Private George Gibbs* served in 16th regiment of Dragoons from 1808 to 1810. He was 26 when he enlisted so born circa 1782. His Discharge Certificate shows that he was invalided out as unfit for service because of a wound.

Private Samuel Gibbs* Born 1783 in Deddington. Son of Samuel and Ann. He was 26 when he enlisted. Served in 30th Foot Regiment and the 5th Royal Veteran Battalion 1804-18.  His Discharge Certificate shows that he was unfit for service abroad.

Private Edwin Gibbs enlisted on 13 December 1876 aged 20. His enlistment papers show he was an 'out of employ' labourer.

Benjamin GIBBS# Born Deddington 1869. Joined Royal Marines at Chatham in 1885. Invalided out in 1895. He was the son of Joseph and Mary, both born in Deddington. In the 1881 census the family had moved to London. In 1891 census he is listed as ‘born Deddington. Soldier on Furlough’.

Extracts from The Royal Hospital Chelsea* and Admiralty, Royal Marines# records.  The Supplement to A Parish at War lists other Deddington men from these records who also served.

Corporal Fred Harris (1871-1924) Son of Elizabeth Gibbs (b.1839): Served in Egypt and Africa in the Boer War.

Company Sergeant Major Percy Gibbs (1886 - 1965).Son of Frederick William (b.1855). He served in WWI in The Ox & Bucks until 1916 and then the Devon Regiment. (scroll down article to find Percy)

Private Walter Eden Gibbs (b.1908) Son of John (b.1868) & Emily Gibbs (scroll down article to find Walter)

Where did our Deddington Gibbs serve during their time in the Army or Navy?

This extract from the Chapter on the 18th & 19th Centuries in The Supplement to a A Parish at War explains just how busy the Army and Navy were.

"The Royal Navy was constantly fighting the French (Napoleonic Wars) culminating in The  Battle  of  Trafalgar  in  1805. The  American  War  of  Independence  (1812-15) followed.There was then a period of quiet known as ‘Pax Britannica’ which lasted until  1895  during  which  time  no  major  battles occurred;the  navy  was  used  to bombard shore installations, such as those in the Baltic and Black Sea during the Crimean War in 1854 and 1855, to fight pirates, to hunt down slave ships and to  assist the army when sailors and marines were jointly landed as naval brigades.

The Army, of course, was successful at Waterloo in 1815; after which they were somewhat pre-occupied with two Afghan wars (no great change there), two Sikh Wars in India and the Indian Mutiny, two Opium wars in China, campaigns in Egypt and Sudan (General Gordon’s death at Khartoum), the Crimean War and two Zulu Wars in South Africa – to name but a few."