At the age of 18 he emigrated to Canada, where he worked on grain silos before becoming a fireman on the Canadian Pacific Railway.

[2] Following the outbreak of the First World War, he paid for his passage home and enlisted with the 3rd Wessex Brigade, Royal Field Artillery.

During the precursor bombardment to the Battle of Arras, on 5 April 1917 Gosling was a battery sergeant in charge of several heavy trench mortars.

The citation for his VC, which appeared in The London Gazette in June 1917, reads as follows: For most conspicuous bravery when in charge of a heavy trench mortar.

He was vice-president of the Wroughton branch of the Royal British Legion and served as a Parish Councillor for 14 years between 1922 and 1936.