Jenkin Robert Oswald Thompson
Encyclopedia
Captain Jenkin Robert Oswald Thompson (13 July 1911 - 24 January 1944) was posthumously awarded the George Cross
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
on board HM Hospital Carriers Paris and Dunkirk in Sicily
and Anzio
.
The hospital carrier on which he was serving on the night of 24 January 1944, the St. David, was struck in a dive bomber attack at Anzio and Thompson organised the safe passage of the wounded to the lifeboats, saving all but one of the patients in his ward. As the ship was about to sink he returned to the ward in an attempt to rescue the last patient who was trapped below decks and went down with the ship. His citation was published in the London Gazette
on the 2nd of February 1945.
George Cross
The George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
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
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
on board HM Hospital Carriers Paris and Dunkirk in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
and Anzio
Anzio
Anzio is a city 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 Islands of Ponza, Palmarola and Ventotene...
.
The hospital carrier on which he was serving on the night of 24 January 1944, the St. David, was struck in a dive bomber attack at Anzio and Thompson organised the safe passage of the wounded to the lifeboats, saving all but one of the patients in his ward. As the ship was about to sink he returned to the ward in an attempt to rescue the last patient who was trapped below decks and went down with the ship. His citation was published in the London Gazette
London Gazette
The London Gazette is one of the official journals of record of the British government, and the most important among such official journals in the United Kingdom, in which certain statutory notices are required to be published...
on the 2nd of February 1945.