Bobby Gibbes

Robert Henry Maxwell (Bobby) Gibbes DSO, DFC & Bar, OAM (6 May 1916 – 11 April 2007) was a leading Australian fighter ace of World War II. He was officially credited with shooting down 10¼ enemy aircraft,Odgers, The Royal Australian Air Force, p.125Garrisson, Australian Fighter Aces, p.133 Born in rural New South Wales, Gibbes worked as a jackaroo and salesman before joining the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in February 1940. Posted to the Middle East in May 1941, he became Commanding Officer of No. 3 Squadron RAAF during the North African campaign, where his leadership and fighting skills earned him the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Subsequently posted to the South West Pacific Theatre, he served with the Australian First Tactical Air Force, and took part in the "Morotai Mutiny" of April 1945. After the war he spent many years in New Guinea, developing local industry, for which he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2004. He died in April 2007, at the age of 90.

Early career

Born in Young, a rural community in New South Wales, Gibbes came from an old colonial family. His great-grandfather, Colonel John George Nathaniel Gibbes, built his residence...
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