Humphrey Gibbs

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Sir Humphrey Vicary Gibbs, GCVO, KCMG, (November 22, 1902 – 1990) was the penultimate Governor of the colony of Southern Rhodesia (1959-1970) who served through, and opposed, the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.

Contents 1 Early history 2 As Governor of Rhodesia 3 Under siege 4 Additional notes 5 External links 6 References:

[edit] Early history

Gibbs was born on 22 November 1902 in England, the third son of the first Baron Hunsdon. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge. He moved to Southern Rhodesia in 1928, buying a farm at Nyamandhlovu near Bulawayo. Gibbs became active in farming administration and helped found the National Farmers Union. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1948 as a United Party member; he served one term, standing down in 1954.

[edit] As Governor of Rhodesia

In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II appointed Gibbs Governor of Southern Rhodesia and awarded him the KCMG in 1960. The Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the Rhodesian Front Government (under Prime Minister Ian Smith) in November 1965 placed Gibbs in a very difficult position: He was intensely loyal to Rhodesia - and was a close friend of Ian Smith, but while understanding what had made Smith's government declare the UDI, he was also equally loyal to his office as the Queen's viceroy. Deciding that final legality rested in the Crown and not Prime Minister Smith, he declared that by its action of the UDI, the Rhodesian Government had established itself as an outlaw regime. So when Ian Smith and Deputy Prime Minister Clifford Dupont called on Gibbs after the UDI was signed, he formally dismissed Smith and his cabinet from office (though the Rhodesian Government simply ignored the dismissal, justifying this on the grounds that the UDI and new constitution made Gibbs' position redundant).

[edit] Under siege

Several high-ranking officers of the Rhodesian Military did go to Gibbs earlier in the day and made a statement of loyalty to him, asking Gibbs to issue a warrant so that they could arrest Smith and Dupont, but Gibbs knew that bulk of the Officer Corps, as well as the rank and file of the Rhodesian military were solidly behind Smith's government and that such a move would lead to a coup d'etat.

Gibbs announced that despite the UDI, he had no intention of resigning his office or leaving Rhodesia, and that therefore, he would remain in Government House as the sole legal representative of Queen Elizabeth II (thus making Dupont's appointment by Smith as the Officer Administering the Government baseless in international law).

According to Gibbs' biographer (Alan J. Megahey), this action led to four years of harassment and petty afflictions by the Rhodesian Government, resulting in making Gibbs and his wife virtually prisoners in Government House. Megahey further stated that the Smith regime attempted to compel Gibbs to leave several times and isolated him from the people. However, with the assistance of a small staff, led by Sir John Pestell, he managed to remain defiant. In 1969, Gibbs resigned after Smith's government ran and passed a referendum in 1968 making Rhodesia a republic.

Gibbs resigned because as the voters had solidly supported the move towards Rhodesia being a republic, he felt that there was no further point in continuing to represent the Queen at that point. He left Government House and shortly afterwards travelled to take formal leave of the Queen in Britain. He then returned to Southern Rhodesia and lived the rest of his life on his farm (1970-1983) and latterly in Salisbury/Harare (1983-1990) where he died. He was appointed to the Privy Council and was made a GCVO by The Queen, an Order of Knighthood in her personal gift. His wife, Dame Molly Gibbs, was awarded the DBE in 1969.

[edit] Additional notes

• According to Ian Smith's memoir Bitter Harvest, Smith had left instructions immediately after the UDI that Gibbs was not to be harassed or to be forced out of Government House. Smith - in the same memoir - made no mention of Gibbs giving either him or any member of his cabinet a dismissal notice. Indeed, he stated that Gibbs had intended to leave Government House and return to his farm, but the day after the UDI, decided to stay at his post after London instructed him to do so.
• Clifford Dupont's recollection of meeting Gibbs on Nov. 11, 1965 was that he noticed that Gibbs was 'visibly distressed' and said "Gentlemen, you realize that I cannot agree or condone your decision". Dupont went on to fill Gibb's position (in the eyes of the Rhodesian Government) as Officer Administering the Government, then later when Rhodesia became a Republic, its first president.
• Gibbs accompanied Smith and his entourage in the 1966 and 1968 Gibraltar conferences at the invitation of British Prime Minister Harold Wilson. According to Bitter Harvest, Gibbs was broadly supportive of Smith's stance in those negotiations.

[edit] External links

• Peterhouse Nostalgia

[edit] References:

• Megahey, Alan J (Introduction by Robert Mugabe; Foreword by Robert Blake). Humphrey Gibbs, beleaguered Governor: Southern Rhodesia, 1929-69 (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1998).
• Smith, Ian Douglas (introduction by Professor J.R.T. Wood). Bitter Harvest: The Great Betrayal and the Dreadful Aftermath (Blake Publishing, 2001).
• Wood, J.R.T. (Foreword by Lord Deedes). So far and no further! Rhodesia's bid for independence during the retreat from empire 1959-1965 (Trafford Publishing, Victoria, 2005).