Bobby Gibbes (6 May 1916 – 11 April 2007) was an Australian fighter ace of World War II, and the longest-serving wartime commander of No. 3 Squadron RAAF. He was officially credited with 10¼ aerial victories, although his score is often reported as 12, including 2 shared; he commanded No. 3 Squadron in North Africa during 1942–43. A jackaroo and salesman before joining the Royal Australian Air Force in 1940, Gibbes flew with No. 3 Squadron in the Middle East, and became commanding officer during the Western Desert Campaign. His leadership and fighting skills earned him the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Posted to the South West Pacific in 1944, he served with No. 80 Wing of the Australian First Tactical Air Force, and took part in the "Morotai Mutiny" of April 1945. After the war he spent many years in New Guinea developing local industry, for which he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2004. He continued to fly until he was 85..
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medal_of_the_Order_of_Australia
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1801:
French Revolutionary Wars: The outmanned and outgunned HMS Speedy captured the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_6_May_1801
1954:
At Oxford's Iffley Road Track, English runner Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_mile
1991:
Time magazine published "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", an article highly critical of Scientology, leading to years of legal conflict. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thriving_Cult_of_Greed_and_Power
2013:
Amanda Berry escaped from the Cleveland, Ohio, home of her captor Ariel Castro having been held there with two other women for ten years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Castro_kidnappings
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
staid: 1. Not capricious or impulsive; sedate, serious, sober. 2. (rare) Always fixed in the same location; stationary. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/staid
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The secret of liberty is to enlighten men, as that of tyranny is to keep them in ignorance. --Maximilien Robespierre https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maximilien_Robespierre
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