Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

A Great War ‘Salonika operations’ M.C. group of eight awarded to Captain Sir Douglas S. Gibbon, Royal Welsh Fusiliers

Military Cross, G.V.R., unnamed; 1914-15 Star (2 Lieut. D. S. Gibbon. R.W. Fus:); British War and Victory Medals (Capt. D. S. Gibbon.); Defence Medal; Jubilee 1935; Coronation 1937; Coronation 1953, these unnamed, mounted court style for wear, nearly extremely fine (8) £1,000-£1,400

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Jim Henshaw Collection of Medals to the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers.

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M.C. London Gazette 4 June 1917.

Sir Douglas Stuart Gibbon was born in Swansea, Glamorgan in 1882. Serving as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment, he entered the France/Flanders theatre of war on 4 August 1915. Later, as a Captain serving in Salonika, he was to earn his Military Cross. An extract derived from the Regimental Records of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, by Major C. H. Dudley Ward, D.S.O., M.C., describes the ‘raid on the Mitrailleuses’ and Gibbon’s part in it which resulted in the M.C. -

‘Towards the end of January 1917 it was suspected that the German 59th Regiment had been relieved by Bulgars, and the Commander-in-Chief ordered the 67th Brigade to secure prisoners and confirm the report. The task was given to our battalion..... It was decided to Raid. The final plan was to bombard the Mitrailleuses for three days. All guns were in the required position by the 17th February, when the bombardment opened. The 18 pounder wire cutting batteries commenced their task on the 19th. The light was poor and in spite of good shooting, the wire proved obstinate.... On the 20th the wire was smashed and rolled into heaps so successfully, that three gaps in the wire were found to be sufficient for the raid. Some 100 men took part in the raid, which was under the command of Captain J. W. McKill. These were divided into two search parties, under Captain D. S. Gibbon and Lieutenant J. L. W. Craig, four blocking parties, and a left flank guard. The 8th South Wales Borderers provided a right flank guard. Captain McKill continues: the raiding party started at 9 p.m. The enemy were apparently nervous-they sent up Verey lights and their searchlights played over ''No Man's Land". The raiding party reached the Bangor ravine. I got a green Verey light from Lieutenant Goulder and we fired off the arranged signal together. The artillery reply to our signal was very smart the first shells being over us before the Verey light went out. Under the artillery fire we crawled up to the wire and got through the opening of both belts of wire; the gap appeared to be about 12 yards wide. On our right was a huge mass of tangled wire about 12 feet high. We lay down in the opening until our guns lifted off the front-line trench, then we immediately rushed into the trench; it was at once seen to be well filled with men, in fact to contain a strong garrison. Our men were at hand grips with them at once; some, refusing to surrender, were bayoneted, others were seized and hauled out by the raiding parties. As soon as the prisoners were well clear of the wire, I blew the signal to retire. The prisoners were secured in under five minutes... From my observation of the party with me I remarked specially Captain D. S. Gibbon, Lieutenant Farrant and Lieutenant Goulder R.F.A. ... Our total casualties were 3 officers and 16 other ranks wounded. The prisoners were all of the German 59th Regiment.’

Gibbon was admitted a solicitor in 1908, and in 1921 was appointed Master of the Supreme Court Taxing Office. In 1932 he was appointed Chief Taxing Officer and was also a member of the Lord Chancellor’s Committee on the Cost of Litigation. In 1946 he was made a Knight Bachelor. Sir Douglas Gibbon died in Tripoli on 13 September 1960.

Sold with copied research including m.i.c. and the full extract concerning the ‘Raid on the Mitrailleuses’.