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

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

soldier who was

posthumously Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' (E ...

awarded the

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

for the conspicuous gallantry he displayed in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

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 a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

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

Chopwell Chopwell is a village in the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, England, west of Rowlands Gill and north of Hamsterley, Consett, Hamsterley. At the 2011 Census, it had a population of 9,395. In 1150, Hugh de Puiset, Bishop Puds ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, 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 t ...

George Cross

Following a ''

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

'' bombing raid on the night of the 13/14 September 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 device, explosive devices are rendered safe. ''Bomb disposal'' is an all-encompassing term to describe the separate, but interrelated functi ...

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'' 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, in which certain statutory notices are ...

'' 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, England. The curren ...

on 25 October 1940, the squad were buried in a collective grave in Coventry's

London Road Cemetery London Road Cemetery is a cemetery in Coventry, England, designed by Joseph Paxton and opened in 1847. It lies south-east of the city centre and is bisected by the West Coast main railway line between Coventry and Rugby, which pre-dates the ce ...

. The squad comprised Second Lieutenant

Alexander Fraser Campbell Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and

Sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer (military), pioneer or 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 minefie ...

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 War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

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 airstrike during World War II British Army personnel killed in World War II Bomb disposal personnel Military personnel from County Durham