Kibby, William Henry

Collection relating to SX7089 Sergeant (Sgt) William Henry (Bill) Kibby VC, who served with 2/48 Infantry Battalion until he was killed in action at El Alamein on 31 October 1942. Comprises an original handwritten letter dated 9 December 1941, and a Christmas card sent by Sgt Kibby, and two newspaper cuttings published after Kibby had died. The letter and card were written to 'Mrs Howell', Kibby's pre-war employer when he worked as a plasterer at Perfection Ceilings (also referred to as Perfection Fibrous Works) in Edwardstown, South Australia. Kibby thanks Mrs Howell for her '...very generous Xmas present...', describes his impressions and experiences of places he visited in the Middle East, and mentions '...one never knows when one is going to get bumped off..' (p.4). The newspaper cuttings report the events leading to Sgt Kibby's death at El Alamein, which saw him posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for valour and self-sacrifice in operations in North Africa.