Regimental number | 3638 |
Place of birth | Ballywattick, Ballymoney, Co Antrim, Ireland |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Occupation | Labourer |
Address | 17 Peele Street, Collingwood, Victoria |
Marital status | Single |
Age at embarkation | 18 |
Height | 5' 6" |
Weight | 140 lbs |
Next of kin | Mother, Mrs Florence B Thompson, 17 Peel Street, Collingwood, Melbourne, Victoria |
Previous military service | Served for 6 years in the Citizen Military Forces. |
Enlistment date | |
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll | |
Place of enlistment | Broadmeadows, Victoria |
Rank on enlistment | Private |
Unit name | 24th Battalion, 8th Reinforcement |
AWM Embarkation Roll number | 23/41/2 |
Embarkation details | Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A19 Afric on |
Rank from Nominal Roll | Private |
Unit from Nominal Roll | 60th Battalion |
Fate | Killed in Action |
Place of burial | No known grave |
Commemoration details | V.C. Corner (Panel No 22), Australian Cemetery, Fromelles, France |
Panel number, Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial | 171 |
Miscellaneous information from cemetery records | Parents: James and Florence THOMPSON |
Other details |
War service: Egypt, Western Front Taken on strength, 58th Bn, Tel el Kebir, 23 February 1916. Transferred to 60th Bn, 15 March 1916. Found guilty, 17 June 1916, of using 'insulting words' to an NCO: awarded forfeiture of 7 days' pay. Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916. Reported missing in action, Fromelles, 19 July 1916. Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 4 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'. Note, Red Cross File No 2730303: 'No trace Germany[.] Cert. by Capt. Mills 10-1019.' Base Records, Melbourne, wrote to Mrs Thompson, 18 July 1921, seeking any information that might help identify his remains, were they to be found. She replied that she could not help since the last letter she had received from her son had been from Egypt. Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal |
Sources | NAA: B2455, THOMPSON Edward James
Red Cross File No 2730303 Robert Thompson, 'Ballymoney Heroes 1914-1918' (self published, 1999), p. 120 |