John Marlow Thompson
Air Commodore John Marlow Thompson, was a Royal Air Force officer and a flying ace of the Second World War. He is credited with having destroyed at least eight enemy aircraft.
Born in Somerset, England, Thompson joined the RAF in 1934 and once his training was completed was posted to No. 29 Squadron. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he became commander of No. 111 Squadron which he led through the Battle of France and the subsequent Battle of Britain. During this time, he achieved a number of aerial victories. In mid-1942 he was sent to the Middle East and was a wing leader, operating from Malta for several months. He held a series of staff and command posts for the remainder of the war. He stayed in the RAF in the postwar period, eventually ending his military career in 1966 as commander of the Military Air Traffic Organisation. He worked briefly in civil aviation before becoming involved in golf club administration. He retired in 1983 and died in Brighton eleven years later aged 79.
Early life
John Marlow Thompson, who became nicknamed 'Tommy' was born on 16 August 1914 in Keynsham, Somerset, and was educated at Bristol Grammar School. He gained a short service commission as an acting pilot officer in the Royal Air Force in March 1934. The following month, he commenced training at No. 5 Flying Training School at Sealand. He completed his pilot training in March 1935, was confirmed in his pilot officer rank and posted to No. 29 Squadron. The following August he was transferred to No. 151 Squadron and a month later was promoted to flying officer.By September 1937 Thompson was a flight commander with the squadron, having received a further promotion to flight lieutenant. In 1938, he married Margaret Rowlands; the couple went on to have three children.
Second World War
In January 1940, and with the Second World War well underway, Thompson was promoted to acting squadron leader and given command of No. 111 Squadron. Based at Drem in Scotland, the squadron was equipped with Hawker Hurricane fighters. It moved the following month to Wick, where it provided the Royal Navy base at Scapa Flow with aerial cover. By May 1940, the squadron was back in the south of England, based at Northolt.Battle of France
Thompson first saw action during the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, leading No. 111 Squadron in patrols over France. On 18 May, he destroyed two Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighters to the south of Douai although only one of these was able to be confirmed. The following day his Hurricane was damaged during an engagement with a group of Heinkel He 111 medium bombers that were being escorted by Bf 110s. Although one He 111 was claimed as destroyed, this could not be confirmed and he force-landed near Valenciennes. With the assistance of nearby British soldiers, he was able to make his way back to England, finding passage on a ship sailing from Boulogne.Returning to No. 111 Squadron, Thompson flew in support of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk. On 31 May he shot down a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter to the north of Dunkirk, but this was unconfirmed. The squadron subsequently provided escorts for the Fleet Air Arm's bombing operations over the French coast and during one of these, on 11 June, Thompson destroyed a Bf 109, damaged another and also engaged and damaged a Junkers Ju 88 medium bomber. The squadron was then briefly rested so it could train up replacement pilots.
Battle of Britain
In the early stages of the Battle of Britain, No. 111 Squadron was based at Croydon, initially patrolling over the English Channel and then being engaged in the aerial fighting over the southeast of England. Under Thompson's leadership, the squadron developed the tactic of making head-on attacks on approaching Luftwaffe bomber formations. He damaged a Dornier Do 17 medium bomber near Folkestone on 10 July and damaged another the following day, several miles east of North Foreland. During an engagement on 13 August with more Do 17s over Eastchurch, he destroyed one and damaged another. Two days later he shot down a Do 17 over the Thames Estuary and a Bf 110 near Croydon. He also claimed a Bf 109 as damaged the same day. Another Do 17 was shot down near Dungeness by Thompson on 16 August. For his exploits over the past few months, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross in September. The published citation read:Channel Front
Thompson moved into an air staff position at the headquarters of [No. No. 11 Group RAF|11 Group RAF|11 Group] in October 1940, where he remained for several months. Then, in June 1941, he was given command of No. 131 Squadron. This was a new squadron, formed at Ouston around a cadre of Belgian pilots and equipped with Supermarine Spitfire fighters.Thompson worked the unit up to operational status by October and the following month he and several Belgian pilots were detached to form the basis of No. 350 Squadron. A dedicated unit of Belgian fighter pilots, it was based at Valley and equipped with Spitfires. It became operational in December and carried out air cover patrols for shipping in the Irish Sea and was also occasionally scrambled to deal with incoming German aircraft. Thompson led the squadron until he was rested in March 1942. He was later awarded the Belgian Military Cross, First Class, in recognition of his work with the Belgian squadron.
Malta
Newly promoted to wing commander, Thompson was sent to the Middle East and found himself without a role once in Egypt. He contrived to get himself sent to Malta in July, where he became the temporary wing leader of the Takali Fighter Wing. After a few weeks, the nominal commander of the wing arrived and Thompson took over leadership of the Hal Far Fighter Wing. Flying south of Sicily, he and another pilot shared in the destruction of a Ju 88 on 27 August. During the October blitz of Malta mounted by the Luftwaffe, Thompson achieved a number of aerial victories, the first of which being a Bf 109 that he shot down over St. Paul's Bay. He damaged a Bf 109 the following day and on 14 October damaged another Bf 109 and destroyed a Ju 88, the latter to the north of Zonkor. In December, he was awarded a Bar to his DFC and later in the month took command of the Luqa Fighter Wing, the third of Malta's fighter wings. He was the only RAF officer to command all of the island's fighter wings. In May 1943, Thompson was awarded the Distinguished Service Order, the published citation reading:Later war service
In June, Thompson was posted to RAF headquarters on Malta, with responsibility for training. Soon afterwards, he became ill with diphtheria and was hospitalised for several weeks. On his recovery, he was commanding officer of the RAF station at Hal Far until February 1944, then briefly led a fighter wing that was based at Palermo, in Sicily for a time before taking up command of No. 338 Wing, based in Algiers. He held various staff roles thereafter and by August 1945 Thompson was sector commander at North Weald.He ended the war credited with having destroyed eight confirmed enemy aircraft, with a share in two more destroyed. Three more were unconfirmed destroyed, one probably destroyed and one shared and seven damaged.