Born in 1918 in Simla (British India), returning to England in 1924 after his parent’s divorce. His Military service commenced in November of 1936, at the Bristol Flying School in Yatesbury. He earned his pilot’s wings in May of 1937. He was posted to the No. 83 (Bomber) squadron and promoted to pilot officer in November of 1937. In the spring of 1939 after completing a navigation course he was set to leave service but was kept on due to hostilities taking place in Abyssinia. In June of that year, he was promoted to Flying Officer. From April to September 1940 Gibson completed 34 operations in 5 months, with 10 taking place in June. These operations varied in job type from laying mines to bombing attacks on various targets. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in July of 1940 and promoted to Flight Lieutenant in September of that year. He was posted to a flying instructor position for a brief 2-week period before being posted to another squadron. In November of 1940 Gibson was posted to the No.29 Squadron as the Commander of ‘A’ Flight. Night flying was different than the work Gibson had previously done in his bombing unit. His final patrols with this squadron were flown in December of 1941, after which he was posted to an OUT as Chief Flying Instructor. He was eager to return to a bombing unit and was eventually promoted to Wing Commander of the No 106 Squadron at just 23 years of age. The squadron completed several early operations during April of 1942 and flew on 18-night flights. He participated in further operations with the 106, and in November of 1942 was awarded the Distinguished Service Order. His final flight with the 106 was in March of 1943. After this he was posted to HQ No. 5, and from there was interviewed to be put in command of a new squadron, No. 617 Squadron, who were involved in operation Chastise, which was an attack on German dams causing the flooding of the Ruhr valley and surrounding villages. Gibson was heavily involved in the planning surrounding this operation. The success of this operation lead to Gibson receiving the Victoria Cross, which did not fill him with cheer, as he was keenly aware of the human cost of this operation. During May of 1943 he Met the King and Queen of England, and Winston Churchill. In August he made his final flight with the 617. In August Gibson traveled to Canada with Churchill and was able to meet Prime Minister Mackenzie king, and President Roosevelt. During this time he also met with family of several members who were killed in the Dams Raid. In October of 1943 he was invested with Commander’s Insignia to the Legion of Merit. In January of 1944, Gibson was under orders to write a book, and was given a posting to the Directorate for the prevention of Accidents in order to allow him time to do so. In February of 1944 he appeared on Desert Island Discs, a BBC radio program. He was appointed Staff Officer at the No 55 airbase, which included operational planning and liaison between units within the base. Gibson’s final operation on September 19, 1944, was targets at Rheydt and Moenchen-Gladbach. The operation used marking techniques which Gibson was not an expert in. The type of aircraft he was most familiar with was unavailable to his crew, he rejected the reserve aircraft and insisted on using the other crew’s aircraft, causing the bomb loads to be switched at the last moment. During the operation there was mechanical mishaps, which caused confusion within the crews. His plane crashed in the Netherlands at 22:30 hours. At first no one was concerned, as it was assumed he had landed elsewhere. There is an unconfirmed report that another squadron heard him say he had a damaged engine. He was not officially posted as missing until November 29, 1944. There were unofficial reports of his missing status which were circulating. The exact cause of the crash is still unknown. Gibson is buried in Steenbergen, where he crashed as his family declined to have the remains reinterred in the United Kingdom. A 1955 film The Dam Busters was made about the 617 squadron. Richard Todd played Gibson. Gibson’s awards and medals are on display at the Royal Air Force Museum in Hendon, England.

Started as a Midshipman in 1952 and went for #2 junior Air Officer Basic Training in Cornwallis, then to Ontario for sea training, and was then made a sub lieutenant, and had a special duty on Flying course at RCAF station Centralia in 1953. RNAS at Culdrose for OTU. From there he went on to RNAS Eglinton, and the HMS illustrious, then to Shearwater, and the Magnificent in 1954. He made lieutenant in 1955, and trained at Shearwater for Helicopter conversion in 1956, and went on to have duty at Shearwater and the Bonaventure with the HS 50 Squadron in 1957-58. Norfolk and USS Randloph for HS 7 Squadron on staff of Naval Air Atlantic in 1960, then on to the USS Intrepid for HS 3 Squadron, made Lieutenant Commander and went to Gatineau for Watchkeeping training 1964. Transferred back to shearwater as Executive Officer of the HS 50 in 1965 Made commander in 1967, remained at Shearwater with HS 50. Made commanding officer in 1967, transferred to Toronto for Canadian Forces Staff college course in 1969. Was Senior Staff officer at St Hubert Mobile command HQ in 10 tactical Air Group and training 1970. Squadron 450 as Commanding officer 1972. Made colonel in 1975 and was at CFHQ as the Director of individual Training. He resigned from the Military in 1979, and then took up a career in Real Estate, moving from sales into Management.