Michael Gibson, GC (21 June 1906 – 18 October 1940) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

soldier who was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

for the conspicuous gallantry he displayed in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

on 14 September 1940 in defusing a large unexploded bomb. Prior to joining the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

at the outset of the Second World War, Gibson was a miner in Chopwell,

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

, and had served 14 years within the Territorial Army attached to the

Durham Light Infantry The Durham Light Infantry (DLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 to 1968. It was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 68th (Durham) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) and ...

George Cross

Following a ''

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

'' bombing raid on the night of the 13/14 October 1940, two unexploded bombs were detected in a factory complex near Coventry. The area was evacuated and members of the 9th

Bomb Disposal Bomb disposal is an explosives engineering profession using the process by which hazardous explosive devices are disabled or otherwise rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated fun ...

Company,

, including Gibson, were called in to defuse them. The first detonated but no-one was hurt. Gibson and his men uncovered the second bomb beneath rubble but found the bomb to be hissing. Gibson sent his men away to safety and proceeded to defuse the bomb. The posthumous award of the George Cross to Michael Gibson appeared in ''

The London Gazette ''The London Gazette'', known generally as ''The Gazette'', is one of the official journals of record or government gazettes of the Government of the United Kingdom, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, i ...

'' on 21 January 1941:

Death

On 18 October 1940, Gibson was one of seven bomb disposal men that had recovered a bomb from a Coventry housing estate. The still active bomb was transported via lorry to be defused at Whitley Common. The bomb exploded during unloading from the lorry, killing all of the men. Following a funeral service at

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

on 25 October 1940, the squad were buried in a collective grave in Coventry's London Road Cemetery. The squad comprised Second Lieutenant Alexander Fraser Campbell and

Sapper A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses ...

s William Gibson, Richard Gilchrest, Jack Plumb, Ronald William Skelton, Ernest Arthur Stote and Gibson. Gibson was 34 when he was killed.

Memorial

On 18 October 2008, the anniversary of the death of Gibson and his fellow soldiers, a memorial plaque was dedicated to their memory close to where they died on Whitley Common. The memorial reads: Gibson's George Cross, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45 were sold at auction for £93,000 on 18 December 2012.Blitz hero's George Cross sells for record £93,000
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Family

Michael Gibson married Elizabeth Hardy; they had two sons, Derek and John.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Michael 1906 births 1940 deaths British recipients of the George Cross Royal Engineers soldiers Durham Light Infantry soldiers Deaths by German airstrikes during The Blitz British Army personnel killed in World War II Bomb disposal personnel Military personnel from Tyne and Wear