THOMPSON, Allan Henry (1916-2015)
THOMPSON, Allan Henry (1916-2015)
One of our oldest Old Collegians, Allan Thompson, died age 98 years, at Beaufort on 13 January 2015. The son of Henry Frederick Thompson and Alice Isabel nee Wilkie, Alan was born near Skipton on 30 July 1916 while his father was serving on the Western Front in Europe during World War I. He first saw his father when he was three years old! Allan attended Skipton State School and came to Geelong College as a boarder from 12 February 1930 to December 1931.
During World War II he enlisted in the RAAF on 20 June 1941 hoping to become a pilot, but trained as an air navigator after he was found to have a degree of colour blindness. After training at Victor Harbour, Mt Gambier, Port Pirie, Nhill and Uranquinty he was posted north to Karumba and Darwin where he saw active service in the islands north of Australia. Interviewed by the ABC in 2010 it was reported that although ‘some of the memories of battle were still on Alan's mind, he still held a strong sense of pride and said his service made him a better man’. 'I saw people lose their lives. On one mission our tail gunner got his leg shot off, and others just didn't come back, they probably got shot down. … I'd hate to be alive today had I not played my part.'
Allan married Iris Beryl McDonald on 28 February 1942 and, after the war, settled near Beaufort on a Soldier Settlement Block he named ‘Jinamoc’, on which he grew wheat, oats, grain, fat lambs, merino sheep and Angus cattle. He is survived by two daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
One of our oldest Old Collegians, Allan Thompson, died age 98 years, at Beaufort on 13 January 2015. The son of Henry Frederick Thompson and Alice Isabel nee Wilkie, Alan was born near Skipton on 30 July 1916 while his father was serving on the Western Front in Europe during World War I. He first saw his father when he was three years old! Allan attended Skipton State School and came to Geelong College as a boarder from 12 February 1930 to December 1931.
During World War II he enlisted in the RAAF on 20 June 1941 hoping to become a pilot, but trained as an air navigator after he was found to have a degree of colour blindness. After training at Victor Harbour, Mt Gambier, Port Pirie, Nhill and Uranquinty he was posted north to Karumba and Darwin where he saw active service in the islands north of Australia. Interviewed by the ABC in 2010 it was reported that although ‘some of the memories of battle were still on Alan's mind, he still held a strong sense of pride and said his service made him a better man’. 'I saw people lose their lives. On one mission our tail gunner got his leg shot off, and others just didn't come back, they probably got shot down. … I'd hate to be alive today had I not played my part.'
Allan married Iris Beryl McDonald on 28 February 1942 and, after the war, settled near Beaufort on a Soldier Settlement Block he named ‘Jinamoc’, on which he grew wheat, oats, grain, fat lambs, merino sheep and Angus cattle. He is survived by two daughters and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Source
Interview with Margaret Burin 23 April 2010 (ABC Ballarat); Ballarat Courier 14 Jan 2015. OGC 1929.