Lieutenant
Frank Bridger
GIBBS
,
MiD
Royal Navy
27
Frank Gibbs was born in Plaistow, West Sussex on 20 May 1914, the son of Frank William and Margarette Annie Gibbs and was educated at the Nautical College Pangbourne. He joined the Royal Navy and was promoted to Midshipman on 1 September 1932 and appointed to the Cruiser HMS EXETER. He was next appointed to the Battleship HMS NELSON in March 1933.
Frank Gibbs completed his Lieutenant’s Courses at the Royal Naval College Greenwich from 3 January 1935 and at Portsmouth from 2 September 1935. He was promoted to Acting Sub Lieutenant on 1 January 1936 and was confirmed in that rank on 1 August.
His date of joining submarines is not known but he was appointed to ‘HMS RORQUAL as Fourth Hand standing by while completing’ at the Vickers Shipyard in Barrow in Furness on 30 October 1936. After Commissioning on 21 November 1936, Trials, and Work Up, HMS RORQUAL joined the 4th Submarine Flotilla at Hong Kong. Promotion to Lieutenant followed on 1 December 1937.
After his return home he was appointed to ‘HMS H44 as First Lieutenant’ in 1940. This was followed by an appointment to ‘HMS UNBEATEN as First Lieutenant’ on 12 September 1940. He was Mentioned in Dispatches – see London Gazette dated 1 January 1941. It is thought that this may have been in recognition of his removing a mine from the bow of a submarine (to be confirmed).
Next was an appointment to ‘HMS P32 as First Lieutenant – Standing by whilst completing’ at Barrow in 1941 before he was appointed to HMS DOLPHIN ‘for the Commanding Officers Qualifying Course’ in May the same year. After qualifying, he was appointed to ‘HMS H31 in Command’ in August 1941.
At the time that the German Battle Cruisers SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU were expected to leave BREST and HMS H31 was sent to form part of a circle of submarines around the French port. The submarine was escorted as far as Wolf Rock and left her escort on 19 December 1941. Nothing more was seen or heard of H31 which was presumed lost with All Hands in the Atlantic, probably having struck a mine somewhere along the North West Coast of Spain.
Frank Gibbs of Highfields, Haslemere, Surrey was the husband of Eileen Josephine Gibbs (née Boothby) and had a son and a daughter. He is commemorated on the Portsmouth Naval War Memorial on Panel No 45 Column No 1.
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My grandfather on my mum’s side, naturally never known but never forgotten.
Memorial to him with his parents – my great grand parents – grave at St Bartholomew’s Church, Haslemere, Surrey.