Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Geoffrey Vincent Gibson was born on the 31st of January 1897 to William John and Martha Ellenor Gibson (nee Bowden) in Armidale. Gibson grew up and lived on George St in Windsor with his parents and siblings[i]. He had two brothers and one sister, two of which were younger and all three of which outlived Gibson himself. Their names were Kenneth George Vincent Gibson, Archie Bowden Vincent Gibson and Violet Gibson, with the first being the eldest child. Gibson attended Cleveland St Public School once he was of age, and enjoyed horse riding on his uncle’s property in Walcha[ii]. Gibson’s father William, who worked as a town clerk at Windsor, passed away in 1905. Once Gibson finished primary school, he attended Technical High School, studying under the first headmaster of the school: John A. Williams. He graduated in 1913. According to the 1913 class report and results sheet, Gibson performed at a high standard in terms of his academic studies; he excelled in mathematics in areas such as arithmetics, algebra, geometry and trigonometry. Gibson also received high results for English, history and geography. He did struggle quite considerably with his science results, scoring consistently near the bottom of his classes. Gibson also did quite well with his industrial arts subjects (woodwork and metalwork) as well as geometrical/mechanical drawing. According to the 1913 class report, Gibson ranked 13th out of the 33 students in his class overall[iii]. Gibson was a friendly person and maintained good relationships with his fellow students and befriended many who lived near him at Windsor. These friendships would continue until at least 1916, the first year in which Gibson would see active service, and the last year in which there would be any known communication.

Following his graduation from Technical High School, Gibson was appointed to work as a junior clerk in the New South Wales’ Department of Audit. He enlisted on the 28th of July 1915 and recorded his age as 18 and a half. Gibson enlisted as a gunner in the 3rd Battery of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade with the service number of 5468, in the 11th Reinforcements Division[iv]. His reasons for enlisting were not recorded. He was unlikely to have enlisted due to financial problems and most likely enlisted for the opportunity to tour the world and experience different cultures (as was the case for many young Australian men). Gibson, along with the rest of his brigade, departed from Melbourne on the HMAT A71 Nestor on the 11th of October 1915. He arrived in Egypt in November 1915. Whilst there, Gibson wrote a letter to his family and friends, giving them New Year greetings[v]. Gibson wrote of his experiences in Egypt and seemed to have taken an interest in the culture there, photographing local people’s lifestyle, clothing, wildlife and food. He described having travelled “. . . round . . . the Egyptian sights, including the top of the Pyramids” which highlights his enthusiasm for understanding and exploring Egyptian culture and validating his reason of exploration for enlistment. The letter also briefly referenced Gibson’s knowledge and practicality with horse riding, citing his experience on his uncle’s property as the reason for his skill. In relation to this, the letter also wrote that Gibson enjoyed horse riding in combat training scenarios, “he is quite adept . . . from the horse-lines, which work he thoroughly enjoys.” His exact letter was not published, only a summary/outline written by an unknown author, which may diminish the reliability of the source.

Gibson fought with the 1st Field Artillery Brigade on the Western Front and partook in the Battles of Pozieres, Bullecourt, Messines, Ancre, Albert and Passchendaele, almost all of which were significant battles for Australian soldiers. The Battle of Pozieres (23 July 1916 - 7 August 1916) was a major battle fought during the Somme Campaign, primarily by Australian and New Zealand (ANZAC) forces to capture Pozieres Ridge, an important location for the Somme Offensive. The Battle of Messines (7 June 1917 - 14 July 1917) is perhaps best known for strategy involving the Allied soldiers digging beneath enemy lines and rigging explosives to destroy, surprise and scatter enemy defences. Gibson was wounded twice throughout his service, once in August 1917 and the second two months later in October 1917, both occurring during the events of the Battle of Passchendaele[vi]. He rejoined his unit on the 14th of September 1917 following his first injury on the 16th of August. Exactly two months following his first injury, Gibson, on the 16th of October 1917, was wounded once again during a gas attack at Belgium[vii]. The Battle of Passchendaele, or the Third Battle of Ypres, was a battle that occurred at Ypres near the border of France and Belgium in which various Australian infantry and artillery divisions played a significant role in capturing various objectives while sustaining heavy casualties from the German machine guns and shells. The battle lasted from the 31st of July 1917 before ending on the 10th of November 1917. The weather conditions greatly hampered the Allied soldiers and disadvantaged them against the German soldiers. Enemy shells had damaged the drainage systems which resulted in the accumulation of thick mud on the battlefield. The mud resulted in rifles becoming clogged and rendered ineffective, as well as immobilising tanks. The buildup of mud was said to be so great that men and horses drowned in it after becoming stuck. At its conclusion, the Battle of Passchendaele resulted in around 325 000 Allied casualties and 260 000 German casualties. Due to his injury, Gibson missed the following battles in which he and his brigade would have participated in: the Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, Battle of Hamel and the Battle of Amiens.

Following the gas attack in October 1917, Gibson underwent an injury assessment. He was promptly transferred to Britain from France due to his injuries, the exact details of which were not published. On the 10th of January 1918, he was sent back to Australia and arrived in Melbourne on the 3rd of March. On the 10th of April, Gibson was formally discharged as being ‘medically unfit’[viii].

Following the war, Gibson married Bessie Roper in 1929 at the age of 32 and later fathered two children. According to his obituary published in the Goulburn Evening Post in 1942, Gibson joined the Municipal Council of Albury in 1936 and became the town clerk of Yass in 1938[ix]. He and his family changed residence multiple times, living in Walcha from 1930-1933, Narrabeen from 1933-1936, and Albury from 1936 until his passing in 1942. Gibson passed away ‘suddenly’ at the Yass District Hospital on the 5th of January 1942 as a result of a short illness at the age of 44. In his probate, it was announced that Gibson wrote in his will that all of his belongings and assets would be passed on to his wife and family. The probate referred to a ‘Cleveland John Vincent Gibson’. It is possible that he was Gibson’s eldest child, though this cannot be certain as his name is not mentioned in any other known documents. Gibson’s surviving immediate family, being his wife and two children, all outlived him. As written in his obituary, Gibson was described as: “a man of particularly genial character and personality, with wide interests: a human, likeable man, full of life and vim, entering into any sport or undertaking he engaged with zest - a good sport.”[x] In memory of him a plaque is located in the New South Wales Garden of Remembrance as recognition of his service.

Marco Lam

Sydney Technical High School

[i] K Stevenson, ‘Ancestry’, ‘Sydney Technical High School Honour Roll’, May 1st 2018
[ii] G.V. Gibson, ‘Soldier’s Letters’, Unknown Summariser, ‘Windsor and Richmond Gazette’, 21st January 1916, pp. 6
[iii] Unknown, ‘2B Class Report’, 1913
[iv] G.V. Gibson, ‘Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad’, ‘Australian Imperial Force’, 28th July 1915
[v] G.V. Gibson, ‘Soldier’s Letters’, Unknown Summariser, ‘Windsor and Richmond Gazette’, 21st January 1916, pp. 6
[vi] Unknown (Various), ‘Casualty Form’, Belgium, 16th October 1917
[vii] Unknown (Various), ‘Casualty Form’, Belgium, 16th October 1917
[viii] Unknown, Soldier Timeline, 17th February 1919
[ix] Unknown, ‘Obituary’, ‘Windsor and Richmond Gazette’, 9th January 1942
[x] Unknown, ‘Obituary’, ‘Windsor and Richmond Gazette’, 9th January 1942