1893-1918

The Gamekeeper and Chauffeur

Thy Will Be Done⁵⁰

Born on 7^th June 1893³⁵, George Gibson was the third³ of several children born to parents Ann and her husband John, an agricultural Labourer³.  Three weeks later, on 28^th June, George was baptized in the village Primitive Methodist Chapel¹⁶.

As he grew up in the family home, Chapel Cottages, Cockshutt⁴, during the difficult economic times of the era²⁰ George would have been accustomed to a life dominated by poverty²⁰ and the struggle to make ends meet on his Father’s meagre wages⁵².  As with so many children, young George would have been used to working whenever he could, thus contributing towards the family finances⁵¹.  In the “sparsely populated” farming village¹³, these simple jobs would have ranged from scything and spreading manure, to unloading hay from wagons⁸, chores he would have continued once he had begun attending the local school¹.

With his schooldays behind him, in an are noted for its “quiet woodlands and plantations (which) dot the countryside, providing cover for game birds”⁴², it seems that George worked on local estates where he eventually found employment as a Gamekeeper⁴.  Poorly paid⁴⁴, but “recompensed in kind”⁴⁴ the position was considered “honourable and onerous”⁴⁴ burdened by numerous duties, including guarding against poachers²⁸ and various administrative tasks³⁴.  He would also have maintained, managed and driven shoot transport³⁴, which he seems to have favoured, for shortly afterwards he had moved to Aberayron, where he was employed for four years as chauffeur for a Dr Davies⁵⁴.

In 1916, with no end in sight to the war, George enlisted⁵³ with the South Wales Borderers.  Once his array of organisational and mechanical skills had been identified, he was attached to XVIII Mechanical Transport, Army Service Corps⁴⁰ for which he would have been paid 6/- per day³¹.  Subsequently Private G Gibson M/279418¹¹ was deployed to the Western Front Theatre of War¹¹.

Frequently regarded as one of the “unsung heroes of the British Army in the Great War”⁴⁰, the ASC was responsible for maintaining the supply chain of men, food and equipment for the infantry on the front line on an unprecedented scale⁴⁹.  In conditions and on a scope and rate which had never been experienced before, all forms of transport were utilized in their deployment:  railways, water transport, horses and motorised vehicles⁴⁰, often forming a convoy, frequently under enemy attack.

It was during one such incident, during the 1918 Spring Offensive⁴⁶, that Private George Gibson sustained serious injuries²¹ whilst driving his motor lorry⁵³.  He died on 31^st May 1918¹⁸.  Laid to rest in Ligny-St. Flochel British Cemetery, Averdoingt, France¹⁸, he was posthumously awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal¹¹.

Just three months earlier, on a return home on leave, George had married Sarah Ann Evans²³ a Domestic Servant¹² in the Parish Church of Cilcennin, on Wednesday 13^th March 1918¹².  At her request¹⁸, his headstone bears the poignant but simple inscription “Thy Will Be Done”⁵⁰.

We Will Remember Him.

Private George Gibson, M/279418, XVIII Corps Mechanical Transport, Army Service Corps.

Died of wounds in France on 31^st May 1918.

Buried at Ligny-St. Flochel British Cemetery, Averdoingt, France. Grave I. C. 15.

… in the quiet of a chill Winter’s night
Your voice comes hushed to me
Full of forgotten memories: you and I
Dreamed great dreams of our future in those days,
Setting our feet on undiscovered ways …²⁵