Humphrey Arthur Gilkes
| Humphrey Arthur Gilkes | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 October 1895 London, England |
| Died | 11 July 1945 (aged 49) Djibouti |
| Buried at | Djibouti New European Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United Kingdom
|
| Service/branch |
 British Army
|
| Years of service | 1914–1919 1923 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Service number | 4006 |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
| Awards | Military Cross & Three Bars |
Humphrey Arthur Gilkes MC & Three Bars (13 October 1895 – 11 July 1945) was a British soldier and doctor. He is one of four soldiers to have been awarded the Military Cross four times, all in the First World War. He was a medical officer in the Colonial Medical Service between the wars. He also served in the British Army in the Second World War, and was killed in an aeroplane crash at Djibouti.
Gilkes was the second of four sons of Arthur Herman Gilkes. He was educated at Dulwich College, where his father was the Master from 1885 to 1914. He played football for the First XI in 1910, rugby for the Second XV, and also played the violin. His brother Christopher Herman Gilkes was Master of Dulwich College from 1941 to 1953.
Gilkes joined the Honourable Artillery Company as a private soldier after the outbreak of the First World War, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the London Regiment in September 1915, joining the 21st (County of London) Battalion (First Surrey Rifles). He served with the 142nd (6th London) Brigade in the 47th (1/2nd London) Division through the First World War. He became a temporary lieutenant in July 1916.
He was awarded the Military Cross (MC) on four occasions, for his actions as an intelligence officer between September 1917 and September 1918, on reconnaissance missions ahead of the British lines. He was awarded his first MC in September 1917. He was wounded in early 1918, and awarded a first Bar in March 1918, a second Bar in June 1918, and a third Bar in January 1919 for actions at Moislains on 2 September 1918. Two other officers received their third Bar in the same January 1919 edition of the London Gazette, Percy Bentley and Charles Gordon Timms, emulating Francis Victor Wallington whose third Bar was gazetted on 13 September 1918.
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