Family :

Service Life:

Campaigns:

• The First World War 1914-1918, World-wide.

27 May - 6 June 1918. In another attempt to exploit perceived allied weakness after the initial Kaiserschlacht campaign of March-April 1918 had lost momentum, the German command directed an attack on the area around Soissons-Rheims against the French army. It was the misfortune of five British Divisions to have been sent to that ?quiet? sector to recover after the exertions on the British front and find themselves in the way of, and bearing the brunt of, yet another German assault. They suffered significant losses before the French army could restore the situation.

Detail :

http://www.ww1-yorkshires.org.uk/pdf-files/officers-died-ww1(coulson).pdf Lt Col James Albert Raymond Thomson DSO ? 5th Battalion. James Thomson was born in Huddersfield in 1876 and was a pre-war territorial officer with the 5th battalion. He took the Yorkshires first prisoners of war at Hull in 1914 whilst in charge of interned German shipping. Captain Thomson sailed with the battalion from Southampton landing at Le Havre on April 16th 1915. He saw action at St Julien and Hooge during the second Ypres battle and was wounded in action close to Dickebusche on December 19th 1915. During the 'Operations at the Bluff' in February of 1916 he was wounded again but was back with the battalion in September during the Somme offensive. By now promoted, Major Thomson fought at the Battle of Arras in April 1917 and on July 10th assumed command of the battalion at Cherisy when Lt Col Pearce was wounded. The battalion fought rearguard actions during the German spring offensive in March 1918 and on the 25th of the month the GOC 24th Brigade sent for the newly promoted Lt Col Thomson to thank him for the efforts made by the officers and men of the battalion during the German onslaught. On April 25th 1918 Lt Col Thomson and the battalion were moved to what was considered to be a ?quiet area? on the Chemin des Dames ridge. On May 27th with the Yorkshires on the Craonne Plateau the Germans launched a ?totally unexpected attack? on the British line. By 6-00am Lt Col Thomson?s last report was received, ?HQ company fighting about the command post and appear to be surrounded?. Lt Col James Albert Raymond Thomson DSO was killed in this action on May 27th 1918 at the age of 42. His grave today can be seen in Vendresse British Cemetery on the Aisne ten miles south of Laon. James Thomson was the son of James and Eliza Thomson and the husband of Ethel Thomson of ?The Uplands?, Malton in North Yorkshire. His name is remembered on the Sledmere Cross close to the home of his former commanding officer,Sir Mark Sykes and also on Malton War Memorial.

Citations & Commemorations :

Masonic :

Source :

The project globally acknowledges the following as sources of information for research across the whole database:

• The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
• The (UK) National Archives
• Ancestry.co.uk - Genealogy, Family Trees & Family History online
• ugle.org.uk - The records of the United Grand Lodge of England including the Library and Museum of Freemasonry

Additional Source:

• Founder Researchers : Paul Masters & Mike McCarthy
• Researcher : Bruce Littley