Stanley Frederick Gibbs

Stanley Frederick Gibbs, GC (2 January 1909 – 3 March 1991) was an Australian shipping clerk and an exchange recipient of the George Cross, the highest civil decoration for heroism in the United Kingdom and formerly in the Commonwealth. On 3 January 1927, the day after his eighteenth birthday, Gibbs went to the rescue of 15-year-old Mervyn Allum during a shark attack at Port Hacking, New South Wales. He managed to fend off the shark by striking at it with his legs and fists and, with the assistance of a friend, pulled Allum clear of the water. Although Allum died from his injuries, Gibbs was publicly praised by the coroner and local community leaders for his actions, and was subsequently awarded the Albert Medal.

Born in Hunters Hill, Sydney, and educated locally, Gibbs was employed by the Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) as a shipping clerk for forty-five years. During the Second World War, he enlisted as a private in the Second Australian Imperial Force in February 1942 and served with the 35th Battalion on home defence and patrolling duties in Sydney and Western Australia for two years. The battalion was deployed to New Guinea in January 1944 for service in the Huon Peninsula campaign, but Gibbs' overseas experience was short lived. He broke his leg on the day of arrival, and spent an extended period in hospitals in New Guinea and Australia. Discharged in December 1944, he returned to his work with AGL. On 21 October 1971, the British Prime Minister announced that the Albert Medal would be discontinued and living recipients would henceforth be regarded as holders of the George Cross. Recipients were given the option of exchanging insignia which Gibbs took up and received the insignia of the George Cross from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in 1972. Aged 82, Gibbs died in Bondi, New South Wales, in 1991.

Early life Stanley Frederick Gibbs was born in the Sydney suburb of Hunters Hill, New South Wales, on 2 January 1909. Known as "Stan", he was the first of four children to Lindsay Thomas Gibbs and Edith Trevillion, who wed the year of his birth. He was followed by two sisters, Ellen in 1910 and Phyllis in 1912, and a brother, Lindsay, in 1917. The specifics of Gibbs' education are unclear, but he left high school before achieving an Intermediate Certificate and at first worked as a shop assistant in a men's store. Gibbs later gained a position with the Australian Gas Light Company (AGL) as a shipping clerk,

Port Hacking shark attack On 3 January 1927, following a venture out to Gunnamatta Bay, Gibbs was piloting a launch back into the Grays Point area of Port Hacking when a scream rang out. Gibbs looked up and noticed 15-year-old Mervyn Allum struggling in the water about from the shore. Subsequent reports indicate that the other bathers first thought that Allum, who was known to be a good swimmer, was drowning. Gibbs, however, quickly realised that the youth's leg had been grabbed by a shark. Gibbs had to strike at the shark with his legs and fists and grasp its dorsal fin before the shark would release its grip. While Gibbs' friend, Donald Campbell, rowed a boat towards the pair, Gibbs maintained a hold on the now unconscious Allum, trod water, and splashed to discourage further attacks. Vivienne was also present in the launch during the shark attack, and reportedly had to be restrained by another friend to prevent her "from diving to her brother's assistance." #tag:ref|Donald Campbell, meanwhile, received a certificate of merit. Gibbs also received an offer to join the local Surf Life Saving Club, but declined.

Career and Second World War

Standing beside the Duke and Duchess was the slim figure of a young man, a hero whose dauntless courage had thrilled the hearts of his countrymen, yet whose blanched face told the story of inevitable nervousness in the face of public acclamation. It was Stanley Gibbs the hero of the Port Hacking shark tragedy for part of this great demonstration was for him as well as for the noble pair who shared it with him. — Sydney Morning Herald, 30 March 1927 Gibbs gained some level of celebrity following his investiture. He was frequently featured in the press over the following few months, and even became sought after for his autograph. A photograph of Gibbs with Issy Smith VC, captioned "Two Heroes", adorned the pages of The Argus the next day.

The attention did not interfere with Gibbs' professional life, and he continued in his role at AGL. On 20 April 1929, at St Stephen's Church of England in Newtown, Gibbs wed Catherine Charlotte Coulson. and Gibbs remarried eighteen months later. His second wedding, to Rosamunde Marcelle Walker, occurred at St Stephen's on 20 April 1935, though the marriage was to end in divorce in the 1940s.

alt=A mid-length black and white photograph of two men in suits engaged in conversation. They are outside, and have medals on their left breasts. Gibbs (right) with Issy Smith VC at the Melbourne Anzac Day march on 25 April 1927. Gibbs spent six weeks undergoing exercises with the 8th Training Battalion, before being allocated to the 35th Battalion as a private on 16 March. The 35th, a Militia unit assigned to the 8th Brigade, was employed in the defence of Australia following Japan's entry into the war and was initially posted to the St Ives area of Sydney. From early July the battalion relocated to Western Australia—Gibbs boarded in Sydney on 4 July, disembarking at Fremantle ten days later. During this time, the 35th Battalion moved to Gordonvale, Queensland, in preparation for a deployment to New Guinea, and undertook training in jungle warfare. For his service during the Second World War, Gibbs was eligible for the Pacific Star, War Medal 1939–1945 and Australia Service Medal 1939–1945, though he did not claim his medals until 1973.

George Cross and later life Following his divorce from Rosamunde, Gibbs married for a third time. He wed Doris Mannix at St Matthew's Church of England in Bondi on 9 September 1948. All six Australian Albert Medal recipients living at the time opted to accept the offer, Gibbs and four others travelling to London to receive their awards. The five men, Jack Chalmers, Robert Kavanaugh, William McAloney, Dick Richards and Gibbs, were presented with their George Crosses by Queen Elizabeth II in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 12 July 1972.

In 1974, during an interview on his Albert Medal actions, Gibbs remarked that he had "never been back to Port Hacking since". He retired from AGL that year after forty-five years service, and settled in Bondi. An enthusiastic sportsman, Gibbs played tennis, golf, football, baseball and, in his twilight years, lawn bowls with the Bronte Bowling Club. In 1977, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. Gibbs died in Bondi on 3 March 1991, aged 82. Survived by his third wife, and by a daughter and son from an earlier marriage, Gibbs' body was cremated and his ashes interred at the Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park in Matraville. Gibbs is commemorated by a plaque in the George Cross Park, Canberra.