St. Michael's Institute, Ipoh - Class Senior A 1951
After the Japanese war, Gabriel returned to Kampar in early 1946 for about three months before being sent to boarding school in Ipoh.
He attended St. Michael’s Institute, where initially, time was spent frantically ‘catching up’ on his education. His classmates describe him as ‘a very helpful and friendly person. He was a prefect of the class and liked by everyone.’ He took his exams in 1951 for the Cambridge Schools Certificate and passed with flying colours.
After finishing school, in February 1952, he took a holiday to Burma with his classmate, Koo Kay Yeow, whose parents lived over there. It was an enjoyable trip involving sightseeing, trips to the zoo, picnics in the country and generally having fun!
In March, 1952, Gabriel left Malaysia departing from Penang on a semi-cargo Danish boat to travel to the UK to further his education. With only 15 passengers on board, the journey took seven weeks during which they stopped off at various ports including Madras, Ceylon, Bombay, Portside at the Suez Canal, Sicily, France, Gibraltar, finally arriving at Tilbury Docks in London on 2nd May, 1952. He was met by one of his Uncles who was already studying in the UK and from there he travelled to Birmingham. Here, he attended a private school where he gained his A Levels and succeeded in gaining a place at University to study medicine. However, as he was unable to secure any sponsorship for this, he opted to study General Science at Hull University College for one year. He was subsequently offered a place to study dentistry at Guys Hospital, London and decided upon this as his career path.
Hitchhiking - with Woo Kok Keong
Before commencing his studies at Guy’s Hospital, Gabriel, together with a few other students, enjoyed a trip hitchhiking around Europe, taking in England (Lake District), Ireland, Scotland and further afield to Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Germany and Scandinavia staying and working for their keep in Youth Hostels.
Edge Street, Notting Hill Gate
Gabriel’s mother, Low Beng Tit came to join him in the UK around 1955 and worked at Malaysia Hall in London, a hostel for Malay students and set up home on Edge Street, Notting Hill Gate. Sam remained in Malaysia, studying Quantity Surveying at a Technical College. Although he gained a scholarship to come to the UK to study, he chose to stay in Malaysia, working at the Public Works Department (PWD) in Kuala Lumpur before teaming up with some colleagues to form their own business and were involved in the construction of the bridge to Penang. Thuan also remained in Malaysia, working in the family tin mines before investing in his own mining business.
