Glyn Gilbert
Encyclopedia
Major-General Glyn Charles Anglim Gilbert CB
MC
(1920 - 26 September 2003) was a 20th century British military officer who served during World War II
. In 1970 he became the highest ranking Bermudian
military officer when he was promoted to the rank of Major General in the British Army
.
. His father, Major Charles Gray Gosling Gilbert, OBE, MC, was the long-time head of the Colony's education department (the school of Gilbert Institute, in Paget
, is named for him). Charles Gilbert had been studying in England when the Great War began and took an army commission, serving in the Machine Gun Corps. Glyn Gilbert was born in England, where his father worked briefly after leaving the Army on the end of the Great War. Raised in Bermuda, Glyn was sent to Eastbourne College
in England. After finishing school the year before the start of the Second World War, and anticipating the coming conflict, Glyn returned briefly to Bermuda before enrolling at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst
. The 1939 class of officer cadets was hurried through its training, and Glyn was commissioned into the Lincolnshire Regiment
. Two contingents from the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC)
had served with the Lincolnshire Regiment on the Western Front
, during World War I
. Since the 1920s, the affiliation between the two units had been given official sanction, with the Lincolns taking a paternal relationship to the BVRC, akin to that with its own Territorial battalions. The BVRC would send drafts to the Lincolns again, in 1940, and 1944.
(MC) in the crossing of the Escaut Canal, part of a larger operation to cross the Rhine. He, and another Company Commander involved, was decorated with the medal by Field Marshal Montgomery
, personally. As Gilbert put it, 'later that day [of the crossing], the ribbon was pinned on while we were still in the field. The next day we were relieved by a contingent of Bermudians', which included his cousin, Lieutenant Ambrose Gosling. The Bermudians were part of a draft of Lincolns sent from England, under the command of Bermudian Major Anthony W. F. Smith, who was killed in action shortly thereafter. Glyn ended the War in Northern Germany, where 2 Lincolns had taken part in the capture of Bremen. He was one of four Bermudians to attain the rank of Major in the Lincolns during the War.
parachute display team. Following this, he was promoted to Brigadier General, in command of the Territorial Army’s 44th Parachute Brigade
. After attending the Imperial Defence College, Gilbert became Commandant of the School of Infantry, Warminister, in 1967. While there, he hosted HM the Queen in his own home when she visited the school. He was promoted to Major-General in 1970 and appointed General Officer Commanding
3rd Division before he retired from the Army in 1974.
Maj.-Gen. Gilbert also played a pivotal role in the development of the Bermuda Regiment
, the Bermudian territorial unit formed in 1965 by amalgamating the BVRC (retitled the Bermuda Rifles) with the Bermuda Militia Artillery
. The Bermuda Regiment's original strength was about 400, all ranks. Following discipline problems during an exercise in the West Indies, a report on the unit was commissioned from Maj-General Gilbert, who also took into account the difficulties the Regiment subsequently experienced in meeting its obligations when embodied during the civil unrest of 1977. He made a number of recommendations, including the increase of the Regiment's strength to a full battalion of about 750, with three rifle companies and a support company.
Glyn Gilbert died in 2003, at the age of 83.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
MC
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(1920 - 26 September 2003) was a 20th century British military officer who served during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. In 1970 he became the highest ranking Bermudian
Bermudian
Bermudian or Bermudan may refer to:* Something of, or related to Bermuda* A person from Bermuda, or of Bermudian descent. For information about the Bermudian people, see Demographics of Bermuda and Culture of Bermuda. For specific Bermudians, see List of Bermudians.* Bermudian English, the variety...
military officer when he was promoted to the rank of Major General in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
.
Early life
He was born into a family of Gilberts with its roots in the 17th Century settlement of BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. His father, Major Charles Gray Gosling Gilbert, OBE, MC, was the long-time head of the Colony's education department (the school of Gilbert Institute, in Paget
Paget Parish, Bermuda
Paget Parish is one of the nine parishes of Bermuda. It is named for William Paget, 4th Baron Paget de Beaudesert .The parish is located in the central south of the island chain, immediately south of Hamilton Harbor on the main island. It is joined to Warwick Parish in the southwest, and Devonshire...
, is named for him). Charles Gilbert had been studying in England when the Great War began and took an army commission, serving in the Machine Gun Corps. Glyn Gilbert was born in England, where his father worked briefly after leaving the Army on the end of the Great War. Raised in Bermuda, Glyn was sent to Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College
Eastbourne College is a British co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, situated on the south coast of England, included in the Tatler list of top public schools. The College's current headmaster is Simon Davies. The College was founded by the Duke of Devonshire...
in England. After finishing school the year before the start of the Second World War, and anticipating the coming conflict, Glyn returned briefly to Bermuda before enrolling at the Royal Military College at Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
. The 1939 class of officer cadets was hurried through its training, and Glyn was commissioned into the Lincolnshire Regiment
The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment
The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was raised on June 20, 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751 it was numbered like most other Army regiments and named the 10 Regiment of Foot. After the Childers Reforms of 1881 it became the Lincolnshire...
. Two contingents from the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC)
Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps
The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps was created in 1894 as an all-white racially segregated reserve for the British Regular Army infantry component of the Bermuda Garrison...
had served with the Lincolnshire Regiment on the Western Front
Western Front (World War I)
Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...
, during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Since the 1920s, the affiliation between the two units had been given official sanction, with the Lincolns taking a paternal relationship to the BVRC, akin to that with its own Territorial battalions. The BVRC would send drafts to the Lincolns again, in 1940, and 1944.
Service in World War II
In 1944, Major Gilbert, as Officer Commanding "C" Company, 2 Lincolns, was one of only two Bermudians to land on the beaches of Normandy. He later earned the immediate award of the Military CrossMilitary Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces; and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries....
(MC) in the crossing of the Escaut Canal, part of a larger operation to cross the Rhine. He, and another Company Commander involved, was decorated with the medal by Field Marshal Montgomery
Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein
Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, KG, GCB, DSO, PC , nicknamed "Monty" and the "Spartan General" was a British Army officer. He saw action in the First World War, when he was seriously wounded, and during the Second World War he commanded the 8th Army from...
, personally. As Gilbert put it, 'later that day [of the crossing], the ribbon was pinned on while we were still in the field. The next day we were relieved by a contingent of Bermudians', which included his cousin, Lieutenant Ambrose Gosling. The Bermudians were part of a draft of Lincolns sent from England, under the command of Bermudian Major Anthony W. F. Smith, who was killed in action shortly thereafter. Glyn ended the War in Northern Germany, where 2 Lincolns had taken part in the capture of Bremen. He was one of four Bermudians to attain the rank of Major in the Lincolns during the War.
Post-war service
After the War, Gilbert attached to the Third Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (3 Para), serving in Palestine. He moved through a number of subsequent positions, ultimately transferring wholly to the Parachute Regiment. In 1962, Gilbert was appointed Regimental Colonel of the Parachute Regiment. In that position, he was responsible for a number of significant changes, including the introduction of a battle training course for NCOs at Brecon, which was eventually made mandatory throughout the Infantry, and the creation of the Red DevilsRed Devils (Parachute Regiment)
The Red Devils are the Parachute Regiment's parachute display team. The team wears the distinctive maroon beret. The Red Devils are regular serving paratroopers from the three battalions of the Parachute Regiment who have volunteered to serve on the display team.The team was formed on 1 January...
parachute display team. Following this, he was promoted to Brigadier General, in command of the Territorial Army’s 44th Parachute Brigade
44th Parachute Brigade (V)
The 44th Parachute Brigade was formed on 1st April 1967 from 44th Independent Parachute Brigade Group . The Brigade was the only Territorial Army Parachute formation in the Army's order of battle...
. After attending the Imperial Defence College, Gilbert became Commandant of the School of Infantry, Warminister, in 1967. While there, he hosted HM the Queen in his own home when she visited the school. He was promoted to Major-General in 1970 and appointed General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding
General Officer Commanding is the usual title given in the armies of Commonwealth nations to a general officer who holds a command appointment. Thus, a general might be the GOC II Corps or GOC 7th Armoured Division...
3rd Division before he retired from the Army in 1974.
Maj.-Gen. Gilbert also played a pivotal role in the development of the Bermuda Regiment
Bermuda Regiment
The Bermuda Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. It is a single territorial infantry battalion that was formed by the amalgamation in 1965 of two originally voluntary units, the all white Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps and the mostly black Bermuda Militia...
, the Bermudian territorial unit formed in 1965 by amalgamating the BVRC (retitled the Bermuda Rifles) with the Bermuda Militia Artillery
Bermuda Militia Artillery
The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in Bermuda.-Foundation:...
. The Bermuda Regiment's original strength was about 400, all ranks. Following discipline problems during an exercise in the West Indies, a report on the unit was commissioned from Maj-General Gilbert, who also took into account the difficulties the Regiment subsequently experienced in meeting its obligations when embodied during the civil unrest of 1977. He made a number of recommendations, including the increase of the Regiment's strength to a full battalion of about 750, with three rifle companies and a support company.
Glyn Gilbert died in 2003, at the age of 83.