John Watson Gibson

Sir John Watson Gibson (9 August 1885 – 19 March 1947) was an English civil engineer. He designed dams in England and in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and port installations in England and Ireland. In the UK he is most notable for having designed a key part of the Mulberry harbours for the 1944 Normandy landings.

Biography Early life and career Gibson was born at Linthorpe, Middlesbrough in 1885, son of Robert Elwin Gibson and Ruth Eleanor, née Hugill. His father was a clerk and accountant. He was educated at Middlesbrough School for Boys. He was apprenticed to S Pearson & Son, with whom he assisted in the building of new concrete jetties at the docks in Southampton, Fenit in Ireland for access to Tralee, and the new King George Dock in Kingston upon Hull.

First World War Having what was designated an essential skill, Gibson was refused permission to serve in combat with the British Army. The Army lent him to the Ministry of Munitions, for whom in 1916 he went to the United States as Director General of shell and gun supply. He returned to the UK in 1917 and became controller of Aircraft Requirements and Review. For his services to his country Gibson was appointed an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1918. In 1933 he entered into partnership with Pauling & Co., forming Gibson and Pauling (Foreign) Ltd in 1933 to build the Jebel Aulia Dam on the White Nile, also in Sudan, which was the largest dam in the world at that time.

Death and burial Gibson died aged 61 in 1947 and is buried in Stanwell Burial Ground.