Gestures are not the only thing missing for iPad 1s in IOS 5. They didn't include photo editing and in fact down graded the limited ability that existed. You could in the past at least rotate the photos in your imported album. After upgrading, I decided to remove my photos so I could see them in the cloud by reloading them. That was a mistake, as I quickly found out I could no longer rotate them.
I don't know what is going on with Apple, but iPad 1 users should be hopping mad at Apple for degrading their devices. Upgrades are suppose to enhance features, not remove or down grade them.