A CHRISTMAS truce has been declared over a membership row between a retired surveyor and The Haslemere Society – with two schools receiving a surprise windfall instead. The offer of a £900 cheque was originally made to the preservation society, through the letters page of The Herald, after a row developed over membership numbers, with Mr Gibson pledging to hand over the cheque if The Haslemere Society agreed to an independent audit. Self-made millionaire and retired surveyor, John Gibson doubled his offer of £900 to the Society, to £1,800 – but, after a letter from membership secretary Diana Serman, Mr Gibson says he accepts the way numbers were calculated, with husband and wife membership being counted as one when sending out mailings. Instead, he handed two cheques for £900 each to Shottermill Infants and Junior schools, at the offices of the Haslemere Herald, on Wednesday. He said: "This has gone far enough. The letter I received would appear to clear the fog of confusion as to why the chairman first said one figure and later there turned out to be 530 members. "All I really wanted them to do was to say 'come and look at the figures' in the interests of transparency. If they had done that, I would not have insisted on independant accountants." Headteachers Cathy Cooke and Linda O'Boyle were left stunned this week as The Herald broke the seasonal good news. The two schools, with a total of 434 pupils, in Lion Lane, will spend the money on playground areas. Mrs Cooke, headteacher of the 180 pupils of Shottermill Infants, said: "We are extremely grateful to Mr Gibson, it is a lovely unexpected Christmas present and a very welcome gift. "We have been saving up for wooden sculptures and good quality oak seating for the children so this money will go towards that." Shottermill Junior headteacher Mrs O'Boyle, said: "Our PTA are currently saving for a gazebo for the school grounds, so with the money raised from our Christmas Fair this Saturday, it will go very nicely towards that. Thank you very much." Haslemere Society chairman David Smith, said: "I am very pleased that Mr Gibson has dropped his campaign against the society. I am still perplexed about Mr Gibson's interest in the number of members of the society. I am also curious as to why he chose not to send the society a cheque for £900, even though our membership secretary took the trouble to explain the numbers to him so clearly. Nevertheless, I am delighted that the two Shottermill schools will benefit from this protracted exchange. "I am pleased that this whole episode has been brought to a conclusion with the Haslemere Society's position on its numbers being accepted. "Residents may be interested to learn that the publicity generated from the press coverage has resulted in new members joining the society." Mr Gibson – a leading campaigner to save Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's former home Undershaw – plans to move to the town and says he doesn't want to create bad feeling. The 67-year-old retired chartered surveyor says he has "well into seven figures" and intends to give it all away to charity over the rest of his life. Mr Gibson said: "I have not got any children and I don't see my relatives much. I don't want to die a rich man." State school educated himself, he said he believes in the system and chose the schools because they are among the largest for primary age in the area. Earlier this year he stepped in with a £1,250 donation after The Haslemere Society withdrew its sponsorship of the Waverley Design Awards. The Victorian Society became involved in a campaign to upgrade Undershaw house to grade one listed building status after Mr Gibson, a Conan Doyle expert, became a central figure in the fight to save it. The historic home was built for the Sherlock Holmes creator in 1897. Mr Gibson added: "Admirers of Undershaw can rest assured that I continue to work on this matter, both nationally (Government and newspaper contacts) and locally, also introducing potential hoteliers, interested in Undershaw, to each other."
