Career
He was awarded the decoration for the courage he showed while serving as a Captain in the Royal Army Medical Corps on board Her Majesty Hospital Carriers Paris and Saint David in Sicily and Anzio. On all these occasions, despite repeated dive-bombing attacks and enemy shell-fire, he showed indifference to danger and physical exhaustion in the care of his patients. On the night of 24 January 1944 as the Saint David sailed out from Anzio he displayed outstanding heroism when the ship was sinking rapidly as the result of a direct hit from a Luftwaffe dive-bomber.
Captain Thompson organised parties to carry the seriously wounded to safety in the boats and by his courage and coolness was instrumental in saving the lives of all the patients in his ward, except one, as well as those of many walking cases from other wards.
He went down with the ship. citation His citation was published in the London Gazette on 2 February 1945.
