Walter "Ernest" GIBSON,the son of William JENKINS and "Annie" Elizabeth
GIBSON, was born on 30 Mar 1877 in Hobart, Tasmania.
He was born as Walter Ernest JENKINS according to his birth registration
number 2681/1877. The informant was his aunt Jane Gibson.
His mother Annie
Gibson had been in a relationship with William Jenkins, (an 18 year old
bricklayer) at the time. As was common practice at the time he was raised
by his grandmother as one of her children and so he became known as Ernie
GIBSON.
He was a great sportsman and in 1897 was part of the victorious Hobart
Football Club who won the Premiership in that year. He went on to be an
administrator and coach of junior football and four of his sons were to
become involved in football and rowing and were well renowned for their
sporting prowess.
When Ernie married Janet Isabel Byrnes on 15th March 1898, at the age of
21, he lived at 196 Murray Street Hobart.and was a bootmaker by trade. It
is most likely he was trained in this occupation by his uncle, David
Gibson. They had ten children, the eight who survived were Clyde 1898,
Irene 1899, Len 1901, Will 1907, Phyllis 1910, Jean 1911, Basil 1913 and
Laurel 1915.
On 5th April, 1916 at the age of 39 he enlisted in the Army where he was
listed as a labourer with 5 children (he had 8 children - 3 would have been
working in 1916 ). He was assigned to the 12th Battalion A.I.F. On the 29th
September, 1916 he proceeded overseas to France and on 1st October they
marched into Etaples . He was wounded by a grenade on 13th April, 1917 and
received wounds to the right thigh and left calf.
Ernie was taken as a prisoner of war on 13th April, 1917 by the German Army
and interned in Reserve Lazarette, Fuhlbutteld, Hamburg, Germany. He was
listed by Army H.Q. as wounded and missing in action on 20th June 1917.
On the 28th April 1917 he wrote a letter to the Red Cross:
Dear Sir,
"I beg on behalf of 5 other chums and myself who are Prisoners of War
here and are all wounded we would esteem it a great favour if you could
assist us in any way at all, we are quite unable to receive anything
from home yet, so we thought perhaps you could help us. Thanking you in
anticipation, hoping to hear from you soon."
I remain,
Yours faithfully,
Pte. W. E. Gibson
After the war he was repatriated to England from Reserve Lazarette,
Fuhlsbutteld, Hamburg, Germany and arrived in England on 30 Dec 1918. His
discharge paper from the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force on 7th
June 1919 states:-
"
He is discharged in consequence of being medically unfit through wounds
received in action. Received gunshot wounds left leg and right thigh".
After the war he found it difficult to find work in Hobart, and he ended up
working in the timber mills at Port Esperance (Dover) where he collapsed
and died. on 15th April 1921. His army records state that he died as a
direct result of being gassed during the war, although an inquest said he
died of natural causes. He was boarding with his mother in Hopetoun Road,
Dover at the time of his death.
The following entry was in the "Mercury" newspaper the 16th April, 1921:-
GIBSON:-
On 15th April, 1921 (suddenly) at his mother's (Mrs W Edwards)
residence, Hopetoun, Port Esperence, Tasmania. Walter E the dearly
beloved husband of Janet I Gibson, of 95 Scott Street, New Town. In the
44th year of his age (late of 12 Batt. A.I.F.) Funeral will move from
his mother's residence on Sunday afternoon (tomorrow) at 2 o'clock, for
the Dover Cemetery. Friends respectfully invited to attend.