GIBSON, Matthew Rae
| Service Number: | 122 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 October 1914, Liverpool, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 6th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Inverell, New South Wales, 18 December 1890 |
| Home Town: | Inverell, Inverell, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Grammer School |
| Occupation: | Jackaroo/Overseer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 19 July 1915, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Beach Cemetery - ANZAC Cove Plot II, Row D, Grave No. 8, Beach Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coonamble Municipality and Wingadee Shire HR, Inverell & District Memorial Olympic Pool WW1 Honour Roll, Inverell Intermediate High School Roll of Honour, Inverell Kurrajong Parade Avenue of Honour, Inverell War Memorial, Sydney Grammar School WW1 Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Oct 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 122, 6th Light Horse Regiment, Liverpool, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 122, 6th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' |
|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 122, 6th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 19 Jul 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 122, 6th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 122 awm_unit: 6 Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1915-07-19 |
Matthew Rae Gibson
Matthew, the son of James and Mary Gibson, was born at Inverell. He attended Inverell Public School and Sydney Grammar School before working on family properties in the Walgett district of NSW.
At the age of twenty four he enlisted on 10 October 1914, becoming a Private with the 6th Light Horse Regiment, A Squadron. He sailed from Sydney on the transport ship A29 Suevic just before Christmas 1914, arriving in Egypt the following February. Initially authorities believed the Light Horsemen were not needed at Gallipoli, however following the huge loss of life there these men were sent as reinforcements, without their horses.
Matthew's War was short. He received a gunshot wound to his left eye at Gallipoli and was transferred to Lemnos for treatment, returning to duty two weeks later. Just five weeks afterwards he was wounded in the chest and subsequently died of wounds on 19 July 1915.
Private Matthew Rae Gibson was buried at Beach Cemetery, Anzac, Gallipoli. At Inverell his name is inscribed on the Honor Roll and Cenotaph. He is one of the 215 men for whom a memorial tree was planted in Kurrajong Parade during 1919.
Submitted 6 October 2018 by Greg Kennett
Biography contributed by Faithe Jones
PRIVATE M. R. GIBSON.
Private M. R. Gibson, who was killed in action at the Dardanelles on July 19, was the youngest son of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. J. R. Gibson, of Inverell, and Woollahra, Sydney, and was 24 years of age. He was educated at the Sydney Grammar School, and from there went to the firm of Winchcombe, Carson, Limited, but wishing to take up pastoral life he had for the last two years been gaining experience on Messrs. Stirton and Campbell's station, Goorianawa, Coonamble.
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