233859 Sgt. Howard P. Gibson British Army Reconnaissance Corps from:Sydney I don't know too much about my grandfather, Howard Gibson's service in WW2 except from tales from my father Colin. When growing up I had fond memories of my grandfather but he rarely talked about his experience in the war and his time at Stalag IVB.
We know from the Ministry of Defence that Howard was in the Reconnaissance Corps and served in North Africa. He was the commander of a tank that was ambushed by the Germans and during this ambush one of the soldiers was killed instantly and another soldier was shot and killed by the Germans after trying to flee. Howard was the sole survivor from this attack and was then brought to POW camps in Italy and then later to Stalag IVB (POW number: 226644). It is rumoured that when captured he was inspected by Erwin Rommel, as he was keen to inspect captured soldiers to see what kind of condition they were in i.e. if they were low on food and ammunition etc. although I can't verify the authenticity of this part.
Howard then married Jean and came to Sydney, Australia where they started a family. Howard was very skilled with his hands and started a successful plastics factory called Warringah Plastics which is still in operation today.
Howard was born on 23rd September 1920 and sadly passed away in 2008. This text is a tribute to Howard Gibson and his legacy and to the other brave soldiers who managed to survive and start a new life in a foreign land despite all they had gone through.
|