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Interview with W.D. Gibson.
Please be advised that Memory Project primary sources may deal with personal testimony that reflect the speaker’s recollections and interpretations of events. Individual testimony does not necessarily reflect the views of the Memory Project and Historica Canada.
![]({"id":"0f38caac-4a11-43c9-89de-951def49a166","disk":"s3","directory":"The-Memory-Project\/image","filename":"14895_600","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":13228,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:49.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:49.000000Z","title":"Memory Project Image #14895","alt":"","caption":"An Egyptian shoe shine boy and his little sisters outside a barbed wire enclosure of 'Marina' El Arish, Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea is beyond the date palms and sea shore.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14895 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14895_600.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14895_600.jpg","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","pivot":{"mediable_id":"bf34586c-8803-4caf-a0ad-e9bb93e600d3","media_id":"0f38caac-4a11-43c9-89de-951def49a166","mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Article","tag":"gallery","order":1},"translations":[{"id":"91e68bf2-00f1-40ed-b9bf-caee12928420","media_id":"0f38caac-4a11-43c9-89de-951def49a166","title":"Memory Project Image #14895","alt":"","caption":"An Egyptian shoe shine boy and his little sisters outside a barbed wire enclosure of 'Marina' El Arish, Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea is beyond the date palms and sea shore.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14895 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","locale":"en","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project"},{"id":"4eee4745-3653-4148-8132-21e0a71455b2","media_id":"0f38caac-4a11-43c9-89de-951def49a166","title":"Memory Project Image #14895","alt":"An Egyptian shoe shine boy and his little sisters outside a barbed wire enclosure of 'Marina' El Arish, Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea is beyond the date palms and sea shore.","caption":"An Egyptian shoe shine boy and his little sisters outside a barbed wire enclosure of 'Marina' El Arish, Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea is beyond the date palms and sea shore.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14895 - Veteran #5260","source":"An Egyptian shoe shine boy and his little sisters outside a barbed wire enclosure of 'Marina' El Arish, Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea is beyond the date palms and sea shore.","locale":"fr","credit":"An Egyptian shoe shine boy and his little sisters outside a barbed wire enclosure of 'Marina' El Arish, Egypt. The Mediterranean Sea is beyond the date palms and sea shore."}]} "Memory Project Image #14895")
![Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.]({"id":"7fb0b79c-f586-41f1-aba0-098a9feb7c45","disk":"s3","directory":"The-Memory-Project\/image","filename":"14897_600","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":11282,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:53.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:53.000000Z","title":"Memory Project Image #14897","alt":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","caption":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14897 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14897_600.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14897_600.jpg","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","pivot":{"mediable_id":"bf34586c-8803-4caf-a0ad-e9bb93e600d3","media_id":"7fb0b79c-f586-41f1-aba0-098a9feb7c45","mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Article","tag":"gallery","order":2},"translations":[{"id":"d4e905a7-aa1f-48ec-9ee9-35fff8422986","media_id":"7fb0b79c-f586-41f1-aba0-098a9feb7c45","title":"Memory Project Image #14897","alt":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","caption":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14897 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","locale":"en","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project"},{"id":"a22d81b4-cb5e-499a-af47-3973d74446a1","media_id":"7fb0b79c-f586-41f1-aba0-098a9feb7c45","title":"Memory Project Image #14897","alt":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","caption":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14897 - Veteran #5260","source":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959.","locale":"fr","credit":"Flying Officer Perry (Technical Officer) with Egyptian guards. Cpl. Don Gibson is on the air craft engine. Forced landing in Egypt, May 8, 1959."}]} "Memory Project Image #14897")
![Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.]({"id":"935aacda-7415-48cd-b4b8-a3b4c566ac69","disk":"s3","directory":"The-Memory-Project\/image","filename":"14899_600","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":22358,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:56.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:56.000000Z","title":"Memory Project Image #14899","alt":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","caption":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14899 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14899_600.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14899_600.jpg","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","pivot":{"mediable_id":"bf34586c-8803-4caf-a0ad-e9bb93e600d3","media_id":"935aacda-7415-48cd-b4b8-a3b4c566ac69","mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Article","tag":"gallery","order":3},"translations":[{"id":"c984acfc-812d-4909-9848-9970a4b5b313","media_id":"935aacda-7415-48cd-b4b8-a3b4c566ac69","title":"Memory Project Image #14899","alt":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","caption":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14899 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","locale":"en","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project"},{"id":"35253233-5d94-4f27-8f37-872ad12ef000","media_id":"935aacda-7415-48cd-b4b8-a3b4c566ac69","title":"Memory Project Image #14899","alt":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","caption":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14899 - Veteran #5260","source":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959.","locale":"fr","credit":"Aeronautical map of Egypt, 1959."}]} "Memory Project Image #14899")
![]({"id":"bba0de3c-4751-433e-9b10-b3f034500070","disk":"s3","directory":"The-Memory-Project\/image","filename":"14898_600","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":12727,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:54.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:54.000000Z","title":"Memory Project Image #14898","alt":"","caption":"One of the DC3 aircraft which Cpl. Gibson flew in as a flight tech (crewman) October 1958-September 1959, with the United Nations Emergency Force, 115 Air Transport Unit. El Arish, Egypt.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14898 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14898_600.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14898_600.jpg","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","pivot":{"mediable_id":"bf34586c-8803-4caf-a0ad-e9bb93e600d3","media_id":"bba0de3c-4751-433e-9b10-b3f034500070","mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Article","tag":"gallery","order":4},"translations":[{"id":"f7ba7f18-57f4-46ec-bd5a-9191fced94b4","media_id":"bba0de3c-4751-433e-9b10-b3f034500070","title":"Memory Project Image #14898","alt":"","caption":"One of the DC3 aircraft which Cpl. Gibson flew in as a flight tech (crewman) October 1958-September 1959, with the United Nations Emergency Force, 115 Air Transport Unit. El Arish, Egypt.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14898 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","locale":"en","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project"},{"id":"cec29d46-24b5-4bef-974e-d7070ceb7db4","media_id":"bba0de3c-4751-433e-9b10-b3f034500070","title":"Memory Project Image #14898","alt":"One of the DC3 aircraft which Cpl. Gibson flew in as a flight tech (crewman) October 1958-September 1959, with the United Nations Emergency Force, 115 Air Transport Unit. El Arish, Egypt.","caption":"One of the DC3 aircraft which Cpl. Gibson flew in as a flight tech (crewman) October 1958-September 1959, with the United Nations Emergency Force, 115 Air Transport Unit. El Arish, Egypt.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14898 - Veteran #5260","source":"One of the DC3 aircraft which Cpl. Gibson flew in as a flight tech (crewman) October 1958-September 1959, with the United Nations Emergency Force, 115 Air Transport Unit. El Arish, Egypt.","locale":"fr","credit":"One of the DC3 aircraft which Cpl. Gibson flew in as a flight tech (crewman) October 1958-September 1959, with the United Nations Emergency Force, 115 Air Transport Unit. El Arish, Egypt."}]} "Memory Project Image #14898"){kind=spacer}
![]({"id":"bcda63f1-e279-4d6b-99c5-dc4efe35579d","disk":"s3","directory":"The-Memory-Project\/image","filename":"14896_600","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":12414,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:51.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:51.000000Z","title":"Memory Project Image #14896","alt":"","caption":"'North Star' air-craft which took Gibson and crew to England from Egypt. September 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14896 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14896_600.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14896_600.jpg","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","pivot":{"mediable_id":"bf34586c-8803-4caf-a0ad-e9bb93e600d3","media_id":"bcda63f1-e279-4d6b-99c5-dc4efe35579d","mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Article","tag":"gallery","order":5},"translations":[{"id":"3fc7e5e1-8ae1-476b-b8b1-b268563ab98c","media_id":"bcda63f1-e279-4d6b-99c5-dc4efe35579d","title":"Memory Project Image #14896","alt":"","caption":"'North Star' air-craft which took Gibson and crew to England from Egypt. September 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14896 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","locale":"en","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project"},{"id":"717b4636-dc5c-4d1f-93a9-5828d38063e6","media_id":"bcda63f1-e279-4d6b-99c5-dc4efe35579d","title":"Memory Project Image #14896","alt":"'North Star' air-craft which took Gibson and crew to England from Egypt. September 1959.","caption":"'North Star' air-craft which took Gibson and crew to England from Egypt. September 1959.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14896 - Veteran #5260","source":"'North Star' air-craft which took Gibson and crew to England from Egypt. September 1959.","locale":"fr","credit":"'North Star' air-craft which took Gibson and crew to England from Egypt. September 1959."}]} "Memory Project Image #14896")
![]({"id":"c30c3090-8392-4023-b9f9-38c1db37634b","disk":"s3","directory":"The-Memory-Project\/image","filename":"14894_600","extension":"jpg","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","aggregate_type":"image","size":9286,"variant_name":null,"original_media_id":null,"created_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:48.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-03T05:14:48.000000Z","title":"Memory Project Image #14894","alt":"","caption":"A forced landing from engine failure. Abu Salem, Egypt. 09:00 AM, May 8, 1959. Cpl. Don Gibson is inspecting the engine, and 'Pilot' Flying Officer Bruce Lebans is in the cockpit.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14894 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","conversion_urls":{"original":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14894_600.jpg"},"url":"https:\/\/d2ttikhf7xbzbs.cloudfront.net\/The-Memory-Project\/image\/14894_600.jpg","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","pivot":{"mediable_id":"bf34586c-8803-4caf-a0ad-e9bb93e600d3","media_id":"c30c3090-8392-4023-b9f9-38c1db37634b","mediable_type":"App\\Models\\Article","tag":"gallery","order":6},"translations":[{"id":"683f2d19-13bd-4ee7-b0f4-bb2a03809cb0","media_id":"c30c3090-8392-4023-b9f9-38c1db37634b","title":"Memory Project Image #14894","alt":"","caption":"A forced landing from engine failure. Abu Salem, Egypt. 09:00 AM, May 8, 1959. Cpl. Don Gibson is inspecting the engine, and 'Pilot' Flying Officer Bruce Lebans is in the cockpit.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14894 - Veteran #5260","source":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project","locale":"en","credit":"W.D. Gibson\/The Memory Project"},{"id":"06d0c7b4-8399-494d-be0a-a8f1de895acc","media_id":"c30c3090-8392-4023-b9f9-38c1db37634b","title":"Memory Project Image #14894","alt":"A forced landing from engine failure. Abu Salem, Egypt. 09:00 AM, May 8, 1959. Cpl. Don Gibson is inspecting the engine, and 'Pilot' Flying Officer Bruce Lebans is in the cockpit.","caption":"A forced landing from engine failure. Abu Salem, Egypt. 09:00 AM, May 8, 1959. Cpl. Don Gibson is inspecting the engine, and 'Pilot' Flying Officer Bruce Lebans is in the cockpit.","creator":"Memory Project Image #14894 - Veteran #5260","source":"A forced landing from engine failure. Abu Salem, Egypt. 09:00 AM, May 8, 1959. Cpl. Don Gibson is inspecting the engine, and 'Pilot' Flying Officer Bruce Lebans is in the cockpit.","locale":"fr","credit":"A forced landing from engine failure. Abu Salem, Egypt. 09:00 AM, May 8, 1959. Cpl. Don Gibson is inspecting the engine, and 'Pilot' Flying Officer Bruce Lebans is in the cockpit."}]} "Memory Project Image #14894")
My name is Donald Gibson. I joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1951. Stationed at several places, but Rockcliffe RCAF Station, Ottawa was my home base for quite a few years. Then the Suez Canal crisis broke out in October of 1956. Britain, France and Israel attack Egypt. Now Canada's Lester B. Pearson suggested that a peacekeeping force made up of non-Security Council members of the United Nations be formed. And this was accepted. And the United Nations Emergency Force came into effect shortly after. And Mr. Pearson later became our Prime Minister and a year after this force was formed, he was the first Canadian to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
The first Commander, Canada's contribution, was General E. Allen Burns. He had a firsthand grasp of the situation. A very fine leader. There were ten nations represented in this group. The First United Emergency Force. And they were made up of non-Security members: Canada, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Colombia, Finland, India, Indonesia and Yugoslavia. Our base was halfway between City of Gaza and the Suez Canal. Very close to the Mediterranean Sea.
I was with 115 Air Transport Unit. So my task was aero-engine technician, working on two types of aircraft, single engine Otter aircraft. Also twin engine DC-3s. Both famous aircraft. These aircraft were flying pretty well every day except when they were in... under inspection. Most inspections take several days, so our task was keep the aircraft serviceable. And in the last six months, I made a lot of trips all over the Sinai, over to Cairo, back. Up into Lebanon and we would be carrying troops, food and equipment. We did medevac out of Sharm ash Shaykh, for instance, at the very far end of the Sinai. This is a desperately hot part of the Sinai and many personnel suffered from the heat and exhaustion.
Today, I'll mention this that the wives and families at home deserve our recognition and thanks during separation of one year or more. Many were separated for long periods of time and during this period, my own little daughter was born in Ottawa while I was stationed on the Gaza Strip. And so that's one of the hard things. But the conditions were peaceful. People were friendly. I had no fear. The United Nations personnel, I believe, were excellent diplomats and the people responded.