Lt Wilfred ST Martin Gibbon

[Phill Jones]

Please can anyone help me with any detail regarding the above officer , died of Enteric fever in India 24/4/18 while serving with the 89th Punjabis , i think he may have been commissioned into the Welch Regt and spent time in Salonika , before transferring to the Indian army  , would he qualify for  the great war medal etc , i cannot seem to locate a MIC , any help would be gratefully received thank you 

 

TIA Phill Jones  

[Loader]

As an officer he would have had to apply for his medals to be issued. Or if he was deceased then his nok would have to apply for the.

If nobody did then he would not have any issued to him.

[Phill Jones]

Thank you very much i learn something new everyday 

[RaySearching]

First name Wilfrid not Wilfred  according to the following

From the Breconian July 1918

 

L/G 13th Nov 1914

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/28973/page/9273/data.pdf

 

L/G 31st Jan 1919

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31157/page/1541/data.pdf

 

 

Ray

 

 

[HolymoleyRE]

There appears to be a military file on him held at the British Library

 

http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/9d7e7331-9031-412f-b494-56b6d470089a

 

Andy

[PRC]

Wilfrid St Martin Gibbon is on the 1911 Census of England and Wales living at Glasbury Vicarage with his widower father, Hugh Harries Gibbon. Wilfrid, then aged 21 and single, gives his occupation as Bank Clerk for the National Provincial Bank - (I believe they became NatWest and then RBS to may be worth checking out that for a Great War Roll of Honour).

 

He does not however appear to be on the Glasbury War Memorial.

http://www.powell76.talktalk.net/glasbury_memorial.htm

 

Probate was granted to a Marjorie Isabel Gibbon, widow. Now a word of caution is required - that just means Marjorie was a widow, not necessarily his widow. However, we can rule out it being his mother as she was already dead, (father was a widower in 1911).

https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar#calendar

 

But just to be sure I checked out the marriage records and a Wilfrid St M. Gibbon, married a Marjorie I Forester in the Ormskirk District of Lancashire in the April to June quarter of 1915.

By this stage the quarterly index published by the General Registrars Office for England and Wales included the mothers maiden. The easiest source I find to look for children is the FreeBMD site, although their data only goes up to 1983, (which is more than enough for Great War related searches). There is only one match for a child registered with the surname Gibbon, mothers maiden name Forester, and that was a Violet F. Gibbon whose birth was registered with the Civil Authorities in the District of Ormskirk in the July to September quarter of 1915.

https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/districts.pl?r=134148809:5226&d=bmd_1516014750

 

Local Lancashire newspapers may narrow down where the couple married and so possibly where he might be remembered on a war memorial. There is no obvious birth record for a Marjorie Isabel Forester in England and Wales and the only Marjorie in that part of the world on the 1911 census was only 11 years old.

 

I chose the February 1916 Monthly Army List to check for no better reason than I had it already open for something else. 2nd Lieutenant W.St.M. Gibbon with seniority from the 13th November 1914 is shown serving with the 1st Battalion, Welsh* Regiment.

 

Hope some of that helps,

Peter

 

(* They didn't revert to the Welch spelling till post war according to every authoritative source I've seen).

[HarryBrook]

He was transferred from a Reserve Battalion of the Welsh Regt., into which he was first commissioned, to a Regular Battalion, notice of 9 November 1915

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29361/supplement/11139

Promoted temp. Lt. 10 May 1915 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/29459/supplement/1325

Transferred to the General List for service with the Indian Army (on probation) 3 January 1918 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/30562/supplement/2959

The London Gazette notification posted by Ray above refers to his actual admission date into the Indian Army (on probation) on 29 January 1918 https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/31157/page/1541 see page 1540 for the heading.  

Edited 15 February , 2018 by HarryBrook
Corrected one of the L.G. links

[Phill Jones]

Thank you all this has been a great help , rgs Phil Jones 

[daggers]

Gibbon was married to Marjorie I Forester in 1915 at Holy Trinity, Formby (near Liverpool).  Source: Lancs BMD which does not give dates.

D

[salvationarmyman]

Wilfred St. Martin Gibbon was an old boy of Christ College, Brecon. Last year I published a book commemorating the lives of those from the school who died in and shortly after WW1. I would be happy to put the chapter on here if that was allowed, or send it to you.

 

[RaySearching]

32 minutes ago, salvationarmyman said:

I would be happy to put the chapter on here if that was allowed,

 

Feel free,  it is permissible

 

Regards Ray

 

Edit and welcome to the forum

Edited 17 April , 2018 by RaySearching

[Phill Jones]

Hi i have PM you thank you Phill

[salvationarmyman]

Thank you for the welcome Ray. Here is the chapter from my book 'The Toll of War. Christ College, Brecon 1914 - 1918'

 

Lieutenant Wilfred St Martin Gibbon

2nd Battalion, 89th Punjabis

24th April 1918

Aged 29

School House 1899-1906

Wilfred St Martin Gibbon was born on 4th July 1889 in Glasbury where his father, the Reverend Hugh Harries Gibbon, was Vicar. Wilfred was the second of five sons to join School House, Christ College.

Reginald Hugh Gibbon (School House 1896-1899) was the oldest and joined Christ College a few years ahead of Wilfred. At school he obtained his Higher Certificate and left to go up to Keble College, Oxford having been Prefect, musician, soloist, Lance Corporal in the Cadet Force and a member of the 1st XV. He took holy orders and served as an Army Chaplain in the First World War. Wilfred joined Christ College in the term after his eldest brother left and was soon followed by their younger brothers, Geoffrey Vincent (School House 1905-1908), Stuart Ralph (School House 1905-1910) and Eric Montague (School House 1909-1910).

Although Wilfred “took no very conspicuous part” in school life, he was one of the first boys to take part in the “new feature in the School sports”, the Steeplechase. In the first junior race on 26th March 1904 he came last but one; later, at the Athletic Sports held on Easter Monday 1904, he came first in the Quarter-Mile Under 16 Handicap. The following year Wilfred and a friend, A.S. Pleace (Morton’s 1903-1905), won the three-legged race. In 1906, his final year at school, he played for both the 2nd and 3rd Cricket XI. His most notable score was 15 when he opened the batting for the 3rd XI in a home match on 14th July against the Drummers of the South Wales Borderers Depot and in the same match he showed his forte as bowler by taking 6 wickets. 

After leaving school Wilfred was “appointed by examination” into the National Provincial Bank - at the time one of the country’s leading banks. In the 1911 Census, he was recorded as being a bank clerk with them. Later he joined the United Counties Bank.

 Soon after the outbreak of war, Wilfred volunteered for the Army and was commissioned into the 12th Battalion, Welsh Regiment which was formed in Cardiff on 23rd October 1914. The following year, on 1st May, 25 year old Wilfred married 21 year old Majorie Isobel Forester at Holy Trinity Church, Formby, Liverpool. They subsequently had one daughter, Honor Amelia Gibbon.

Wilfred saw a great deal of service in Salonika, although he suffered three serious bouts of malaria. He transferred to the Indian Army and was promoted to Lieutenant. On 24th April 1918 Lieutenant Wilfred St Martin Gibbon died in India. His father received a telegram on Friday 26th April informing him of Wilfred’s death from enteric fever. The local newspapers reported that “A short memorial service was conducted at St Peter’s (Glasbury) on Sunday morning . . . and muffled bells pealed in the evening.” The Breconian memorialized his death in the context of so many that had already been reported in its pages during the previous four years and paid “a last tribute to one more promising and useful life freely given in the service of his Country”.

His daughter, Amelia, later married Major-General Sir Robert Anthony Pigot, 7th Baronet Pigot on 7th October 1941 and had two children, a girl and a boy. The latter, George, became the 8th Baron Pigot upon the death of his father in 1986.

Lieutenant Wilfred St Martin Gibbon is buried in the Nowshera Military Cemetery and is remembered on the War Memorial at Christ College.

 

[MelanieP]

I am grateful to everyone who posted here regarding Wilfrid Gibbon. His daughter, Honour, was my grandmother. I have always wanted to know more about her family, and I now know her mothers name. Does anyone have any idea where I could find Wilfrid’s siblings names? 

[michaelpi]

You mean in addition to the brothers mentioned above? A family history site would be your best bet and a search through the censuses for the family. A look at FreeBMD suggests a sister, Marjorie born in the relevant county, Radnorshire, in 1896.    

[MelanieP]

Seems I must have missed the mention of the siblings and on re reading the above I still have not managed to spot their names; but dyslexia always hides things from me. I will have a look for them as you suggest, I suppose I had hoped any brothers would have served in the Great War as well. Thank you so much for your time, M

[Matlock1418]

11 minutes ago, MelanieP said:

Seems I must have missed the mention of the siblings and on re reading the above I still have not managed to spot their names; but dyslexia always hides things from me.

From above: This may help.

On 19/04/2018 at 22:21, salvationarmyman said:

Reginald Hugh Gibbon (School House 1896-1899) was the oldest and joined Christ College a few years ahead of Wilfred. At school he obtained his Higher Certificate and left to go up to Keble College, Oxford having been Prefect, musician, soloist, Lance Corporal in the Cadet Force and a member of the 1st XV. He took holy orders and served as an Army Chaplain in the First World War. Wilfred joined Christ College in the term after his eldest brother left and was soon followed by their younger brothers, Geoffrey Vincent (School House 1905-1908), Stuart Ralph (School House 1905-1910) and Eric Montague (School House 1909-1910).

= My bold

And BTW a belated "Welcome to GWF"  - you're most welcome here. 

M

[MelanieP]

Thank you so much, I am most grateful to you! I’d love to know find out more about them all and I’m very grateful to Phil Jones for making the enquiry in the first place, let alone every person who has kindly posted so much information. You’re all awesome, kind regards, Melanie.