"GIBBONS. -- On May 21, at Stanton, Norfolk, as the result of a flying accident, Flt. Lt. Frank George Gibbons. D.F.C., R.A.F. Flt. Lt. Gibbons was born in 1899 and enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. He was appointed to a commission later in the year and was posted to No. 22 Squadron in France. In June 1919 he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for distinguished service in the field.
      In July 1919 he was posted to the Middle East and served for a short time with a Squadron in Palestine. He returned to England in 1920 and attended a Flying Instructor's Course at the Central Flying School and in October 1922 he was appointed to the Headquarters Staff of the Constantinople Wing.
      In August 1923 he was posted to the Aden Flight on the formation of that Unit. In April 1925 he was posted to No. 208 (Army Co-operation) Squadron, Ismailia, where he remained until he was transferred to Heliopolis Details in January 1926. He was promoted to Flight Lieutenant in January 1926 and in July 1927 he joined the Home Aircraft Depot, Henlow, for the long Engineering Course.
      In August 1929 he was appointed to the Staff of No. 5 Flying Training School, Sealand, for Engineering Duties. During the first half of 1931 he went through the Navigation Course at Calshot and in July 1931 he was posted to No. 204 (Flying-boat) Squadron at Mount Batten.
      Flt. Lt. Gibbons took part in the King's Cup Air Race in 1930 and 1931. In the first year he retired, but last year he was second. He also put up a very fine show in the Circuit of Europe in the Summer of 1930, when he was navigator to Mr. H.T. Andrews in the Spartan Arrow.
      [All who knew Flt. Lt. Gibbons held his piloting ability in the utmost respect and he was the sort of sportsman who would not be deterred by any conditions. As a man he had an extraordinary charm of manner, and with his quiet, humorous fearlessness he was held in real affection by a large circle of acquaintance. -- F. D. B.]"

From "The Aeroplane," 25 May 1932

      "THE tragic loss of Flt. Lt. Frank George Gibbons during the race organised by the Morning Post on Saturday, May 21, was one which came as a shock to his many friends. It would appear fairly certain that his death was due to his colliding with a tree while looking at his maps inside the cockpit, and was in no way caused by any defect in the "Spartan" three-seater he was flying at the time. He was a particularly likeable character, besides being an outstanding expert as a pilot. He was one of those people about whom one never heard any gossip, and his likeable character is shown by the fact that although he was the best of companions at the kind of party which usually finishes an air meeting, he was equally at home spending an afternoon playing with young children. He first joined the R.F.C. in June, 1917, as an air mechanic (cadet), and gained his commission in November of the same year. He was gazetted as a Flt. Lt. on June 1, 1926, and won the D.F.C. for services in the field. Not only was he a very fine pilot of land aircraft, but also of flying boats. On January 5, 1931, he went to Calshot, and from there he was posted to No. 204 Flying Boat Squadron at Mountbatten, Plymouth, of which he was a member at the time of his death. He was a brilliant navigator, and this form of race was one in which he was particularly interested. It is perhaps, therefore, some consolation to feel that if he himself could have had the choice, he would have undoubtedly have chosen to die when flying 'flat-out' during such a race, in the manner he did. The funeral took place at Ipswich on Wednesday, May 25. He was 33 yrs of age and unmarried."

From "FLIGHT," 27 May 1932