Basil Theodore Gibson

[Eastindia]

This chap born 1874 joined the Indian Civil Service in 1897. He was a deputy commissioner in Punjab 1913 to 1915 and then financial secretary 1920. That five year gap suggests war service and I have found a reference to him serving as a trooper in the 5th Punjab Light Horse based in Lahore. Is that all there is. Would he have spent the war on the North West frontier? And no more?

[DavidOwen]

Is this him? (courtesy FMP)

Taken from Civil & Military Gazette (Lahore) 7 May 1905 (courtesy FMP)

Gloucester Citizen 9 May 1924 (FMP)

[Eastindia]

Fantastic. Spot on. That’s my chap and how interesting he was involved with the Amritsar tragedy.

many thanks for your prompt response. Much appreciated.Now I have another rabbit hole to ferret out.

[corisande]

There is a good article in History Ireland about the events around the libel case

https://www.historyireland.com/repression-the-amritsar-massacre-1919-the-irish-connection/

It includes this snippet

Michael O’Dwyer retired in 1919 but remained a ‘die-hard’ in respect of Indian reform. He successfully sued Sir Sankaran Nair for libelling him in a book, "Gandhi and Anarchy", in 1922. At a meeting of the Royal Central Asian Society in London in 1940, O’Dwyer was shot dead by a Sikh, Udham Singh, who had been wounded at Amritsar.

[Eastindia]

Many thanks, Corisande. Very interesting. A great help