In memoriam
Private Brownlow Thompson
Brownlow Thompson was born on 8 October 1894 at Terraskane, Armagh, the last of four children of farmer Robert Thompson and his wife Mary Jane (nee Gillespie). By 1911 he was living at 33 Scotch Street, Armagh, where he worked as a draper's apprentice for Frederick Mitchell.
On 15 November 1915 Thompson was at Sligo, where he enlisted in the North Irish Horse. Nine days later he reported for duty at Antrim, where he was issued regimental number 1960. He embarked for France on 3 August 1916 with a reinforcement draft, joining either the 1st or 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment (probably the latter) in the field eight days later.
In September 1917 the 2nd North Irish Horse Regiment was dismounted and most of its men, together with some surplus to the needs of the 1st Regiment, were transferred to the 9th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Fusiliers – which was renamed the 9th (North Irish Horse) Battalion. Thompson, like most of the men, was transferred on 20 September. He was issued a new regimental number, 41372, and posted to B Company.
Thompson was hospitalised with conjuctivitis from 14 November to 7 December 1917, therefore missing much of the 9th Battalion's fighting at the Battle of Cambrai. He was granted leave from 22 December 1917 to 5 January 1918.
On 17 June 1918 Thompson was attached to the 108 Brigade Trench Mortar Battery, seeing action in the Advance to Victory offensive from late August to November that year.
Thompson went on a fortnight's leave from 10 November 1918 but then failed to rejoin his regiment. In his absence, in March 1919 he was posted to the 5th (Service) Battalion, Royal Irish Regiment (Pioneers) in the Army of the Rhine.
However the reason for Thompson's absence was that he had fallen ill while on leave. On 28 November 1918 he was admitted to the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital in London with ordinary influenza which developed into broncho-pneumonia in both lungs. He died on 7 December.
Private Thompson's body was returned to his home in Ireland. He was buried in the Eglish (Drumsallen) Church of Ireland Churchyard, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, grave 123. The grave inscriptions reads:
ERECTED
BY
ROBERT THOMPSON,
LISADAIN.
In Loving Memory of his Uncles
GEORGE & WILLIAM THOMPSON,
ALSO HIS SONS
PTE. BROWNLOW THOMPSON, R.I.F.
DIED 7TH DECR 1918.
ROBERT JOHN THOMPSON,
DIED 17TH JUNE 1920.
AGED RESPECTIVELY 23 AND 30 YEARS.
ALSO MARY JANE, DIED 15TH JAN. 1938
AND ERIC, DIED 7TH FEB. 1938.
ALSO ROBERT, DIED 11TH MARCH 1938.
AND HIS SON, ANDREW
DIED 20TH MAY 1962.
ALSO HIS WIFE MARTHA,
DIED 5TH MARCH 1969.
ALSO THEIR SON ANDREW
DIED 19TH DEC. 1990.
His name is included on the Roll of Honour of the Sligo Cathedral of St Mary and St John (see image below).
Family memorial plaque
Roll of Honour of the Sligo Cathedral of St Mary and St John
Second image kindly provided by Steve Rogers, Project Co-ordinator of the The War Graves Photographic Project, www.twgpp.org. First, third and fourth images sourced from Ancestry.com Public Member Trees - contributor Michael Thompson. Fifth image sourced from the Irish War Memorials site.
This page last updated 20 March 2024.