THOMSON, James
| Service Number: | 692 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 August 1914, Morphettville |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Port Pirie, South Australia, Australia, 17 December 1891 |
| Home Town: | Port Pirie, Port Pirie City and Dists, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of Illness, Royal Adelaide Hospital, 24 January 1919, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (General) Road 5 Path 24 Site 36 East |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 692, Morphettville | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 692, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Adelaide | |
| 29 Apr 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 692, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, GSW to chest | |
| 11 May 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, Transferred to a hospital in Zietoun, a district of Cairo, for further assessment of his bullet wound injury. | |
| 14 May 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, James was transferred back to Gallipoli. | |
| 15 Sep 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, James was transferred to Mudros, a small Greek port in the island of Lemnos for assessment. | |
| 15 Sep 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 692, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Heart pains associated with the heart disease dilated cardiomyopathy, and measured a heart rate over 100 beats per minute (tachycardia). | |
| 19 Sep 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, Gallipoli temporarily at the end of the 15th of September, James was transferred to a hospital in Alexandria in Egypt on the ship called the H.M.H.S 'Nevasa' | |
| 17 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, Hospital Cairo | |
| 15 Nov 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, Medically unfit. | |
| 10 Feb 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 692, 10th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Francis de Sales College
James Thomson was born 17th December 1881, in the South Australian town of Port Pirie. James had brown hair, a tattoo on both his forearms, blue eyes, was in the religious denomination of Presbyterianism. He stood at 5 feet 8 inches high and had a chest measurement of 36-38 inches. James worked as a labourer before he enlisted.
James enlisted to fight on the 25th of August 1914 at Morphettville. James then travelled overseas on a ship called the Ascanius with the 10th Battalion. A few days after the landing at Gallipoli James was shot in the chest on 29th April 1915 and he quickly escorted to a hospital in Cairo, Egypt.
After spending almost a fortnight in Cairo James was sent to Zeitoun, for further rest and treatment. After four days he returned to Gallipoli on 14th May 1915.
James continued to fight for another 3 months, each day with uncertainty and fear lingering around the trenches. James experienced pains in his heart and was soon discovered to have a heart rate of over 100 beats per minute. James was then transferred to a hospital in Mudros on 15th Sepetmber 1915 for assessment. They then later shipped James to a hospital in Alexandria Egypt on the 19th September 1915 to be treated further. James was found to have a heart condition called Cardiac Dilation, the main symptoms being immense shortness of breath (Dyspnoea).
This heart condition was likely caused by the gunshot wound James experienced earlier in the war, giving James the symptoms he experienced with his heart and breath. After spending a considerable amount of time in the hospital in Alexandria, James was then transferred to Cairo again, where he was looked after for almost a month. It was decided that James was medically unfit for war and was sent back to Australia. James’s job was finished, it was time for him to be returned to his home country. After three months of travelling on a warship, James smelt that Australian air for the first time in over a year and was officially discharged of war on the 10th of February 1916.
James received three medals for his service at Gallipoli; the Victory Medal, a 1914–1915 Star Medal, and a British War Medal. James unfortunately caught the dreaded Spanish flu (Spanish Influenza), a deadly virus killing millions, and was admired to the Adelaide Hospital. Sadly, James soon contributed that sinister death toll number of the Spanish Flu dying on 24th January 1919 aged 27. He was buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.