Private Robert William Thompson had had been born in Yorkshire England in 1892, and his appearance on the Belfast Memorial suggests that he worked in the area at some time, although at the time of his enlistment in June 1915, he was working in a hotel in nearby Kaiapoi. He arrived in Egypt too late for service in Gallipoli. In his short military career he acquired an interesting disciplinary record, with offences varying from being “unshaven on parade” in Zeitoun (2 days' confined to barracks) to the more serious “Leaving post when on picket” in France on 1 July 1916 (punished by forfeiting 2 days' pay and 20 days Field Punishment No 2 - a combination of pack drill, loss of leave privileges and rostering onto menial tasks). After the Division transferred to France, his introduction to active military service was near the notorious "Mushroom" section of the trenches near Armentieres. Robert Thompson fought in the initial actions in the battle of Flers-Courcellette and was killed in action on the day of the Second Brigade's final successful advance on 1 October 1916. He is commemorated on the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing at Caterpillar Valley on the Somme.
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