Patrick Gibbs

Wing Commander Reginald Patrick Mahoney Gibbs, (2 April 1915 – 8 March 2008) was a British military pilot and journalist. Gibbs fought in the Second World War and was noted for his specialised torpedo attacks against shipping.

Early history Gibbs was born in Penarth, Wales, on 2 April 1915, the son of shipowner and Wales international rugby player Reggie Gibbs. He was educated at Oundle School in Northamptonshire and was awarded a cadetship to RAF College Cranwell in 1934. At Oundle and Cranwell, Gibbs, like his father, excelled as a sportsman, especially in rugby, tennis and squash. He trained as a pilot and specialised in maritime strike and reconnaissance. and was seconded to the Fleet Air Arm for two years. With them he flew Shark and Swordfish planes off aircraft carriers, and he gained his first experience of launching torpedoes from the air. based at RAF North Coates, Lincolnshire. He then commenced a year-long tour of duty running sorties against enemy shipping off the coasts of Norway and the Netherlands and bombing raids on Biscay ports. He was promoted to temporary squadron leader on 1 March 1941, and on 26 September he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his performance in that role. By then he was in the midst of another six-month stint training pilots. He was promoted temporary wing commander on 1 June 1942. Gibbs flew four sorties from Malta between 22 July and 4 August, twice turning back the convoys. On the final sortie his Beaufort was badly damaged and he crash landed his plane on Malta for a second time.

Gibbs continued leading attacks throughout August, which had a considerable impact on the war in the Mediterranean and altered the attitude of RAF command towards aerial tactics. By then Gibbs was exhausted and returned to Britain, and on 18 September the award of the Distinguished Service Order was gazetted:

Gibbs' rank of squadron leader was made fully substantive on 20 November 1942, and backdated all the way to 1 March 1941. He was kept from operational service and was given a role in the Air Ministry, but by 1944 the strain from his flying days caught up with him and he was invalided out as a wing commander on 24 February.

While in the Air Ministry, Gibbs wrote a book on his experiences, Not Peace but a Sword. The book took in his early life and his war experiences up to his posting in Cairo. The book was a success and he began work on a sequel, but his publishers believed that with the end of the war the book would not be as well received and it was shelved.

Career in journalism After the end of the war Gibbs invested in a chain of laundrettes, but his career shifted after a friend introduced him to actress Muriel Pavlow. He and Pavlow became lifelong friends, and Pavlow in turn introduced him to dramatic critic of The Daily Telegraph, W A Darlington. Darlington invited Gibbs to review some minor works for the paper as a stringer. During this period, the Telegraph's film critic, George Campbell Dixon, was frequently ill and Gibbs often picked up his work. In 1960, Dixon left the post and Gibbs took over his duties. He was an observant critic, but sometimes irked readers with his detailed summary of a film's plot. He had little time for celebrity or the Hollywood system and his reviews were independent and tended to concentrate on acting and production.

Although a film critic, Gibbs preferred theatre and opera in particular. He enjoyed trips to France and Italy, and his job took him to film festivals all over the world. He retired from his role in the Telegraph in 1987, and in 1992 he finally released his second book Torpedo Leader on Malta. The book was released to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the award of the George Cross to Malta.

Later life and death Gibbs was married twice; his first to Nina Thruston in 1947 was dissolved 12 years later. He then married Jane Eyre and they had two children. Gibbs died on 8 March 2008 at the age of 92.

Published works Not Peace but a Sword, Cassells (1943) Torpedo Leader on Malta, Grub Street (1992)