for his parents, they sound ultra-intelligent. Must have been an interesting household to grow up in.
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Zack
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Re: DAvid's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by Zack »

He also said he was sent to boarding school at age 7 because of this. Why on earth couldn't his parents have taken him to New York? That's downright Dickensian if you ask me.
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Re: DAvid's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by Creek »

Zack wrote:He also said he was sent to boarding school at age 7 because of this. Why on earth couldn't his parents have taken him to New York? That's downright Dickensian if you ask me.
I agree, but he didn't seem to suffer in the long run. I would never consider such a thing myself, ever.
chelseaq_8
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Re: DAvid's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by chelseaq_8 »

wooow what I want to know is how you got so much valuable info???
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twcc
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Re: David's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by twcc »

^^^
Wow, resurrection of an 10+ year old thread ... in the time elapsed since the 2009 posts we have had the V&A exhibition which included a particularly personal letter from David to his parents plus a series of documentaries that have touched on the personal life, sense of abandonment and the back story etc.
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Re: David's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by Jhxywos »

It's all in that "Comfortably Numb" book. He was living on his own at 15. Read it.
Also the Wider Horizons docu. He tells it all. How he felt by the abandonment etc
Last edited by Jhxywos on Thu Sep 16, 2021 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: David's dad a groundbreaking scientist?

Post by Eclipse »

wow interesting stuff. A family of geniuses.