Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

A Mother’s Wish
By Ron Thompson

Letitia Mary Wood, named after her paternal grandmother, was born in Beechworth, Victoria in 1867 to John Gainor Wood and Elizabeth Wallis Rowe late of Pretoria, South Africa. She was the youngest of five children having four older brothers.

Letitia was 33 when she wed Samual Thompson, who lived at South Yarra only 2 km from her home in Windsor. Possibly they met through their church affiliation? ‘

‘On the 22 May, at St Matthew's Church, Prahran, Samuel Thompson, late of Nottingham, England, to Letitia Mary (Lettie), daughter of S.G. WOOD, of Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa’.

After the wedding Letitia settled down to married life. Her initial role was that of wife, and homemaker. Society expectations hardly matched the reality for women like Letitia who were to face uncertainty and hardship in the upcoming years.

The newlyweds moved to St Kilda and remained there until 1896. They had three boys, Sam (1890), William (1893) and Albert (1895) . Shortly after Albert’s birth his father took ill and was admitted to the Kew Lunatic Asylum . The nature of his illness is unclear, but the coroner’s report gives indications to the severity of his condition and testament to his demise. How much would this have tested Letitia?

‘The deceased, Samuel Thompson, aged 32 years, was admitted … on September 9th, 1895, suffering from General Paralysis of the Insane. There were marks of an old trephining operation over the left frontal bone …The constructions of the brain were wasted.’

‘He became paralysed and was kept in an easy chair. On the morning of the 11th instant, he had severe fits and died that night’ …His wife was with him the evening he died.

Imagine what Letitia went through as she said goodbye to her dying husband to then go home to her three young boys. There was no social welfare, and Letitia most probably relied on her parents. However, just three months on her father John Gainor died suddenly, adding to Letitia’s year of grief.
The Thompson children grew up in the inner suburbs of Melbourne. The oldest boy Sam attended school in Malvern. Education was predominantly primary level only, with grades 1 -8. The curriculum included manual arts, elementary science, music, literature, history and physical education. Grade 8 marked the end of formal schooling. where Sam would have been awarded the Merit Certificate. Thus Sam, 14 years old, along with his compatriots commenced his working life.

When war was declared, Sam responded to the call of his nation. He enlisted on the 5 Jul 1915 joining the 31st Battalion. By October the newly raised 5th Division Australian Imperial Force (AIF) headed to the Western Front.

Initially, the 31st Battalion was sent to Egypt for training. Once in Cairo, many of the soldiers took tours of the pyramids and haggled with Egyptian traders for souvenirs in the markets. Sam, in respect for his mother, wrote often.

12 Dec 1915: A Letter from Sam to his mother and Albert

We have put foot on land once again & after a tram journey of about six hours we have reached our base & have settled down to camp life for the second time. Since landing at Port Suez, we have seen many strange & interesting sights, & our eyes have been opened to a different way of life. …
The plantations & fields on each side of the [tram]line were looking beautiful with the irrigation canal running through them & nothing but sandy plains & hills in the distance. In some places the palm trees were very numerous & sometimes they were planted in uniform rows & look magnificent. Some of the towns we passed through possessed some fine buildings & temples, but in the poorer parts of the towns the buildings were jumbled up on top of one another & must be very unhealthy to live in… The natives employed around the camps are great users of Australian slang and some of their language would make even a trooper blush.
The electric tramway system here is very good.
To-morrow we have the whole day off & of course there will be a wild rush to the pyramids.
All the best love to you all
Sammy’

In all. Sam sent fifteen Egyptian postcards to his mother and Albert (brother) between November 1915 and June 1916. They embodied both highlights and lowlights of the voyage, training, sport, Christmas lunch, pay, shopping, the lice, home sickness, vaccinations, the weather and eagerness to be in the fight. Places and names were often censored.

15 Nov 1915 To his brother Albert
We arrived here (Fremantle, WA) this morning and have been granted the afternoon off. I'm feeling tip top now and don't think seasickness will trouble me anymore.
Sammy

20 Dec 1915 To his mother
Last Sunday we visited the cemetery where the soldiers who fought in the Egyptian campaign of 1882 were buried. The name of this camp is (censored) and a battle was fought here in 1852 against the Egyptians. We are getting plenty to eat and there is very little sickness in our company.
With best love from Sam

21 Dec 1915 To his mother
My Platoon (No 14) played No 16 for the company football premiership yesterday and we won easily. The scores were No 14, 7 goals, 6 behinds, 48 points to No 16, 4 goals, 4 behinds, 28 points. I'm in the best of health at present and quite contented with my lot here, so don't worry unnecessarily. Remember me to all old friends.
Best of Love to you, Bert and Will;
Sam

22 Dec 1915 To his mother
Today I read your Xmas card, and it helped to make Xmas day a bit more cheerful. We had a great blow out today considering the distance we are from any big towns. Our dinner consisted of stew, pudding, fruit, bread, jam, syrup, milk, beer and soft drinks. I sent a silk shawl to Will for the baby and hope he will get it safely.
Sammy

29 Dec 1915 To Albert
I wonder how you and the Cliftons spent Xmas and New Year holidays at Aspendale. Of course, there would be the usual number of girls and families down by the seaside, but the male cubs would be scarce. So far, I am satisfied with the treatment we are receiving.
Sammy
6 Feb 1916 To his mother
We can keep ourselves free from vermin by going for a swim every afternoon and changing our clothes frequently. There are times when one longs to be back in dear old Melbourne once again, but on the whole, we are fairly contented with our lot out here in the desert.
Sammy

4 Mar 1916 To his mother
I went to the pictures last night and enjoyed them very much. The theatre was full of soldiers, and we had plenty of fun in the intervals. There are restaurants galore in the main street and we have supper nearly every night, but the prices are pretty stiff. The weather is getting very warm over here, and this is only the beginning of spring. I hope we will be out of this country before summer.
Sammy

14 Mar 1916 To mother
I'm glad to hear that Will has received a rise in wages. I suppose you will have a hard job to stop Bert from enlisting now that men are so urgently required. For your sake I hope he will stay at home. You need not bother to send me any clothes as I have enough to last me months and I have enough money to buy everything I want.
Sammy

Apr 1916 To Albert
I expect the authorities will soon be requiring our services in the fighting line, and I think we will do well as all the men are very keen to get at the Germans. We were inoculated once again last Tuesday, and our arms were very sore for a day or so. I'm going to the pictures with some of my mates this evening so must close with best love to you all from Sam

The photo below is perhaps the last known photo taken of Sam in 1916, he is sitting on a Camel near the pyramids, he is on the right, wearing a peak cap and two chevrons on his arm denoting a rank of Corporal.

7 Jun 1916 Possibly Sam’s last letter home to Albert
We have just been told that we cannot leave Egypt before the 15th of the month & naturally we are all very disappointed with the news….

By the end of the month there will be very few of the Australian soldiers left in Egypt. All those who are ready for the front will probably go to France & the others to England to complete their training.

When we get to the other side we will be billeted in the French villages amongst the people, & I think we will be treated well, plenty of milk, butter, & eggs at reasonable prices.
It will be great to be in a country once again where the standard of civilization is the same as your own. What great times we are going to have when we are granted leave.

At the YMCA there is a decent piano & someone can always be found to play some of our old rag time tunes which we used to sing down at Aspendale. How I wish we could all be down there together once again; it would be great. What a roaring good time we are going to have when we all come marching home again …with best love to you all from

Throughout the war Sam wrote to his mother reassuring her that he was well fed, looked after and enjoying himself, however he wrote to Bert discouraging him from joining up ‘for his mother’s sake’.

The Western Front

On the Western Front the new diggers joined the Gallipoli veterans to take over a 16-kilometre section of the line in Northern France. The section stretched from Armentieres village to the Sugarloaf Salient in front of the German-held village of Fromelles.

Sam’s battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19-20 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches three days previously. Australian and British soldiers assaulted over open ground in broad daylight and under direct observation and heavy fire from the German lines.

The attack was a disastrous introduction to battle for the 31st Battalion- it suffered 572 casualties, over half of its strength. The battle lasted nine hours. Although it still spent periods in the front line, the 31st Battalion played no major offensive role for the rest of 1916. A total of 5,533 Australians including 1,917 dead and 470 prisoners became casualties at Fromelles. This is believed to be the greatest loss by a single division in 24 hours during the entire First World War.

Sam reportedly ‘killed in action’ on the 21 July 1916 although the 31st Battalions’ diary makes no mention of fighting on that date.

11 Nov 1918 Rev G Cranston letter to Letitia

Dear Mrs Thompson
Kindly excuse the delay in replying to your letter of the 24th instant…I remember your boy quite well as he was in Capt. Mills Company & this was the Company I knew most intimately, though your boy was C of E he always came to my service when possible & I can assure you he was an excellent fellow & much liked by his mates. I had the sad duty of burying him beside 7 others of his company on 21st July 1916. The place of burial is a beautiful little English cemetery called “Eaton Hall” Croix Blanche, Fleurbaix, North France. …. A cross is over his last resting place. I hope you get his few effects found on his body when he was killed.
You have my sincere sympathy…. Hoping you may have the comfort of our Heavenly Father.

Yours very Sincerely
G. Cranston (Rev)

Letitia had one final wish - to place the following words on her son’s tombstone:

‘A shadow rests upon our home
We miss the darling’s face
Where ere we look where ere we go
We see his vacant place’

The Defence Department’s regulation allowed for a maximum of 100 letters. Her request was rejected. Sam’s tombstone reads: Our Hero resting in peace. Letitia Thompson did not get her wish that her son return safely. Nor did she get her wish to vent her loss poignantly on his gravesite. She must have grieved for him. Of interest is that while Letitia resided in one house during her six-year marriage, once widowed, she moved eleven times over the next 24 years. She reared her three children on her own, working at times as a draper, music teacher and shoemaker. She did not remarry. She died aged 93 years having not lived the expected life of a ‘demure, indeterminate woman’

On a footnote, Sam’s other brother William enlisted but lived to return home to his family. As a tribute to Sam, he named his Nursery business Fleurbaix, after the town where Sam is buried near Fromelles, France.

Author’s note: Samuel Thompson was my paternal great uncle; this story is a tribute to both him and his mother.



References:
Victoria BDM Birth Letitia Wood 13003/1867
Victoria BDM Marriage Letitia Wood 2544/1890
The Age 28 May 1890
Victorian BDM Birth Samuel Thompson 35549/1890
Victorian BDM Birth William Thompson 6849/1893
Victorian BDM Birth Albert Thompson 23800/1895
Proceedings of Inquest held upon the body of Samuel Thompson at Kew Lunatic Asylum 13 May 1896
Trephination is the surgical procedure in which a hole is created in the skull by the removal of circular piece of bone.
PROV, VPRS24 1896/586 Proceedings of Inquest held upon the body of Samuel Thompson at Kew Lunatic Asylum 13 May 1896
Sands & McDougall Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1871-1974
NAA: Series Number B2445, Item ID 1835796 803 CPL Samuel Thompson
AWM4/23/48/1-23/48/44: 31st Battalion war diary
NAA: Series Number B2445, Item ID 1835796 803 CPL Samuel Thompson
Sands & McDougall’s Melbourne and Suburban Directory 1871-1974
Victoria BDM Death Letitia Thompson 24777/1960