Description
Meritorious Service Medal, VR Issue, Quartermaster Sergeant Thomas Gibson, Royal Artillery.
Quartermaster Sergeant Thomas Gibson, who held the service number “1”, was born in 1805 in Dumfries, and served in the Royal Artillery from 1824 until 1862, totalling 38 years and 259 days of service.
Officially impressed: “Color Serjt T. Gibson, Royal Artillery.”
Awarded this medal and £10 gratuity for Meritorious Service in General Order dated 14th June 1854.
A particularly early award of the medal, the having been recently instituted in 1845.
With copy service papers, death certificate and census etc.
Thomas was born in the small town of Lochmaben, home of Lochmaben Castle, in Dumfries, Scotland during 1805.
Aged 19 he attested for service in the Royal Regiment of Artillery at Dumfries on 15th January 1824.
As a soldier at this time, you only had to complete your 21 years contract to gain a pension, he was discharged after 38 years “having completed a service of 21 years and afterwards” having gone far past what was required.
By the time of his discharge he had no slip ups recorded, without any entries in the Regimental Defaulters Book or Court Martials.
His conduct overall was said to be “Exemplary”, as good as could be recorded.
Out of his extensive 38 years 259 days of service, 15 years and 4 months were spent posted overseas consisting of:
Gibraltar, 9 years 2 months,
Corfu, 6 years 2 months.
He saw the following promotions:
Gunner, 1st January 1824 – 18th August 1827
Bombardier, 19th August 1827 – 31st December 1829
Corporal, 1st January 1830 – 17th July 1831
Serjeant, 18th July 1831 – 31st August 1837
Colour Serjeant, 1st September 1837 – 14th July 1854
Quartermaster Serjeant, 15th July 1854 – 16th September 1862.
Appointed as QMS to 5th Battalion RA.
He finally retired on 20th August 1862, at 57 years old.
Next spotted in 1871, he was living at Heath Cottage in Bostal Heath, noted as a “Pensioenr Royal Artillery” living with his wife Ann, 41 and daughter Elizabeth, it is recorded his daughter was born in “Africa British Subject” during 1857 whilst he was on overseas service.
He certainly had a large family, as back on the 1841 Census, he was living in Woolwich with the Army, his previous wife Isabella, alongside various Children, Thomas Junior, Isabella, Catherine, Charlotte and George.
After enjoying his long deserved retirement for 20 years, he died on 26th February 1882 at Woolwich, Kent, aged 77, a “Pensioned Brigade Quartermaster Sergeant Royal Artillery”.
