Captain Jenkin Robert Oswald Thompson GC (13 July 1911 – 24 January 1944) was posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has be ...

for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He was awarded the decoration for the courage he showed while serving as a captain in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps ...

on board HM Hospital Carriers ''Paris'' and ''St. David'' in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Anzio Anzio (, also , ) is a town and '' comune'' on the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Is ...

George Cross

Thompson was awarded a posthumous

for his duty from May 1940 to January 1944. This was while he was serving as a captain in the

on board the HM Hospital Carriers ''Paris'' (at

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

from 10 to 14 July 1943; at

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

from 10 to 15 September 1943; and at

during 23/24 January 1944). On all these occasions, despite repeated dive-bombing attacks and enemy shell-fire, he showed indifference to danger and physical exhaustion in the care of his patients. On the night of 24 January 1944 as the ''St. David'' sailed out from Anzio, he displayed outstanding heroism when the ship was sinking rapidly as the result of a direct hit from a

Luftwaffe The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German '' Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the '' Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabt ...

dive-bomber. Captain Thompson organised parties to carry the seriously wounded to safety in the boats and by his courage and coolness was instrumental in saving the lives of all the patients in his ward, except one, as well as those of many walking cases from other wards. Finally, when the ship was about to founder and all were ordered to save themselves, he returned alone to almost certain death in an endeavour to save the one remaining patient who was still lying trapped below decks. He went down with the ship.CWGC entry
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George Cross citation

His citation was published in the

London Gazette London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major s ...

on 2 February 1945.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Jenkin Robert Oswald 1911 births 1944 deaths British recipients of the George Cross British Army personnel killed in World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers Military personnel from Surrey Military personnel from Fulham 20th-century British medical doctors People lost at sea