Gibson, William: his later life

The last we hear of William Gibson is in the 1881 Census Record where he is listed, with his brother Finlay, residing at their sister Margaret's home in Stevenston. Finlay married and went to live elsewhere in Stevenston but it is less clear what William's next move was. He was not listed in Stevenston in 1891.

There is a possibility that he went back to his old haunts in the East End of London and this may be William and family in 1891:

Name: William Gibson
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1891
County: London
Parish: St George In The East
Ecclesiastical Parish: ST JOHN
Registration District: St George In The East
Residence Note: Great Hermitage Street
Gender: Male
Age: 50
Marital Status: Married
Occupation: Wharf Labourer
Relationship to Head of Household: Head
Birth Year (Estimated): 1841
Birthplace: London, England
Page Number: 29
Registration Number: RG12
Piece/Folio: 288/ 116
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
William Gibson Head Male 50 London, England
Sarah Gibson Wife Female 40 Kent, England
Nellie Gibson Daughter Female 8 London, England
Rosina Gibson Daughter Female 5 London, England
John Foreman Lodger Male 46 Essex, England



The birth year and age fit - he was 40 in the 1881 Census, here he is 50. The strongest clue is mention of St George in the East which was William's district before he joined the Army. His occupation is given as 'Wharf Labourer' and he was a 'labourer' when he enlisted so that is not too much of a stretch. 

He had clearly married, and his first child was 8 in 1891. So he could have started his family about 1883. There were two daughters and a lodger, the latter no doubt a helpful addition to the family income. 

However, this is speculation and apart from the clues as to birth year, parish and occupation more information is required to be certain of the identity of this William Gibson.

Map showing St George in the East - the proximity of the River Thames
makes it a good location for a 'wharf labourer'.

Gibson, Finlay's and William's military records

According to his Army Discharge papers, Finlay was born in 1841 in the parish of St George's East (usually known as Borough, Southwark), London, Middlesex, England. 

His service number was 778 and his rank was Private. His Regiment was the 15th - The King's Regiment of Hussars - to which he attested on 7 April 1859 aged 18 years 6 months.

15th Hussars: The King's Regt.

He was discharged on Pension as shown in WO 97 Chelsea Pensioners British Army Service Records 1760-1913, National Archives reference WO 97 Box 1735 Box record number 105.

There are regrettably no service papers for Finlay Gibson, unlike in his brother William's case. The information available on Finlay is in his Discharge papers - Chelsea Pensioners WO 97.

Finlay was discharged on June 22, 1880 and headed for Stevenston, Ayrshire, to his sister's house.

In due course his brother William, also an Army Pensioner, joined the household, at least for a while. William had been in the 2 Btn 4th Regt of Foot [King's Own Royal Regiment of Foot].for nearly 20 years when he was discharged on 17 Aug 1880 at Preston.
Because some of Finlay's papers are regrettably missing, we know more about William's career than we do about Finlay's. William deserves a more detailed account than there is space for here but note that he appeared on Regimental defaulters 35 times including 4 Courts Martial. On the plus side he was never wounded or injured.

When William joined up he was under age. He deserted immediately and was pardoned. Desertion directly after joining up was not that unusual and reminds us that for young men from poorer backgrounds the Army was an option they were frequently forced to take. It wasn't a matter of patriotic duty but of survival in a harsh world. His father was also a soldier so presumably William and Finlay both knew what to expect.

William, born in Westminster, Middlesex, in June 1842, enlisted on 21 June 1859 at Newington. He was a labourer. His record gives a personal description: Height 5'4 and half" Chest 30", Hair dark, Build slender. He probably hadn't had three square meals a day while growing up. At least he'd be adequately fed in the Army. 

At Discharge he gave his residential address as Newcomen Street, Borough, London. However, he didn't go to that address - it may have been his parents' home at one time; perhaps they were by then both deceased - but to his sister Margaret's in Stevenston, Ayrshire. 

Photo by Lyle Dixon-Smith

[Acknowledgement to Graham Mason for military research.]

Gibson in Stevenston Ayrshire 1881-1891

The 1881 Census entry above shows Margaret McIntyre and her children living in Schoolwell Street Stevenston. Included in her household are her two brothers, William and Findlay [sic], occupations given as Army Pensioners. 

The two Gibsons had recently taken their discharge from the Army and gone to join their widowed sister Margaret in Stevenston, Ayrshire. She was at that time working as a Pauper Sick Nurse, probably earning a pittance.Only one of her children, William aged 15, was working - apprentice cabinet maker. The others were all under twelve and at school. 

It would have been to Margaret's advantage, as well as to her brothers', 

for the latter to form part of the household. But Finlay wouldn't be with her for long as his marriage to Annie Bell meant he would have to find new accommodation.

By the 1891 Census Finlay and family were living at Nobel's Villas, Dynamite Road. He was 50 years old and his occupation was Gatekeeper (at the 'dinnamit'). It's noted that he was a British Subject. His wife Annie, maiden surname Bell, was then 32 and her birthplace is given as Canada (West). This was my great grandmother, who must have been a very busy person. Their children at that date were Ann aged 8 (later married Joe Hamilton), Catherine 6, Mary 5, Margaret 4 and William 2, all born in Stevenston.

Dynamite Road, Stevenston ca 1890-1900

My grandmother, Annie Gibson  - later wife of Joe Hamilton. This photo
was taken in Stevenston shortly before Annie, with daughter Beth, went
out to South Africa. Joe had emigrated there ca 1910.

Tracing a Military Man 5

William Gibson’s military records show that he emerged unscathed at the end of his twenty-year stint in the army. This might indicate that he did not serve at the hotspots of Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift, at least, though there were, of course, other engagements during that conflict – many of them less well-known to posterity.

Here, regimental records, combined with William’s own service documents, provide a useful timeline. If it is not known precisely which company of his battalion the ancestor was in it is difficult to be precise about where he was and when. A general picture, however, can be obtained.

Apparently, William did not arrive in Natal until after the two famous battles mentioned above were over. His unit, 2/4th Foot (King’s Own Royal Regiment) had been stationed at North Camp, Aldershot, in the first week of December 1878, when orders were received to proceed to Natal on active service. Perhaps this came as a welcome break for William who had been at Aldershot since August 1877; now he would see a part of the world he hadn’t visited before.. The change from cold winter weather in England to the blazing heat of the plains of Natal and Zululand would have been a culture shock for the troops.

Durban harbour from the Bluff during the Anglo-Zulu War

Various companies were embarked in the transports Dunrobin Castle and the Teuton, sailing for Cape Town and Durban. The united companies were marched to Pietermaritzburg from Durban – about a fifty-mile hike in full kit -  and here they heard the devastating news of Isandlwana and the subsequent heroic defending action at Rorke’s Drift.

Those desperate engagements might have been too much excitement for William’s taste. There was, however, plenty more to come.

Several companies of William’s battalion were marched to Helpmekaar, and from thence to Utrecht and Greytown. Other reinforcements still garrisoned in Cape Town were brought up the coast in the African, a privately owned mailship, and later marched from Durban to Pietermaritzburg and onward up-country. Their route was swarming with the enemy, who kept mainly out of sight. Three companies, with Major Blake and Capt Moore, were surrounded by a Zulu impi but were not attacked. The battalion was distributed over a wide area, including the Utrecht district, Luneberg etc and on 28 March were involved in the battle at Inhlobana Hill. Some 2^nd/4^th casualties were incurred at Kambula.

Shortly before William had left Aldershot he had been promoted Sergeant on 25 November 1878. This step-up lasted only until 11 May 1880 when William misbehaved again (details not given), was sent back to Preston in England and subsequent to a trial he was reduced to the rank of Private on 2 June 1880. He forfeited 1d pay.

It was the end of the Zulu War for William as well as the end of his army career: he took his discharge on 17 August 1880, while his battalion went on to distinguish themselves in further action during the closing stages of the conflict.

William Gibson's Discharge Papers

William Gibson was certainly not cut in the heroic mould but was one of those hundreds of ordinary British soldiers who fought ‘Victoria’s little wars’, more out of necessity and circumstance than any feelings of patriotism or duty. Perhaps this makes their contribution all the more laudable. Despite the odds and any personal fears, they were prepared to ‘Stand To’ in the face of a warlike foe which was fiercely defending the Zulu homeland. William was finally able to retire peacefully to Ayrshire together with his brother and their sister’s family. After the vicissitudes of his twenty years’ service he would have been entitled to draw his army pension. I believe he had earned it.