War veteran will be sadly missed (From Penarth Times)

War veteran will be sadly missed

A PENARTH war veteran, who was the chairman of the town council in 1962, and played an active role as a local politician during the late 1950's died recently.

Nigel Lidgett Gibbs was born on May 1, 1922, at The Holmes, Marine Parade, to Marjorie and Lidgett Gibbs, a leading Cardiff docksman and stockbroker.

Nigel passed away on September 1, 2002, aged 80.

He attended Shrewsbury school, where he studied modern languages, which he later used as Hon. French Consul in Cardiff and Newport.

When the war broke out, he joined the RAF, and completed his service in North Africa, Egypt and the Med.

Aged 20, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying medal by King George VI for his contribution.

Towards the end of the war, Nigel married Mary Harries from Barry. They had four children, and lived on Clinton Road.

Nigel was a founder member of the RAF Club in Penarth, and he helped to establish the Air Training Corps in Wales.

He received an O.B.E from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 1964. Nigel's wife Mary also had connections with Penarth, as she wrote a weekly satirical review for the Times about local events, entitled 'The Week that Went'.

His business interests were in shipping and the family firm Gibbs & Co, which operated in a variety of markets.

He also served on the General Council of British Shipping and was chairman of the Cardiff and Bristol Channel Shipowners' Association.

In 1974, Nigel and Mary divorced, and he moved to London to become a prominent member of the Baltic Exchange and the London Welsh Society.

He later married Dorrie Thomas, a journalist with the Western Mail, to whom he was happily married for 28 years. Nigel retired from shipping and joined Hallfield School at the age of 70, as Bursar.

He continued to work until earlier this year, when he was forced to take leave, due to ill health.