Gilbert Scott was born in Langford, Wiltshire on 6th February 1878. He was the second son of Mr. Jesse Scott, of Carlton, Upton Lovel, Wilts and Edna Jane Scott (nee Spencer). They had married in 1873 and were to have a family of 5 sons and 3 daughters.

Gilbert enlisted in the Royal Marines on 7th November 1896 and went to the Depot for training and then was attached to the Portsmouth Division. He served for a time in the Government survey ship ‘Research’ and in 1901 volunteered for the first Antarctic expedition, being one of two marines selected for the ship’s company on the Discovery with Captain Robert Falcon Scott. He was one of the shore party which made the main western sledge journey undertaken with the object of locating the south magnetic pole. He accompanied Capt. Scott’s party including Sir Ernest (then Lieut.) Shackleton and Dr. Wilson on the first portion of their famous sledge journey when they succeeded in reaching 83 deg. 17mins.

For his services he was promoted Corporal and received the Antarctic medal. He also received the Royal Geographical Society silver medal bearing the portrait of Capt. Scott and a medal presented by Lieut. Armitage to “the best men under his command who took part in the main western sledge journey to the magnetic pole.”

Re-joining his Division after a long period of leave he was, in 1906, drafted to the Depot, where he served for two years. He was a member of the crew of the Medina which conveyed the King and Queen to India for the Coronation durbar. A Lance-Sergeant at that time, he acted as postman on board and subsequently received the Medina medal gift of Maundy Money from His Majesty.

Gilbert married Jessie Maud Goodchild in 3rd Qtr 1909 and the 1911 census shows a son Gilbert Jesse William Scott born 19th June 1910, Deal, Kent. There were two further sons; Ronald Falcon Scott born 17th February 1912, Eastry, Kent and Jessie Gilbert Scott born 18th September 1915, Eastry, Kent.

In February 1912, he was again stationed at the Depot with the rank of Sergeant and described as an instructor of swimming and boat pulling. Gilbert took a keen interest in the Walmer Sea Scouts (now 2nd Deal (Walmer) Sea Scouts) under the Rev. A. A. Midwinter and devoted a good deal of his spare time to instructing them in rowing, knot tying and other naval skills.

When the memorial service for Captain Robert Falcon Scott was held in February 1913, Gilbert was in hospital but received special permission to attend. He had volunteered for the “Terra Nova” but subsequently no Marines were then taken. Sir Ernest Shackleton wanted Sergeant Scott to be one of his party but circumstances prevented him going.

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Sergeant Scott, left the Depot to join his headquarters and travel with the Marine force to Ostend, returning to the Camp near Oxney and again crossing to Dunkerque in September and accompanying the expedition to Antwerp. He was on duty on the engine of the train conveying the last battalion, when the train was under machine gun fire and derailed, nearly 200 of the men being taken prisoner by the Germans.

He returned to the Depot on the 12th October 1914 and, after leave, re-joined Portsmouth H.Q., subsequently going to Blandford and embarking with the Marines Special Service Force for the Dardanelles.

He died on 6th May 1915 during the Second Battle of Krithia in the Allies' attempt to gain ground on the Helles battlefield. The village of Krithia and neighbouring hill of Achi Baba had to be captured in order for the British to advance up the Gallipoli peninsula to the forts that controlled passage of the Dardanelles straits. A small amount of ground was captured, after two days of costly fighting, but the main objectives were not achieved.

Gilbert Scott is ‘Remembered with Honour’ on the Helles Memorial, Panel 2 to 7.