Major John Edward Laurie Gibbes served in the Relief of Chitral operations with the Bedfordshire Regiment, including the storming of the Malakand Pass and the action near Khar at the descent into the Swat Valley, and also in the operations on the North West Frontier 1897-98 at Tochi when he served on the Staff. In the Second Boer War he served with the Regiment in operations in the Orange River Colony during December 1901 to May 1902 and received the Queen's South Africa Medal with four clasps. During the Great War he again served with the Bedfordshires, initially entering the Balkan Theatre of War in October 1915, but latterly transferring to the Staff as a Military Land Officer.