Edward Albert Gibbs, (1 April 1903 – 22 July 1982) was an officer in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

who commanded anti-submarine destroyers in the Second World War. He was the first person to receive the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

(DSO) four times in the Second World War.

Career

Gibbs joined the Royal Navy in 1923. He was a commander at the outbreak of war in 1939. He commanded the destroyer from July 1939 to November 1940 and then the destroyer from January 1942 to November 1943. Gibbs was promoted to the rank of captain in December 1946 and retired from the Royal Navy in February 1949.

HMS ''Fortune''

HMS ''Fortune'' helped sink with depth charges west of Scotland in September 1939. Gibbs was awarded the DSO in December 1939. In the following spring, while escorting units of the Home Fleet north-west of Shetland, HMS ''Fortune'' was credited with sinking , although later research suggests that the submarine was destroyed in a minefield, which had been laid by other British destroyers on 13 March 1940. In April 1940, HMS ''Fortune'' escorted the aircraft carriers and while they provided air cover for the evacuation of British forces from

Åndalsnes is a town in Rauma Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. Åndalsnes is in the administrative center of Rauma Municipality. It is located along the Isfjorden, at the mouth of the river Rauma, at the north end of the Romsdalen valley. ...

and

Namsos ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...

during the Norwegian Campaign. In September 1940, HMS ''Fortune'' was part of

Operation Menace The Battle of Dakar, also known as Operation Menace, was an unsuccessful attempt in September 1940 by the Allies to capture the strategic port of Dakar in French West Africa (modern-day Senegal). It was hoped that the success of the operation cou ...

, escorting Force M for the intended

Free French Free France (french: France Libre) was a political entity that claimed to be the legitimate government of France following the dissolution of the Third Republic. Led by French general , Free France was established as a government-in-exile ...

landings at

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from :wo:daqaar, daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar ...

. On 24 September, during the naval bombardment of Dakar, HMS ''Fortune'' she sank the Vichy French submarine ''Ajax'', rescuing 76 of the crew. Gibbs was awarded the first Bar to his DSO in March 1941.

HMS ''Pathfinder''

HMS ''Pathfinder'' helped bring the Italian submarine ''Cobalto'' to the surface with depth charges off

Bizerta Bizerte or Bizerta ( ar, بنزرت, translit=Binzart , it, Biserta, french: link=no, Bizérte) the classical Hippo, is a city of Bizerte Governorate in Tunisia. It is the northernmost city in Africa, located 65 km (40mil) north of the cap ...

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

in August 1942, and the submarine was rammed and sunk by HMS ''Ithuriel''. The following month, HMS ''Pathfinder'' helped and sink the with depth charges in the mid-Atlantic. Gibbs was mentioned in despatches in November 1942, and then awarded a second Bar to his DSO in December 1942. Also in December 1942, HMS ''Pathfinder'' assisted in the rescue of nearly 5,000 survivors from the troopship after she was torpedoed off Oran, Algeria, and in April 1943, HMS ''Pathfinder'' sank the with depth charges off

Cape Farewell, Greenland Cape Farewell ( kl, Nunap Isua; da, Kap Farvel) is a headland on the southern shore of Egger Island, Nunap Isua Archipelago, Greenland. As the southernmost point of the country, it is one of the important landmarks of Greenland. Geography Lo ...

, with assistance from Swordfish aircraft flying from . Gibbs was mentioned in despatches again in April 1943, and awarded a third Bar to his DSO in July 1943.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Edward Albert 1903 births 1982 deaths Companions of the Distinguished Service Order People from Hendon Royal Navy officers of World War II