GIBSON Edward

The following information is a summary of research done by Eric Pepper which appears in the Black Country Bugle, Wednesday 9th December 2015:
Edward Gibson was born on the 6th October 1920 at Whitehaven, Cumberland. After starting at the village school, the family moved to Halesowen in 1929 where Edward attended Halesowen Church of England School leaving there to continue his education at Halesowen Grammar School. He was a keen sportsman and played rugby and cricket.
After leaving school he became an engineering apprentice at the Austin Motor Company’s works in Longbridge and in 1938 he joined the local Territorial Army unit. With the outbreak of war imminent he was called up on the 1st September for active service. After training he became a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps and was sent to France.
During the Dunkirk evacuations in 1940 he escaped the beaches by rowing a boat out into the English Channel where he was picked up by the Royal Navy. After arriving back in the UK he was posted to Reading. On the 29th March 1941, Edward he transferred to the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve, enlisting as a 2nd Class Aircraftman. He commenced training as a pilot in June 1941, initially in Canada and shortly afterwards in the USA.
Prior to his return to England in December 1941 he was promoted to Temporary Sergeant/Pilot. After further training, Edward joined 271 Squadron, a transport unit. Over the next two years he flew many missions. On D-Day in 1944 his missions saw him ferrying airborne troops and their equipment across the Channel to their landing zones behind enemy lines. As the Allies advanced, he flew supplies to front line troops, returning with battlefield casualties. He survived the dangerous missions, often coming under heavy fire, only to die on a routine flight in England when his Dakota aircraft crashed in bad weather in Surrey. His body was brought home to Halesowen where he was buried in the cemetery following his funeral service at St John the Baptist Church at midday on 16th December 1944.

The following information is courtesy and copyright of Christopher Price:
Edward Gibson was known as Teddy; he was my father’s, (Doug Price) best friend. Teddy enlisted with a group of friends who chose the RAF as their preferred service. They were urged on by a friend who joined them when volunteering knowing that he himself would be rejected for military service on health grounds.

Doug Price left, Edward Gibson on the right
Photo courtesy & copyright of Chris Price