Person

Edward F.Thompson was the son of Clara Ann (nee Rogers) and George Thompson and he was born in 1899 in Linthorpe, Middlesbrough, Yorks. The family moved to Nunthorpe, then a small village situated south of Middlesbrough. In 1917 Edward enlisted into the Durham Light Infantry. I believe
He was under age.

Clara’s family hailed from Suffolk, while his father George was born in Middlesbrough – his heritage went back to The Shetland Islands, Whitby, Yorkshire and Marske-By-The-Sea, Yorkshire.

Edward (fondly known as Pete) was one of 10 children and he was the beloved big brother of my father, Herbert Y Thompson, who was the youngest of the children. He was the big brother who carried my father when he was tired, who picked him up when he fell and who always stood up for him when he was in trouble and Edward was loved by all his siblings. My father was 9 yrs. old when Edward was killed, and he was heartbroken.

My father never forgot his brother and he passed on his love and his childhood stories of Pete to me – but he never told me where the nickname Pete came from!

Edward has no known grave. His name is carved on the War Memorial in Soissons, France along with the names of his comrades at arms and his name is also recorded on the War Memorial in Nunthorpe, near Middlesbrough, where he grew up, along with the names of all the local boys who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

I was born long after Edward’s death and I only know of Edward/ Pete through my father’s reminisces and today, as I did yesterday, as I will tomorrow, I will remember Uncle Pete and those who fell with him and I will quietly place a poppy cross each Remembrance Day on the war memorial in Nunthorpe.

Birth date: May-1899

Death date: 29-May-1918

Armed force/civilian: Army

Residence: Linthorpe, Middlesbrough
Nunthorpe, near Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire

Family: Parents: Clara (neé Rogers) and George Thompson, of The Lindens, Marton Moor Rd., Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough

Military service:

Enlisted Stokesley, near Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, 1917
85250, Private, 22nd Battalion, Durham Light Infantry

Memorial(s): Soissons Memorial, Aisne, France
Nunthorpe War Memorial, Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire

Gender: Male

Contributed by MR Thompson | MS Thompson (copyright 2017, 2022)