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1206488 Pte. John Frederick Thompson British Army 20th Battalion Durham Light Infantry from:Sunderland (d.31st Jul 1917) Freddie Thompson was born in 1893 and baptised St Peter's Monkwearmouth on 14 June that year. His parents were Charles Gabrielson Thompson (1853-1924) and Margaret nee Fox. At the time of the 1911 census Freddie was living at 41 Hendon Valley Road, Sunderland with his parents and three of his siblings; he was a shipwright. Freddie enlisted on 13 November 1915 and was appointed to the 17th DLI as a reservist. He is described as being 5ft 6in tall with 'fair' physical development. He was unmarried and his occupation was as a clerk. He was mobilized on 28 Jan 1916 to 17th DLI and posted to the 20th Battalion on 10 March. He was sent to France on 5 May that year as part of the British Expeditionary Force, sailing from Southampton to Le Havre. He fought in the Battle of the Somme later that year. He was posted as missing on 12 Aug 1917 and he was later presumed killed on 31 July at the Battle of Pilckem Ridge; the first day of the opening attack of the third battle of Ypres. His name is engraved on the Menin Gate memorial at Ypres, Belgium. He is also commemorated in the DLI Book at Durham Cathedral. Please type your message:      We recommend you copy the text about this item and keep a copy on your own computer before pressing submit. Your Name:             Email Address:       @ **Please put first part of your email, (before the @ sign) in the first box, and the second part in the second box. Do not include @, it is automatic. Do not enter your full email in each box or add an @ sign or random spaces.**