Featuring of the front page of The Canberra Times on this day 44 years ago, was a photograph of F. S. Thompson, 83, of Pearce, standing proudly wearing his war medals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Thompson received a pleasant surprise in the mail - four military campaign medals which he won 60 years prior.
The medals, which he did not realise he was entitled to, were the French and Belgian soldiers' crosses, the French Somme Medal and Belgium's King Albert Medal.
6565 Corporal William Frederick Samuel Thompson sailed from Australia in January 1915, with the 7th Brigade Horse, having been one of the first Queenslanders to join up after Australia declared war on Germany the previous August.
The 7th disembarked at Cairo. With the transfer of AlF units to France late in 1915 Corporal Thompson went with them and into the maelstrom which was the Western Front.
Returning to Canberra in 1925, Mr Thompson resumed his trade as a painter. He commenced applying for the medals through the Sydney British Servicemen's Club.
"There are a lot of the boys who do not even know they are entitled to the decorations," Mr Thompson said.
"Some of them might not even bother but I was pleased to get them even if only for the family".
