53rd Welsh Division

Lt-Col. J.T. Gibson

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Lieutenant-Colonel J.T. Gibson
1/5th Battalion, Welch Regiment

“Hoot” Gibson was the hero of many daring escapes. In India, Africa, Sicily, Italy and France, and other fighting fronts wherever the Wech Regiment was in the thick of battle, soldiers talked of him as a dashing, fearless leader whom they would follow “into hell.” In between battles he found time to indulge in hunting and yachting.

(Liverpool Daily Post, 5 Oct 1944, 4)

Born on 18 September 1903 in Deal, Kent, Jack Tremayne Gibson was a sportsman, naturalist and big game hunter. A graduate of RMC, Sandhurst, he was commissioned into the Welch Regiment in 1923 and served with the King’s African Rifles from 1930 to 1936. He participated in almost every theatre India to North Africa to Europe. He fought with the 1st Battalion, Welch Regiment, surviving the near destruction of the unit twice in Crete and Libya.

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Lt-Col. E.R.G. Ripley

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Lieutenant-Colonel E.R.G. Ripley
1/5th Battalion, Welch Regiment

Colonel Ripley, a giant of a man resembling a Viking went on a recce, with me, in a jeep towards the hamlet of Le Valtru. After passing Cheux, he became restless. It was getting dark and approaching the crossroads, he leaped off the jeep and strode down the road towards the buildings. He was challenged by a sentry, failed to respond (he had a hearing defect) and was shot. A dreadful blow at a time when we hadn’t been bloodied.

(Capt. Bill Tudor quoted from Patrick Delaforce, Red Crown and Dragon, 38)

Born on 5 November 1911 in Yorkshire, Edward Robert Guy Ripley was heir to the baronet Ripley, of Acacia, Rawdon, West Riding of Yorkshire and Bedstone House, Shropshire. He was educated at Stowe School, Buckingham and commissioned with the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry. His great-grandfather, Sir Henry William Ripley, 1st Baronet (1813–1882) was a member of parliament and his father Henry William Alfred Ripley, 3rd Baronet (1879–1956) was a Boer War veteran and colonel in the First World War.

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Lt-Col. H.W. Tyler

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 Lieutenant-Colonel H.W. Tyler
7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers

Born on 7 March 1909 in Honiton, Devon, Hugh William Tyler was a Territorial Army officer commissioned into the South Wales Borderers in 1929. He was promoted to captain in 1938, and had served widely before the war including in Japan, Palestine, China, India and Northern Ireland. At the start of the Second World War, he was attached to the headquarters staff of 8th Division.

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Lt-Col. G.F.T.B. Dickson

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Lieutenant-Colonel G.F.T.B. Dickson
7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers

Bullets spattered on the wall of the house within a few inches of him and one burst of MG fire shot away the rubble of bricks on which he was standing. One bullet from this burst slightly wounded him in the leg. But Col. Dickson remained unperturbed and continued to direct his fire and encouraged his men in their assault. The crossing was made, but there can be no doubt that it succeeded because of Col. Dickson’s outstanding bravery and fine example. 

(D.S.O. citation, 1 March 1945)

Born on 3 August 1914 in London, George Frederick Thomas Benson Dickson was a Territorial Army officer, commissioned with Royal Welch Fusiliers in 1934. He became acting captain in June 1940 and after a period as battalion adjutant he attended staff college. He was promoted to temporary major in late 1941, and commanded a company 7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, which deployed to Normandy in later June 1944.

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Lt-Col. A.H. Williams

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Lieutenant-Colonel Humprey Williams
1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers
7th Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers

Colonel Humphrey Williams was … actually, he resigned, for somewhile we’d be trying to work out why he resigned. We know from his own personal diary that when he was put in command, he had certain doubts about whether he would be acceptable to the battalion. He was acceptable. He was a superb leader of men.

(Michael Anthony Demetriadi, IWM interview, Dec 2007)

Born on 2 June 1908 in Resolven, Glamorgan, Wales, Albert Humphrey Williams was a schoolteacher and Territorial Army officer, commissioned with the 7th (Montgomeryshire) Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers since 1932. He mobilized with the 1st Battalion and was wounded during the Battle of France in May 1940. He became to second-in-command when the 1st RWF was sent to the Far East to fight the Japanese in the Burma campaign.

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Lt-Col. J.M.K. Spurling

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Lieutenant-Colonel J.M.K. Spurling
2/5th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers
4th Battalion, Welch Regiment

You’ve well reached the end of a long journey. Think of it—the Canadian Army in Berlin. Your experiences here are something to take home and remember … our finest and greatest brothers in the army—the Canadian Army.

(Quoted in Globe and Mail, 16 Jul 1945, 9)

Born on 9 May 1906 in Oundle, Northamptonshire, John Michael Kane Spurling joined the 4th Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment before completing RMC, Sandhurst and taking a commission with the Leicestershire Regiment in 1927. He was stationed overseas in India and Palestine and attended the staff college at Camberley in 1939. During the early part of the Second World War, he served as a general staff officer in the United Kingdom, the Middle East and the Far East.

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Lt-Col. F.F.E. Allen

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Lieutenant-Colonel Freddie Allen
1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment (The Buffs)
1st Battalion, East Lancashire Regiment

Throughout the long and anxious period of 27 hours, Lt-Col Allen, in spite of his wound, lack of sleep and his heavy responsibilities, continued to command his battalion with great skill, calm confidence and outstanding personal gallantry. His personal example and superb fighting qualities ensured beyond any doubt that his battalion’s objective was held firm, and that by their offensive spirit whey were able to destroy very large number of the enemy who were equally determined to regain the vital ground captured and held secure by this battalion.

(D.S.O. Bar citation, 19 Apr 1945)

Born on 30 December 1912 in Middlesex, London, Frederick Fernley Edmund Allen was an insurance broker educated at Brighton College. He joined the Territorial Army in 1937 and took a commission with the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. He became a replacement second-in-command for the 1st Battalion, Suffolk Regiment a month after the D-Day landings. He took command in August 1944 and October when successive commanding officers were wounded in action.

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