Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Sergeant John Andrew Gibson (Service No:427821) enlisted in the RAAF on 6 October 1942 as an Aircraftman attached to 1 Initial Training School (ITS) Victor Harbour and was promoted to Leading Aircraftman on 13 January 1943. Promoted to Sergeant/Air Gunner on 22 July 1943, Sergeant Gibson was attached to the RAF UK (30 August 1943 - 29 October 1943) and the Royal Canadian Airforce (RCAF) from 30 October 1943 - 4 April 1945). Sergeant Gibson was attached to HQ Western Area at Discharge on 29 May 1946. He had served with the Militia - 13th Field Engineers Pinjarra and Guildford prior to enlisting in the RAAF.

Born in 1918 in Perth WA, John was the eldest of two children of John Gibson (b1887 in Renfreshire, Scotland) and Elizabeth Mackay Sutherland (b1888 in Sydney, NSW). John Snr was a Message Boy in Scotland before immigrating to Western Australia, where he initially worked on the Railways before becomong a Motor Mechanic. John Snr and Elizabeth married in 1916 in Perth, WA where they settled and raised their family and John worked as a Motor Mechanic.

John attended Perth Boys' School and then studied Accountancy at night at Perth Technical College. He started work in 1937 as a Despatch Clerk and Van Salesman and was a Junior Clerk in 1942. Following his Discharge, John worked in Perth as a Clerk with the Department of Civil Aviation, and in 1950 married Beryl Kathleen Challen (b1927 in Perth WA) - Beryl was working in Perth as a Shorthand Typist. John and Beryl settled in Perth where John worked as a Clerk and Company Secretary. John died in 1995 and Beryl in 2021.