Tom Kibble - his story
His son, David, writes > Thomas (Tom) George Kibble was born in May 1924, and grew up with his family in Peckham. (In the above photo, he is shown with his big sister, Vera.) At the age of 14, he left school to deliver parcels on his bicycle around London to haberdasheries. His older brother, Bill, served as a police constable and later joined the RAF as a navigator, inspiring Tom to pursue a similar career. At 17, he enlisted in the Air Training Corps at Cardington Air Station in Bedfordshire.
During his time in the Air Training Corps, Tom was stationed at an airfield near Oxford, where he assisted in refuelling aircraft and lived in a dormitory.
In 1942, at the age of 18, Tom enlisted in the RAF, but unfortunately, his dream of becoming an aircrew member was thwarted due to his susceptibility to air sickness. Undeterred, he decided to pursue a different role and enlisted as a wireless operator at Chigwell. He explained that his primary responsibility was to use morse code.
Tom served with the Americans for approximately six months in the UK, where he underwent training for the Normandy landing. On June 6, 1944, D-Day, he embarked on a journey to France as a radio operator with the American 1st Infantry Division from Portland Sands, located near Weymouth. He fondly remembered receiving his helmet from an American, which provided him with enhanced protection. However, after sustaining a wound, he was mistaken for an American!
Tom recounted the challenging journey across the English Channel, where he and many others endured severe seasickness. Despite the discomfort, they were filled with anticipation for the moment of landing. He waded onto the beach, where he witnessed the grim reality of war, with dead bodies scattered everywhere. He vividly remembered seeing men kneeling and praying in despair, with nowhere to turn. Tragically, he was shot in the leg by a sniper and rendered unable to walk. Later, he was struck by shrapnel in his back. Fortunately, a US medic administered morphine to him, and he was later propped against a sea wall.
Later that night, a German soldier succumbed to his injuries beside him and died. Tom described himself as being in a state of shock but managed to stay awake throughout the night, unable to move. He was constantly fearful of being bombed as he watched German planes flying overhead and targeting Allied ships offshore.
The following morning, he was carried on the back of a jeep to a US military field hospital. He was informed that his wounds necessitated surgery in the UK. I recall that he had shrapnel near his spine that was never removed. He embarked on a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) repurposed as a hospital ship back to the UK. He mentioned that some individuals succumbed during that journey. He subsequently underwent rehabilitation at a US military hospital and later at a British hospital. The duration of his stay remains uncertain, but after that, he was transferred to an RAF station in Lincolnshire, where he performed light duties. Once deemed fit, he was sent via India to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), where he contracted malaria. Subsequently, he found himself in Labuan, an island in Borneo, where he intercepted messages, passing them on to the Australians for decryption. He remained in Labuan until Japan surrendered, diligently guarding prisoners of war until they could be repatriated to Japan.
Upon his return home, he discovered that his father, who had served in the Boer War and World War I, had passed away due to a heart attack. Their home in Peckham had been bombed, so the family was provided with a prefab bungalow in Surrey. When he later married my mother, they were offered a council house. He joined the Surrey Fire Brigade, eventually rising to the rank of station officer within the London Fire Brigade. He retired at the age of 55 and embarked on a 10-year career in the civil service. He was stationed at Buckingham Palace but was responsible for overseeing all the Crown buildings in London, including government buildings, the Old Bailey, and Royal Palaces.
He yearned for a purple heart, so my daughter, before he passed away, gifted him one from an antiques market. My brother Peter and I then took him back to Omaha Beach. We visited Omaha Cemetery, the nearby German Cemetery at La Cambe, and the Bayeux Cemetery, all places chosen by my father. This was the first time he had shared his experiences of D-Day with us. Looking out over Omaha Beach, he became emotional. The number of very young men buried at Bayeux deeply affected him, particularly their ages. We also visited Pointe du Hoc to the west, where the United States Army Provisional Ranger Group had successfully attacked and captured on D-Day after scaling the cliffs.
Tom returned once more with my stepmother for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. He passed away in 2011.
Throughout his life, he dedicated himself to serving our country in both military and fire service, never seeking anything in return. He suffered severe burns in a fire and, on another occasion, fell after a hook ladder he was using to reach a windowsill broke away from the window frame. He was once hospitalised in intensive care due to a relapse of malaria.
It’s remarkable how he reached old age, while many others didn’t.
In 2024, I returned to Normandy and visited the RAF Omaha Memorial at Vierville-sur-Mer. It serves as a lasting tribute to the courageous British and Commonwealth Air Force men who bravely landed on “Bloody Omaha.”
