THOMPSON, Irving
| Service Number: | 2796 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Gunnedah, New South Wales, 1898 |
| Home Town: | Gunnedah, Gunnedah, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Ironmomger |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Fromelles, France, 21 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Rue-du-Bois Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix Rue-Du-Bois Military Cemetery, Fleurbaix, Bethune, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Gunnedah Cenotaph, Gunnedah Public School WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 2796, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 2796, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 2796, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney | |
| 18 Feb 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 55th Infantry Battalion | |
| 28 Mar 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 5th Pioneer Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
Irving Thompson enlsited with his older brother Victor Wright Thompson following a rallying speech by the leader of the Australian Opposition, Joseph Cook in August 1915.
Living with his parents on the family property 'Rockdale' on the western fringe of Gunnedah Irving put his age up to enlist. The Thompson brothers sailed in a convoy of ships that arrived in Egypt on December 5, 1915. They made their way in separate ships and in different units, but were despatched almost immediately to northern France.
Irving Thompson was pitched into battle at Fromelles, an engagement which exacted the highest toll on the AIF during the whole war. On the night of 19-20 July 1916, 5533 Australians became casualties, among them 1933 dead. He was one of the 20 per cent of Australians who escaped death or wounding that night.
The following day, Irving volunteered to try to rescue wounded and dying soldiers, still lying in no-man's-land. But he, too, became a statistic, cut down by machine-gun fire. Later, a brief truce was agreed and some 300 men were rescued, though by then it was too late for Irving Thompson. He was buried in Rue du Bois Cemetery.
His brother Victor, won the Military Medal at Bullecourt in May 1917 as well as the French Croix de Guerre. He returned to Australia in late 1917, medically unfit due to a severe shrapnel wound to his left leg.
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