Frederick Herbert Thompson (1890–1915) was an Australian national representative

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player and soldier who fell in the

Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Born in

Maroubra, New South Wales Maroubra is a beachside suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 10 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Randwick. Maroubra ...

to Henry and Dorothy Thompson, Fred Thompson played at number eight with the

Eastern Suburbs RUFC The Eastern Suburbs Rugby Union Football Club is a team in the Intrust Super Shute Shield, the premier club rugby union football competition in New South Wales. The club is based in Rose Bay in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and was founded ...

. His international debut was made during the

Wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and so ...

1913 tour of New Zealand captained by

Larry Dwyer Lawrence Joseph Dwyer (2 February 1884 – August 1964) was an Australian rugby union player, a state and national representative fullback who captained the Wallabies in 1913. Dwyer, a fullback, was born in Orange, New South Wales. He was sc ...

. Thompson played in all three Tests of the tour. In 1914 the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

came to Australia and again Thompson played in all three Tests, twice as number 8 and once at flanker. His rugby career ended with the start of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with a tally of six international rugby caps for Australia. He enlisted in Sydney in the AIF in January 1915 six months after war was declared, citing his occupation as carpenter. He embarked as a Private with the 13th Battalion (3rd reinforcement) from Sydney on 11 February 1915 on board the ''HMAT A49 Seang Choon''. He saw active service at

Gallipoli The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...

and was there killed in action on 29 May 1915. He is buried in the Shrapnel Valley Cemetery at Gallipoli.AIF Project

Sources

* Collection (1995) ''Gordon Bray presents The Spirit of Rugby'', Harper Collins Publishers Sydney (J.C Davis article "Patriots of the Battlefield" 1st published in ''The Referee'' Sept 1915)
Fred Thompson's record at the AIF Project

Footnotes

Australian rugby union players Australian military personnel killed in World War I Australia international rugby union players 1915 deaths 1890 births Burials at Shrapnel Valley Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery Rugby union players from Sydney Rugby union number eights {{Australia-rugbyunion-bio-stub