Contralto Ada Rose sang at the City Temple and then studied at the Royal Academy of Music before joining the Mr. D'Oyly Carte’s “D” Company on tour.  She occasionally filled in as Katisha in The Mikado (October 1885 and January 1886), before joining the main Company at the Savoy where she also substituted as Katisha for Rosina Brandram in August 1886.

By January 1887 she was back on tour, this time as the regular Katisha with Carte’s “A” Company, before rejoining Company “D” in March in the same part.  In April 1887 she joined a new company, Mr. D'Oyly Carte’s “B” Company, as Dame Hannah in Ruddigore.  When The Mikado was added to the tour in December 1887 she appeared as Katisha as well. 

In June 1888 Miss Rose transferred to Mr. D'Oyly Carte’s “E” Company, appearing as Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance and Katisha until November when the Company took up The Yeomen of the Guard exclusively. Miss Rose was Dame Carruthers. The Mikado joined Yeomen in the “E” Company repertoire in April 1889, and she resumed playing Katisha when it did.  She remained the “E” Company principal contralto through February 1890, except for a period between October and December 1889 when Kate Talby took over as Katisha and Dame Carruthers.

From March until May 1890 Ada Rose toured with D'Oyly Carte Opera Company “B” as the Duchess of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers.  She was replaced by Kate Forster in May 1890 and appears to have left the D'Oyly Carte organization at that point.

After leaving the D’Oyly Carte she joined the Salvation Army.  She was working with her husband at one of the Wesleyan Missions (location undetermined) in 1905 at the time of her death.

Ada Rose Gibbs apparently was part of the Keswick Convention movement. Her husband was William James Gibbs, at one time superintendent of the Methodist Central Hall in Bromley, Kent. They had four children:

Mary Gibbs, my Grandmother, b.20-Aug-1900 d. May-1976.

William B Gibbs, b.1901, Captain of the Kent Rugby team, Mayor of Bromley 1928, President of the Rugby Football Union 1955-1956.

Sidney L Gibbs, b.1902 Stockbroker.

J Clifford Gibbs, b.1903 Played rugby for England and the Harlequins