W/Cmdr W. Gibb was born on 26th March, 1919, near Port Talbot. He was the sone of a Scottish Mining Engineer. After completing his education at Clifton College, he joined the aero-engine division of the Bristol Aeroplane Company as an apprentice in 1937.

In May 1940, Walter joined the RAF and trained as a pilot. He was identified as above average and selected to be a flying instructor despite his limited experience.
After two years training students to fly twin-engine aircraft he joined 264 Squadron flying Mosquitoes on long-range fighter sorties over the Bay of Biscay, giving support to the anti-submarine aircraft patrolling the area. On 22nd March, 1943, he shared in the destruction of a Junkers 88 bomber.

In low-level attacks against targets in northern France, Gibb damaged seven locomotives, and, during a later sortie, the formation he was leading destroyed two German fighters. In July he was awarded the DFC for his "skilful leadership, great courage and tenacity".

He was appointed as a flight commander with 605 Squadron, and on 14th September led six Mosquitoes to provide support for eight Lancasters of 617 (Dam Buster) Squadron which was due to make a daring low-level raid on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. But Walter, flying ahead of the formation, reported very poor weather; the bombers turned back, although not before one of the veterans of the Dams Raid was lost.
The following night a further attempt was made. Walter Gibb and his Mosquitoes went ahead and attacked the flak and searchlight positions near the canal. As the Lancasters prepared to bomb, three of the big bombers were shot down by anti-aircraft fire. When Walter returned to base he learned that five of the eight, which included other survivors from the Dams Raid, had been lost.

Walter went for a rest tour to the test squadron of the Central Flying School, where he flew many aircraft types and was assessed as an exceptional pilot. In September 1944, he was promoted to wing commander and given command of 239 Squadron.

In a six-week period during February and March 1945, Walter was credited with shooting down five enemy aircraft during long-range night intruder sorties over Germany and France; and in May he was awarded the DSO.

Walter left the RAF nine months later and returned to Bristols as a test pilot, becoming chief test pilot in 1955.

Walter Gibb, died on 4th October, 2006, married Sylvia Reed, a flight officer in the operations room at RAF North Weald, in 1944. She and their three daughters survive him.

During the war the Bristol Company had started to design a "super-bomber" with a range of 5,000 miles. The idea was abandoned, but it led to the huge airliner, the Brabazon, with its eight engines, twin-coupled and buried in the wings.

On the morning of 4th September, 1949, more than 10,000 people gathered to watch the chief test pilot, Bill Pegg, and his co-pilot Walter Gibb complete the taxi tests before taking off on the aircraft's maiden flight. As the crowds on the ground cheered, the story was transmitted around the globe in what was one of the first uses of live outside broadcasting after the war.
In an era devoid of good news, such was the value of this aircraft that the Queen was introduced to the crew and all the newspapers ran stories about the event. Some 250 reporters and photographers, television and newsreel staff were on hand, more than had ever before assembled in Bristol for a single event.

Apart from Pegg, Walter was the only other pilot to fly the Brabazon. On his first flight in command (the aircraft's thirteenth) the airliner suffered a hydraulic failure, and Walter was forced to land the aircraft without the flaps. Eventually the elegant Brabazon was scrapped as being uneconomical.

Walter carried out a great deal of the test flying of the turbo-prop Britannia. On one flight he was checking the stalling characteristics of the aircraft. As he selected the flaps up, the big airliner rolled on to its back (unknown to Gibb, one of the flaps had failed to retract). After losing many thousands of feet, he managed to regain control. Asked later what he had done, he replied: "I undid the last action I had made." By putting the flaps back down, he had restored the balance of the aircraft.

In March 1955, Walter took a Britannia to Johannesburg, with only one refuelling stop at Khartoum, arriving in just under 19 hours, some two hours quicker than the Comet jet airliner. This impressive performance was headline news in the following day's issue of The Daily Telegraph.

Over the next few years, Walter demonstrated the airliner on sales tours to many airlines, assisted in the training of their pilots and conducted many route-proving flights. In 1960 he retired from test flying to become head of service and technical support with the British Aircraft Corporation, which had absorbed Bristols. He held the post until 1978, when he became managing director, and later chairman, of British Aerospace Australia.

Walter was modest about his many achievements. When asked in later life what had given him the greatest pleasure, he identified working as an apprentice on the Pegasus engine that powered the Wellesley aircraft that created a world long-distance record in November 1938.

A burly, imposing man, Walter Gibb was a long-standing and devoted member of the Thornbury Sailing Club. He sailed regularly until he was 83, was twice the club's commodore and also a long-serving vice-president. Latterly he was president of the club. He was also a much sought-after lecturer.