Frederick William Gibbins (1 April 1861 – 30 July 1937) was a Welsh businessman and Liberal Party politician.
[1] In the years after the First World War however small, independent, tinplate makers faced difficult economic conditions and, like others in the trade, Gibbins withdrew from production.
[2] In 1910 the sitting Liberal MP for the constituency of Mid Glamorganshire, Samuel Thomas Evans resigned his seat to take up the post of President of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice.
This resulted in a by-election and the Mid Glamorgan Liberal and Labour Association selected Gibbins to fight the seat.
Gibbins was initially reluctant having given certain private assurances that he would not contest the election but he was prevailed upon to change his mind and having consulted his close friends (and perhaps getting the permission of his wife), he agreed to stand.
[7] The by-election was acrimonious because it signalled a rupture between the Liberals and organised Labour in the area, especially the South Wales Miners Federation.
It also caused internal conflicts within the South Wales Miners Federation, with William Brace, their Vice-President, opposing the intervention of a Labour candidate.
[12] In 1916 Gibbins was appointed a member of the Appeal Tribunal for Glamorgan under the Military Service Act 1916 which introduced conscription.