Canon Robert Milner Gibson KHC, MA – once our Vicar and Chaplain to His Majesty King Edward VIII and His Majesty King George VI was born in Kingston Upon Thames on 16th March 1889. Robert moved to Wimbledon in 1891 with his parents Robert Francis Gibson and Alice Victoria (nee Jones). The 1901 census shows that the family had moved to Edgbaston in Birmingham and 10 years later Robert Milner Gibson was living as a student in Kings Norton (an area of Birmingham). He graduated from Cambridge 3 years earlier and went on to gain an M.A.
By 1912-16 he was curate at St Mary’s Handsworth where he met his fiancée Lois Rathlin and they married in 1916. In that same year Revd Gibson moved to become Vicar at St Michaels, Boldmere in Sutton Coldfield. On 27th March 1917, he was appointed as a temporary Chaplain of the Forces (4th class Captain). Records show that he reported to the War Office on 17th April that same year and landed in France on 24th April 1917.
His service records detail that his religion is Church of England and that he was 5’10” tall and weighed 11 stone (70 Kilos). His next of kin being his wife Lois Rathlin Gibson, living at 22 Selborne Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham.
Strangely in April 1918 his service record shows that he relinquished his commission – having not served a full year in France – and there is no note on his service file that he was wounded. However, two years after the cessation of the First World War he applied for his medals whilst Vicar at St Augustine’s, Edgbaston, Birmingham. It was during his incumbency at the latter when he became the Honorary Chaplain to HM Forces.
From 1920-27 he was Vicar at St Germain, Edgbaston and his residence was 461 City Road, Birmingham. Between 1923-27 he was Clerical Secretary for the Birmingham Diocese Conference and in 1926 he was appointed Chief Messenger for the “World Call”. From 1926-27 he became Honorary Chaplain to the Bishop of Birmingham (Ernest Barnes) until becoming the Vicar of our Parish Church in 1927 and remained Vicar of St John the Baptist Church until October 1932. Whilst our Vicar he was made Honorary Canon of Peterborough Cathedral from 1931-32 and concurrently held the position of Chaplain of the Forces (Territorial Army) – an appointment he held from 1921 until 1939.
We know that from 1933-1938 his residence was Crandley Gardens, Brompton, London and that from 1936-1940 he was Chaplain to King Edward VIII 1936, and King George VI 1936-1940 and was entitled to wear the badge of the Chaplain to the King. Honorary Chaplains wear a scarlet cassock and a special bronze medal consisting of the royal cypher and crown within an oval wreath. The badge is worn below medal ribbons or miniature medals during the conduct of religious services and the left side of the scarf by Chaplains who wear the scarf and on the left side of academic or ordinary clerical dress.
In 1939 whilst one of King George VI’s Chaplains he became Senior Chaplain of the 47th Division (London Infantry).
Reverend Canon Robert Milner Gibson served as a temporary Chaplain with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France during WW1 and in the United Kingdom during WW2. He is entitled to the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, the Defense Medal and the 1937 Coronation Medal.
When his Chaplaincy to the King ceased he became Rector of St Margaret’s Westminster (1941-46) and would be called upon to undertake services at St Mary the Undercroft within the Palace of Westminster.
What is known is that Canon Robert Gibson witnessed the horrors of the Battle of Passchendaele in 1917 which resulted in 500,000 allied deaths and 336,000 allied casualties. Many believe that Gibson’s traumatic experiences may have been the major reason he relinquished his commission – having witnessed death and destruction all around him on a massive scale during the 3rd Battle of Ypres. Indeed, Field Marshal Douglas Haig’s tactical decision to continue the offensive is debated to this day.
It is believed Revd Canon Robert Gibson died at his London home in 1967.