(This is one of the stories I wrote for the North East War Memorials Project.)

Horace James Thompson was the son of Thomas Thompson and Eliza J. Liddell, who had married in the summer of 1888 in the Gateshead area. Thomas was a steam engine fitter, and by 1891 the couple were living on Hexham Road, Whickham, with a two-year-old son and an infant daughter. Sadly, both of the children died before the end of the year. Another daughter was born in 1902, also dying in infancy, and their first child to survive infancy was Ella, born in 1895.

Horace was born in Dunston in the spring of 1897 and when the census was taken in 1901, the family was living at 30 Ravensworth Road, Dunston. In 1911, when the next census return was made, Horace was still at school, though at the age of 13, he would have left school soon after that. The family was living at 13 Newton Street, Dunston at that time.

After he left school, Horace went to work in Newcastle with an accountancy firm, but when war broke out he was quick to volunteer his services. He enlisted in Newcastle into the Northumberland Fusiliers, and was posted to the 19th (Service) Battalion. This was one of the new battalions, formed at Newcastle on 14 November 1914.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission records show Horace’s service number to be 19171, but contemporary military records display it as 19/71 (i.e., the 71st man to join 19th Battalion). Whilst we don’t know exactly when Horace enlisted, we can tell by his service number that he was the 71st man to enlist in the battalion. Silver War Badge records show that the 95th man to join enlisted on 17 November, so it looks very likely that Horace enlisted between 14th and 17th November 1914.

The battalion began training in England, moving to Morpeth in January 1915 and then Cramlington. On 8 February 1915, it was designated a pioneer battalion, being known as 2nd Tyneside Pioneers. On 19 August the men travelled to Perham Down, Tidworth on Salisbury Plain, where they occupied No.1 Hutments. On 16 November, the first anniversary of the battalion’s formation was celebrated by giving all ranks the day as a holiday. The men celebrated Christmas and New Year with concerts on 24 and 29 December.

Just before Christmas, word was received to prepare the battalion for service in Egypt, and the men were issued with helmets. On 7 January 1916, the men were told that they would be going to France, and were issued with soft trench caps and anti-gas helmets. The following days were spent testing equipment, practicing trench warfare, and making final preparations before the men entrained on 28 January for Southampton en route to Le Havre.

On arrival at Southampton, the men embarked on the ss City of Dunkirk, disembarking at Le Havre at 6 am on 29 January. The men would soon get used to the routine of being in the front line, in reserve, and resting.

In 1916, the battalion was involved in the Battle of Bazentin Ridge, fighting for Arrow Head Copse & Maltz Horn Farm, and fighting for Falfemont Farm. Horace must have shown potential, as he was soon promoted to corporal. In December, when the battalion was near Arras, he was sent back to England to take up a commission for which he had been recommended.

On 28 December, the Newcastle Journal reported that Horace had gone missing. He had set off from the family home in Newton Street on the previous Friday, 22 December, to go to the Hippodrome in Newcastle with a friend, but had never returned home.

It wasn’t until Saturday 9 June, almost six months after his disappearance, that Horace’s body was found in the River Tyne, near the Redheugh Bridge. An inquest was held, and an open verdict was returned. It was determined that he had died on 22 December 1916, and he was buried in Whickham (Garden House) cemetery.

For his service to his country, Horace earned the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He was 20 years old.

His sister Ella stayed in Whickham, and in 1939 was living at 9 Park Terrace, earning her living as a dressmaker.