S/Ldr Bobby Gibbes, RAAF

Information about veterans of the Second World War in the Pacific, including friends and family.

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Daniel Leahy
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S/Ldr Bobby Gibbes, RAAF

Post by Daniel Leahy »

Hi All,

It appears as if this may have slipped under our radar...

The following comes from the ABC website:
http://abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/04/17/1899637.htm
WWII veteran Bobby Gibbes farewelled by Spitfire

By Caro Meldrum

Posted Tue Apr 17, 2007 5:00pm AEST
Updated Thu Apr 19, 2007 5:09pm AEST

The funeral for World War II fighter pilot Bobby Gibbes has been held in North Sydney.

The 90-year-old died in a Sydney hospital last week after a stroke.

Mr Gibbes was farewelled by hundreds of people at a ceremony at St Thomas' Anglican Church this afternoon.

He fought for Australia in 1941 on the Syrian campaign, taking part in an attack against the Vichy French Air Force Base at Rayak.

After the North African campaign he progressed to Wing Commander and in 1945 he led 79 Squadron to Morotai in the Halmahra Islands.

Mr Gibbes was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross with bar.

Speaking at the funeral service, Mr Gibbes' daughter, Robyn, recalled the years of adventure growing up in New Guinea.

"My own personal tour guide, my dad. He raised our family in the wilds of New Guinea," she said.

"I was the first white baby to be born in the highlands, but as we were a bit remote, he did it in his aeroplane."

Mr Gibbes loved aviation and was known as an "Aussie larrikin".

He was farewelled by a rare fly-past by a Spitfire VIII bearing his personal markings, sent from the Temora Aviation Museum in southern NSW.

Four F-18 Hornets also flew over the church, bidding one final goodbye to the veteran.

Bobby Gibbes is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jean.
And the following comes from the Defence website:
http://www.defence.gov.au/news/raafnews ... ature4.htm
IN MEMORIAM - WWII ace farewelled
By Andrew Stackpool

Sydney’s lower north shore skies reverberated to the spine-chilling snarl of a Rolls Royce Merlin engine and the deeper boom of jets as Air Force joined some 350 other mourners in farewelling one of the last of its ‘greats’.

Former World War II ace, SQNLDR Robert Henry ‘Bobby’ Gibbes, died at Manly hospital, NSW, of a stroke on April 11. He was 90 years old.

CAF AIRMSHL Geoff Shepherd, CO 3SQN WGCDR Vinny Iervarsi, a 3SQN bearer and honour party and some 40 other members of 3SQN joined SQNLDR Gibbes’ local member, Bronwyn Bishop, and hundreds of other mourners at his funeral at St Thomas Anglican church in North Sydney.

Four 3SQN F/A-18s flew a ‘Missing Man’ formation and the Temora Aviation Museum’s Mk VIII Spitfire, painted in the famous “Grey Nurse” markings of Gibbes’ own Mk VIII, flew a rare fly-past over the church.

CAF paid tribute to the ace.

“Among the pantheon of the heroic generation from WWII, certain heroes stand out,” AIRMSHL Shepherd said. “Bobby Gibbes was one of those.

“It is an honour to have had him as a member of the Services.

“Sadly this generation is quickly passing and we must engage and honour those who are left.”

SQNLDR Gibbes did not see himself as cast in a heroic mould, although his Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar and Distinguished Service Order attest otherwise.

After the outbreak of WWII, on February 5, 1940, he enlisted in the RAAF as an air cadet and after training was described as an “above-average fighter pilot”.

He posted to 450SQN before posting to 3SQN in Egypt, flying the P-40 Tomahawk. He was soon in the thick of combat and over the next two years had shot down or destroyed more than 12 aircraft, had up to another 14 probables and damaged 16. In return, he was shot down twice.

Gibbes received recognition for landing in the heat of action and rescuing another pilot who had been shot down. On take-off he lost a wheel but executed a flawless landing back at his home airfield. On another occasion, after being shot down, he walked 50 miles back towards base, all the while dodging enemy forces until he was picked up by a British ground patrol.

In July 1944, he was posted to 80WG in Darwin flying Spitfire Mk VIIIs. While there, his aircraft suffered an engine failure and he was burned in the subsequent crash-landing. Nevertheless, he was soon back flying, and in January 1945, the wing moved to Morotai, PNG, for mainly ground attack operations against the Japanese. Between then and his return to Australia in May 1945, he flew 44 missions.

He discharged in 1946 before joining the Active Reserve in 1952 and serving at Townsville until April 1957.

He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Jeannie, daughters Julie and Robyn and five grandchildren.
Daniel J. Leahy
Australia

AIR POWER ARCHAEOLOGY
http://www.airpowerarchaeologyc.com

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