Michael Gibson, GC (21 June 1906 – 18 October 1940) was a British Army soldier who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for the conspicuous gallantry he displayed in Coventry on 14 September 1940 in defusing a large unexploded bomb.
The area was evacuated and members of the 9th Bomb Disposal Company, Royal Engineers, including Gibson, were called in to defuse them.
The posthumous award of the George Cross to Michael Gibson appeared in The London Gazette on 21 January 1941: On 14 October 1940 a large unexploded bomb fell in an important factory.
On uncovering it an unusual hissing noise was heard coming from the bomb, whereupon Sergeant Gibson sent his men away and immediately set to work on the fuse.
[3] The memorial reads: In Memory of the Seven Men of the Royal Engineers 9th Bomb Disposal Company Who Lost Their Lives When an Unexploded German Bomb Removed from the City Centre Exploded Whilst Being Unloaded Near This Spot for De-Fusing on Whitley Common on 18 October 1940: Gibson's George Cross, Defence Medal and War Medal 1939-45 were sold at auction for £93,000 on 18 December 2012.