THOMPSON, Victor Wright
| Service Numbers: | 2453, 245757, N78497, NP83930 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 July 1915, Liverpool |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | Eastern Command HQ |
| Born: | Gunnedah, New South Wales, 18 February 1893 |
| Home Town: | Gunnedah, Gunnedah, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Ironmonger |
| Died: | Injuries from cycling accident, Cowra, New South Wales, 13 March 1953, aged 60 years |
| Cemetery: |
Cowra General Cemetery |
| Memorials: | Gunnedah Public School WW1 Honour Roll, Queanbeyan District Methodist Church Honor Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2453, 20th Infantry Battalion, Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| 6 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2453, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Sydney | |
| 6 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2453, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 5th Machine Gun Company | |
| 26 Nov 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 5th Machine Gun Company | |
| 27 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 5th Machine Gun Company | |
| 3 May 1917: | Honoured Military Medal, Bullecourt (Second), For bravery in the field in withdrawing his three machine guns with few casualties and later, gallantly leading two of his guns in an assault on the line. The following day he led five guns into the Hindenburg Line, operating with bombers with great skill and dash - setting a fine example of resource, courage and marked ability. | |
| 20 Sep 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2453, 5th Machine Gun Company, Third Ypres, Westhoek, Shell wound left leg (severe) | |
| 20 Dec 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, 2453, 5th Machine Gun Company, HT A54 'Runic', London for return to Australia - arrived 14 February 1918. | |
| 15 Mar 1918: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2453, 5th Machine Gun Company, Medically Unfit |
World War 2 Service
| 19 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (Army WW2), Private, 245757 | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Sep 1940: | Enlisted N78497, Eastern Command HQ, Lance Sergeant | |
| 29 Sep 1940: | Involvement N78497, Detached to 1st Infantry Training Battalion (Tamworth) | |
| 29 Sep 1941: | Transferred 22 Garrison Battalion (VIC NSW) |
Non Warlike Service
| 1 Jul 1947: | Transferred Eastern Command HQ | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jul 1949: | Discharged NP83930 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
Machine gunner Victor Thompson, the eldest of seven children of Wright Thompson and his wife Hannah from 'Rockdale' on the western outskirts of Gunnedah, NSW, was involved in most of the major battles in France and Belgium in 1916-17, rising to the rank of Sergeant and winning the Military Medal for his actions on the Hindenberg Line near Bullecourt, France in May, 1917.
Victor Thompson enlisted in July 1915, about a month before his younger brother Irving signed up. The two brothers sailed in separate ships, in a convoy that arrived in Engalnd in early December 1915. They were soon despatched to the front and into action. Tragically, Private Irving Thompson was to become a casualty of the disastorous Battle of Fromelles, cut down by machine-gun fire.
For Sergeant Victor Wright Thompson MM, his war came to a crushing end in the later half of 1917 when he suffered a servere wound to his left knee from a shell blast. Hospitalized for several months he was repatriated to Australia and discharged as medically unfit.
The injury left him with a permanent limp.
In August 1929 he married Ida Pretoria Collier at the North Sydney Methodist Church. The couple made their home in Port Kembla where Victor worked as an ironmonger. The depression years proved difficult and in 1933 Victor declared bankruptcy and entered a deed of arrangement with his creditors.
Subsequently, he gained work as a strander attendant (steel cable maker) at the iron works.
Despite Victor's leg disability, he enlisted in 1940 in the militia for home service during World War II. After 12 months he was reassigned to Cowra on garrison duty at the POW camp - taking up work there as a storekeeper.
He was a member of the POW Group garrison at the time the 'Cowra Breakout' occurred in August 1944. After the war he continued his involvement in the Regular Army Service Reserve until his discharge, on medical grounds, in July 1949.
The dual war veteran sadly lost his life when the bicycle he was riding crashed into a car near his home in Baronga Street, Cowra in May 1953. He was 60 and was survived by his wife Ida and two daughters.
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