Stratford Herald Obituary

Stratford Herald - Friday 10th May 1918
KILLED IN ACTION LIEUTENANT P. S. THOMPSON MC

Information is now to hand giving particulars of the death of this gallant officer, the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. F. L. Thompson and a familiar figure to all in Stratford. He had just parted from his Company commander when a shell struck him and he died in half an hour without regaining consciousness. His death at the front was briefly mentioned in our last issue.

The Brigadier General of the division writes to the widow: “I am writing to express my most sincere sympathy at the terrible loss you have sustained in the death of
your gallant husband. He was able, energetic, strong and fearless of danger, and commanded the respect of the senior officers and the men under him. He was loved and respected by all who knew him. He never failed however trying the task and I was hoping he would be spared to have gained early promotion. The action for which he received his M.C. was an exceptionally brave one and he never flinched in carrying out any dangerous work. It is particularly sad when such a brave soldier and perfect gentleman is taken in the promise of life, but it will be some consolation to know the example of his courage and devotion to duty has, and will, help many of his comrades and will never die”.

The Major General of his regiment writes : “I can hardly express fully enough my great sympathy with you in your great trouble. I only know that we, here, have lost a comrade who was beloved and respected by all ranks of his unit, and I personally, have to deplore the loss of a most valuable and promising officer, who it will be almost impossible to replace. I regarded your husband as one of my best Royal Engineer officers who would have obtained advancement had he lived - a very gallant English gentleman and soldier. It must be some consolation to you to know that he died doing his duty as such a man should. He was buried with full military honours at the British Military centre.

Very touching is the tribute of the Company Commander: “Pat and I shared the same section and work for some months and I left him but a few minutes before he was hit. I have lost a real good chum, but it is impossible to measure what it means to you.”

Military Cross Gazette & Citation

17 Sep 1917 - London Gazette: 2nd Lt. Patrick Stapler Thompson, R.E. (Gazette)
For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in taping out a jumping-off line for an infantry attack under exceptionally difficult and dangerous conditions. He crawled out and successfully completed his task, working by means of a luminous compass. He was exposed the whole time to machine-gun fire from the enemy, who were posted in shell holes at close range. He had previously made a daring and successful reconnaissance of the captured ground under fire, in order "that no time should be lost in getting his men to work. He set a, magnificent example.