| John Marlow Thompson | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 August 1914 Keynsham, Somerset, England |
| Died | 23 July 1994 (aged 79) Brighton, Sussex, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Air Force |
| Years of service | 1934–1966 |
| Rank | Air Commodore |
| Commands held |
No. 111 Squadron RAF |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards |
Commander of the Order of the British Empire |
Air Commodore John Marlow Thompson CBE DSO DFC & Bar AFC (16 August 1914 - 23 July 1994) was a Second World War Royal Air Force ace and Battle of Britain pilot.
Thompson was born on 16 August 1914 in Keynsham, Somerset and he joined the Royal Air Force on 16 March 1934. He finished his pilot training in March 1935 and was posted to 29 Squadron. By 1937 he was a flight commander with 151 Squadron and then with promotion to acting Squadron Leader he took command of 111 Squadron with Hawker Hurricanes in January 1940. He moved on to an air staff position with 11 Group in October 1940. He gained command of 131 Squadron in June 1941 and in November 1941 he became the commanding officer of 350 (Belgian) Squadron.. In early 1942 he was moved to the Middle East to become a wing leader and later commanding officer of RAF Hal Far in Malta at the end of 1943.
Thompson attended staff college in 1945 and by 1957 was officer commanding RAF Leeming, becoming the Director of Air Defence in December 1958. His last appointment was at HQ Military Air Traffic Organisation in 1962 until he retired in September 1966.
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Thompson first saw action during the Battle of France, leading a detachment of 111 Squadron. His Hurricane was damaged by Bf 110s on 19 May, and he force-landed. H claimed two victories confirmed and 3 unconfirmed during this period. Under his command 111 Squadron provided escort for the Fleet Air Arm's bombing operations over the French coast during June 1940.He flew during the Battle of Britain, and was awarded the DFC in September. Thompson claimed a further four victories during the Battle.
During August- October 1942, as Hal Far Wing Leader on Malta, Thompson claimed two more victories, a Ju 88 of KG 54 and a JG 27 Bf 109 F, and several aircraft damaged.
At the end of the Second World War Thompson had eight confirmed destroyed and two shared, three unconfirmed destroyed, one probable and one shared and seven damaged.[1]
He became the general manager of Airwork in Saudi Arabia for the first two years after he retired from the RAF and then returned to the UK to become secretary of the Moor Park Golf Club which was followed by an 11 year tenure as secretary of the Monte Carlo Golf Club. In 1983 he returned to Sussex where he stayed until his death in 1994.