S6598
THOMPSON, Harold Henry
| Service Number: | 3506 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Division Headquarters |
| Born: | Adelaide South Australia , date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Manager |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 3506, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 3506, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Adelaide | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, 3506, 10th Infantry Battalion, Embarked from Adelaide, South Australia on the HMAT A24 Benalla | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement 3506 | |
| 11 May 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, 4th Division Headquarters |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Harold Henry Thompson was born in North Adelaide in around 1891. He lived/grew up in Hyde Park with his mother Mary Thompson. He had a tan complexion with blue eyes and fair hair. Before the war, Thompson worked as a manager. He was a Roman Catholic, and he also wasn’t married at this point during his life.
He enlisted on the 6th of August 1915 at 24 years and 3 months of age. He was first placed in the 10th Battalion, where he did some of his work. He disembarked the SS Arcadian on the 12th of June 1916 in Marseille, France. This was where some battlefields were. He travelled on the Benalla from Adelaide to Egypt and trained at Zeitoun. He then transferred to the 50th Battalion at Tel ol Kobir. After that he took the Arcadian from Alexandria, Egypt to Marseilles France.
Soon after disembarking in Marseille, Thompson got transferred from the 50th Battalion to the 4th Division Headquarters. Despite the fact that he transferred from the 50th Battalion, he wasn’t at the battle front when he was with the 4th Division. On the 2nd of September 1916, the Battalion including 17 officers + 387 men arrived at approximately 10 PM at Kays Dump to draw tools. Around this time the enemy had begun shelling the vicinity of which they were searching for 4 of their soldiers. No casualties arose, however there would have been a lot more if they didn’t send a search party through the trenches to help them.
He was also promoted to Corporal when he was with the 4th Division on the 10th of March 1917, which was a little over 4 months later. As well as that, he was company quarter master sergeant and that role was responsible for the company wagon and all the property it contained, which included tents, the company mess gear, the company desk, the company library, the ordnance, the subsistence provisions and the company tools.
Not very many soldiers received awards during World War 1, but Thompson was part of the lucky group to be presented with the Meritorious Service Medal. This medal was awarded to those who provided service for the community especially in times of emergency or disaster. His award was featured in multiple newspapers like the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (7th of November 1918 on page 2115 at position 42) and the London Gazette (17th of June 1918 on page 7180 at position 20). The date of recommendation honour or award was the 9th of March 1918. It appears that this was one of the main achievements in his life, as he wasn’t fighting many battles, but was still there doing other important jobs.
Thompson took leave starting on the 23rd of October 1918. The date that he returned back with his Division is unclear, but it does mention that he returned to Borda, which was the name of the ship that he travelled on
It is presumed that once he embarked on the ship Borda, that was the end of his leave and time in war. He returned to Australia on the 23rd of June 1919. There are multiple different dates that explain when he returned to Australia, but this was the date specified on his service record. It may be assumed that he left Europe on the 11th of May and arrived on the 23rd of June or was discharged then.