Frederick Thompson
Frederick Thompson attended the William Crane Boys School, Minver Crescent, Aspley, Nottingham. He was a telephone apparatus adjuster in 1939.
- Family History
- Military history
- Extra information
- Photographs
He was the son of Edward and Ellen Thompson. In 1939, they all lived at 428, Aspley Lane, Nottingham. Frederick Thompson and Barbara Shelbourne were married at Nottingham J/F/M/ 1942 and she later lived at Purbrook, Hampshire.
Frederick Thompson was a wireless operator/air gunner killed during his first time in action and after only 4.6 combat hours. He was aboard Halifax JB 841, one of 12 aircraft from the Canadian 408 Squadron participating in a massive (826 aircraft) attack on May 23rd/24th 1943 against Dortmund during the Battle of the Ruhr. The raid was highly successful destroying around 2,000 buildings and putting the Hoesch steelworks out of production. 599 German civilians were killed and 1,275 injured. The attack was also costly for allied aircraft; 38 were lost – 4.6% of the attacking force.
Thompson’s plane, flown by F/O James M Colvin, left Leeming, North Yorkshire at 23.06 on May 23rd 1943 and should have returned at 04.16 but nothing was heard from the crew after takeoff. The circumstances of the loss are unknown. Killed with Thompson and Colvin were Flt Sgt Texas Roy Livermore, P/O Harry Uretzky, Sgt David Slabotsky, Sgt Ernest Henry Alderson and Sgt John Hooper.
RAF Leeming
Royal Air Force Leeming or more simply RAF Leeming is a Royal Air Force station located near Leeming, North Yorkshire, England. It was opened in 1940 and was jointly used by the RAF and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Between 1950 and 1991, it operated mostly as a training base with Quick Reaction Force (QRF) Panavia Tornado F3 fighters based there in the latter stages of the Cold War and into the early 21st century. Since 2006, it has become the home of the deployable RAF communications cadre (No. 90 Signals Unit RAF) and the home of No. 135 Expeditionary Air Wing.
No photos