Major, Royal Sussex Regiment
Born: July 6th 1920
Died: July 30th 1945
Age at Death: 25
Died of wounds, Burma, July 30th 1945
2nd 15 1936-1937
Boxing 8 1936
Warwick was born in Brighton on 6 July 1920, to Percy Thompson, a bookie, and his wife Hetty (née Baynard). At the College he punched for the Boxing VIII. In July 1940 he enlisted in the Royal Horse Guards, and the following year was commissioned as an officer. A note from a brigadier on his discharge papers from officer training, marked ‘Suitable for India’, shows the widespread snobbery of the time (note the reference to his public school, which the brigadier appears to deem sufficiently grand) but also the desire for officers with the common touch:
My dear Forester, A very nice boy I know wants to enlist into your regiment – was at Brighton College – has a lot of friends in the ranks. His name is Warwick Thompson – the son of a bookmaker – but different class to the ordinary run – His father also is different class. Allen Stanley knows him and vetted him and is satisfied about him – Could you be a good fellow & put the machinery in motion.
He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 15th Punjab Regiment. By April 1945 he was an acting major, and died from wounds received in Burma on 30 July 1945. He was buried in the Taukkyan War Cemetery in Myanmar.