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Reginald Gibbs F/Mc Married Married Married: 1899 Lucia McCausland F/Mc | |||||||||||
| Denis Lucius Alban Gibbs [CFT #791] Born: 1905 Died: 1984 |
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| When commanding 1/6 Queen's Royal Regiment with the 8th Army and taking part in the battles of Bir el Munassib, Adam Halfa and El Alamein, he was awarded his first DSO. He was captured in the desert but escaped from prison camp. The story of his escape is told in his privately published book, Appenine Journey. Following his escape he was ordered to Normandy to command 2nd Battalion of the Warwickshire Regiment whose CO had been killed in the Normandy landings three days earlier. He retained this command for the rest of the war and won his second DSO. The citation states: "On August 6th 1944 Lieut-Colonel Gibbs' battalion withstood a heavy and determined attack at le Bas Perrier from enemy infantry and Tiger tanks, preceded by intense artillery and mortar covering fire. One company area was overrun by tanks, which penetrated the battalion position. The action lasted from early afternoon till dusk, and the fire of enemy tanks dominated the battalion area the whole time, from the high ground above. Throughout this confused action, in which the battalion suffered heavy casualties, Lieut-Col. Gibbs had the situation well in hand. His calm, imperturbable behaviour was an inspiration to his junior leaders and soldiers. His clear orders, determination and complete disregard for his own safety under these very difficult circumstances had a most marked effect upon the course of the battle, and its successful outcome is a shining example of what the personality of a courageous leader can achieve." At his funeral service on 4th May 1984 the address was given by Major General Sir Philip Ward. Here is what he said: Once in a lifetime - maybe twice - if you have eyes to see - you will behold a man who you will recognise as one who is especially good, especially dear, in fact uniquely special. And if you have ears to hear you will reconise in him a voice that speaks the truth. In my lifetime, and I guess in the lifetime of most of you here this afternoon, Denis Gibbs was such a man. His influence on us all was far reaching, profound and wholly benign. I originally met Denis on 1st January 1950 when I was appointed to my first job outside my regiment to be his Adjutant, when he was Commandant of Eaton Hall Officer Cadet School. My predecessor, like me, a Welsh Guardsman of tender years, in handing Denis over to me said - rather anxiously - "don't worry if at times he seems a little fierce; he tends occasionally to gnash his teeth and storm about, but if you stand your ground he turns out to be the kindest man on earth and you will get to love him". He also told me that Denis was given to writing little notes on very small pieces of paper, none of which were decipherable, but that it didn't matter because he always followed them up with verbal confirmation that left no room for misunderstanding. Well - he did storm about a bit and gnash his teeth, (seldom I'm happy to say at me), but his gnashes expired as quickly as they had begun, and ended with the object of his wrath being bought a reviving drink to settle things. As to the writing, that too proved to be a correct warning, but it has become a source of intellectual delight far exceeding the solution of crossword puzzles, in all the time of friendship and correspondence that has ensued throughout the last four and thirty years. The trick, we found, was to open one of his letters at breakfast time and lie it flat on a convenient table or desk and let it get used to its new surroundings. We would then visit it during the day taking it, as it were, by surprise, and from a distance dart in and out, making out its meaning, bit by bit. From these early days my alarm had changed to respect, from respect to affection and from affection to admiration and love. Denis Lucius Alban Gibbs was the third son and fourth child of the six children of Canon Reginald Gibbs and his wife Lucia of Clifton Hampden in the county of Oxfordshire and was born in 1905. His brother Tom and his sister Joan survive him and they are here with us today. It was within this truly remarkable family that Denis received his grounding in the Christian Faith. He was carved into it, granite strong, and it was a faith that never left him. By it he was inspired, with it he inspired other people. It was the first of five foundation stones upon which his life was built. The second foundation stone, chronologically, was his Regiment and the Army. He went to Sandhurst in the year that I was born, and was commissioned after an oustanding two years as a Gentleman Cadet into The Queen's Royal Regiment in 1926. he was lucky enough to serve in India and in the Sudan before such service was eclipsed by the aftermath of the Second World War. In those years before 1939 he became immersed in the art and ethos of regimental soldiery, honed and tempered for the most difficult of all levels of command - in his case that of Battalion Commander. But first, at the outbreak of war he was appointed Brigade major of 144 Infantry Brigade serving in France. He was Mentioned in despatches for his part in the evacuation from Dunkirk. Then, in 1942, he was given command of 1/6 Battalion of his own Regiment, leading them at the battles of Alam Halfa and El Alemein. Here again he was Mentioned in Despatches and was awarded his first D.S.O. Fate ordained that he should be captured in the desert, but fate also ordained that he should escape from his prison camp, and more of that in a moment. Meanwhile, after his return to this country, and a short spell of sick leave, he was ordered to Normandy to take over the 2nd Battalion of The Warwickshire Regiment whose Commanding Officer had been killed in the Normandy landings three days earlier. He remained in command throughout the rest of the war and received his second D.S.O. What a record: what a man. The story of his escape from prison camp near Cremona in Italy is recorded in a slim, privately printed book, written by Denis, and called Appenine Journey, and is in itself a small classic of fortitude and resolution. Many of you will have read it, and in it you will have detected that self-effacing modesty and that concern for the people who helped him make good his escape, so typical of Denis. For all who understood soldiery, and for all who saw him at work right up until the time of his retirement in 1950, Denis was the Quintessential regimental officer: proud of his Sovereign and the Country which his regiment served: proud of the men he led. In 1933, after seven years with his Regiment, another foundation stone, but of a very special kind, was laid, namely his marriage to Hilaria Edgcumbe. Here, if ever, was a marriage made in Heaven. The combined ingredients of love and their contrasting characteristics: the details of administration for him; the carefree serenity from her. Their combined interest in, compassion for and care of each other and of other people combined to make a marriage that was at once efficient and effective, and at the same time one that was as romantic at its end as it was at its beginning. So happy are we that they and all of us were able to share in the Golden Wedding celebrations last year. Two more foundation stones. First the family. Four daughters, eleven grandchildren. Such a source of pride and happiness. Such special people as you would expect from such a parentage. Colourful, diverse in character,adventurous, individualistic, original, loving - sometimes presenting Denis with conundrums to be shared and solved, with advice to be sought and given, all activities which, though like all fathers doubtless sometimes driven wild by them, Denis relished to the full, and without which he would have felt a little cheated. I come now to the last foundation stone: his Church: one allied so closely to the first of those which I suggested, his Faith. He was churchwarden and a member of the Parochial Church Council at Bickleigh, amongst his flowers and fruit whilst at Roborough, from 1951 to 1963. And of this church, here at Tavistock, a member of the Parochial Church Council from 1965 to his death. He was a most regular attender at all services of the Church's year deriving strength and comfort in such a quiet and modest way. If he was here (ie at Tavistock), or staying away, he never missed an Office if he could help it, and he epitomised what it is that the Church needs so desperately, if it is to survive and grow, namely the active participation of the Laity. Faith and Family: Regiment, Queen and Country, The Church. These were Denis' talismen. By them he steered: by them he was formed into the man we knew. I have tried to hold before your eyes a looking glass. In it I hope you have seen a Denis whom you recognise. But be assured of this. We shall not see his like again, this side of Paradise. |
1: 1935 Jillianne Bridget Gibbsc H/C 2: 1937 Margaret Hilaria Gibbsc H/C 3: 1941 Rosamund Lucia Gibbsc H/C 4: 1949 Penelope Mary Gibbsc H/C | ||||||||||
| 4 Children | |||||||||||
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