"Lt-Col Jack Gibson, who has died aged 95, was awarded an MC in the East African Campaign. The Battle of Keren in 1941 was fought between British and Commonwealth forces and the Italian colonial army defending Eritrea. Keren was of strategic importance since its road and rail routes afforded access to the Red Sea port of Massawa. Gibson was serving with the 31st Field Regiment RA (31 FR), part of the 4th Indian Division. On February 10 he advanced with the 3/1st Punjab Regiment and, at first light the next day, established an Observation Post (OP) on a feature known as Sugar Loaf. While he was directing the fire of his battery, his line was repeatedly cut; but each time he went out under heavy shellfire to help his signallers lay another. In the same battle he was severely wounded by a mortar shell which exploded just in front of him, blowing a hole through his left shoulder and causing injuries to his head and right arm. Gibson was carried down the mountain in the dark by two Indian soldiers on a makeshift stretcher, and did not think he would survive. The citation for his Immediate MC paid tribute to the number of times that he had been driven out of OPs in highly exposed positions, only to recover the lost ground and re-establish them. John Hugill Gibson was born at Purley, Surrey, on September 27 1917. The England cricket team was frequently entertained at his father’s house, Stanwell Place, Spelthorne, Surrey, during Test matches at the Oval and at Lord’s; and Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, was a close friend of the family." Lt-Col Jack Gibson - Telegraph
