John Keltie THOMSON

THOMSON, John Keltie

Service Numbers: V43607, VX108725
Enlisted: 27 November 1939
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 57/60 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF
Born: Glasgow, Scotland, 13 May 1922
Home Town: Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Watchmaker
Died: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 July 2003, aged 81 years, cause of death not yet discovered
Cemetery: Fawkner Memorial Park Cemetery, Victoria
Memorials:
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World War 2 Service

27 Nov 1939: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, V43607, 57/60 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF
6 Aug 1942: Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Sergeant, V43607, 57/60 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF
7 Aug 1942: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX108725
26 Mar 1943: Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Craftsman, VX108725, 57/60 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF, ex Townsville to Port Moresby per HT Duntroon
20 Aug 1944: Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Craftsman, VX108725, 57/60 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF, ex Madang to Townsville
3 Feb 1945: Embarked Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Craftsman, VX108725, 57/60 (amalgamated) Infantry Battalion AMF, ex Townsville to Torokina per Fairisle
4 Feb 1946: Discharged Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, VX108725

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Biography contributed by Chris Buckley

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1922, John emigrated with his parents - Thomas Stewart Jackson Thomson (b1888 in Perthsire, Scotland) and Margaret Watson Frazer Keltie (b1891 in Lanarkshire, Scotland) - and five siblings, arriving in Melbourne. Victoria in the late 1920s. Thomas (a Labourer) and Margaret married in 1914 in Perthshire, Scotland and settled in Melbourne, Victoria where Thomas was a Labourer and Sandblaster.

John was working as a Watchmaker in Melbourne Victoria in November 1939 when he enlisted in the ACMF (Cadet; Service No:V43607). He was a Sergeant attached to 57/60 Infantry Battalion when he Discharged in August 1942 to enlist in the AIF (Private. Sergeant. Craftsman; Service No:VX108725), John served with 57/60th Infantry Battalion in New Guinea (8 March 1943 - 30 July 1944) and the Solomons (1 January 1945 - 3 January 1946) and was Discharged in February 1946.

In 1944 in Redcliffe, Brisbane QLD John married Betty Jean Crawford (b1923 in Melbourne, Victoria). Following his Discharge, John and Betty lived in Redcliffe, Brisbane QLD where John was a Watchmaker before moving to Melbourne, Victoria in 1949. John and Betty settled in Melbourne, Victoria and John became a Storeman in the early 1950s and later a Supervisor. Betty died in January 2003 and John in July 2003.

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