The Thomson Family

Ada Muriel Thomson

known as "Muriel"

Birth: 8 January 1888

Baptism: 2 February 1888, in Bombay, Maharastra, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Caroline Ada (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 5 August 1982

Sources:

Agnes Jane C. Thomson

Birth: 31 May 1844, at the Cottage, Ottery St Mary, Devon, England
Rootsweb Cornish-L Archives 14 June 1844 BMDs
At the Cottage, Ottery St. Mary, on the 31st ult., the wife of the REV. HENRY THURSTON THOMSON, Chaplain Priest, of a daughter.

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Census:
1851: Crewkerne, Somerset
1861: 2 Mount Pleasant, Barrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset

Sources:

Agnes Thomson

Birth: 1847, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1847, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Notes: John was a twin to Agnes

Sources:

Alfred Osmond Gascoigne Thomson

Birth: 1887, in Taunton, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 28 December 1899, at Merton Vicarage, Merton, Oxfordshire, England, aged 12
Guardian 10 January 1900 p12
   DEATHS.
THOMSON.—On Dec. 28th, 1899 (Holy Innocents' Day), at Merton Vicarage, Alfred Osmond Gascoigne, eldest son of the Rev. G. O. L. Thomson, Vicar of Merton, Oxon, and formerly Head Master of the King's College, Taunton, aged 12.

Buried: 1 February 1900, in Merton, Oxfordshire, England

Census:
1891: Kings College, Taunton St Mary Magdelen, Somerset

Sources:

Alice Thomson

Birth: 9 April 1838, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1892, in Thanet district, Kent, England, age 54

Census:
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Alice Joan Thomson

Birth: 12 November 1893, in Bridge district, Kent, England

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Annetta Mary Edith (Thomson) Bowers

Father: Henry Shepherd Thomson

Mother: Annie (Bailey) Thomson

Baptised: 11 February 1883, in St John The Baptist, Margate, Kent, England

Married: Arthur Fitzgerald Bowers

Sources:

Archibald Frank Thomson

Birth: 1886, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: Henry Shepherd Thomson

Mother: Annie (Bailey) Thomson

Married: Caroline

Death: 1935, in Durban, South Africa, aged 50

Notes: Archibald had no children.

Sources:

Arthur Henry Leveson Thomson

Katherine Ethel Thomson and siblings
Arthur Henry Leveson Thomson
(seated left, aged 6) with his siblings, 1901
photo courtesy of Claire Freestone
Birth: 21 August 1894, at the King's College, Taunton, Somerset, England
London Standard 27 August 1894 p1
   BIRTHS.
THOMSON.—August 21, at the King's College, Taunton, the wife of the Rev. G. O. L. Thomson, of a son.

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Dorothy Scott in 1937 in Chelsea district, London, England

Dorothy was born in 1904/5. She died in April 1968, as a result of an accident, aged 63.

Occupation: Accountant

Notes: Arthur served in the Territorial Force in the County of London Yeomanry (Westminster Dragoons) as a private, and transferred to the Army Service Corps as a temporary 2nd lieutenant on 25 April 1917 (London Gazette 24 August 1917 p8872) and promoted to temporary lieutenant on 25 October 1918 (London Gazette 17 January 1919 p1044). He relinquished the commission on completion of service on 27 March 1919, retaining the rank of lieutenant (London Gazette 12 May 1921 p3837). On 1 July 1940, Arthur was appointed as a lieutenant in the Royal Army Pay Corps (London Gazette 12 July 1940 p4353) and promoted to captain on 1 January 1949 (London Gazette 22 April 1949 p1970). He relinquished the commission on 1 January 1950, retaining the rank of captain (London Gazette 3 January 1950 p48).

Death: 5 July 1970, in Wallingford, Berkshire, England

Census:
1901: Merton, Oxfordshire

Sources:

Bertie Lilian Agnes Thomson

Birth: 31 December 1871

Baptism: 27 January 1872, in Byculla, Bombay, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Sarah (Wagstaffe) Thomson

Death: 15 March 1872, in Bombay, India
Births Marriages And Deaths 29 April 1872 p12
Thompson.—On the 15th March, at Bombay, Bertie Lilian Agnes, infant daughter of H. J. P. Thompson, Esq.

Buried: 15 March 1872, in Sewree, Byculla, Bombay, India, aged 0

Sources:

Bessie Sarah Thomson

Birth: about 1841

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1849, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Sources:

Dorothy Isobel Thomson

Birth: about 1888

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Notes: Dorothy illustrated the frontispiece of her father's book "The Real Indian People: Being More Tales and Sketches of the Masses" (1914), with a drawing of the hill town of Kilani, in India.

Sources:

Edith Violet Thomson

known as "Edie"

Birth: 14 March 1889

Baptism: 25 April 1889, in Malabar Hill - Bombay, Maharastra, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Caroline Ada (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 18 August 1970

Sources:

Edward Cusack Thomson

Birth: about 1858

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: about 1866, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Sources:

Elizabeth Thomson

Birth: 9 September 1817, in Hartingleigh, Kent, England

Baptism: 2 December 1817, in Hartingleigh, Kent, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Sources:

Ethel Mary (Thomson) Plumbe

Ethel Mary (Thomson) Plumbe
Ethel Mary (Thomson) Plumbe
circa 1915
(click for full photo)
photo from Alison Wreyford
Birth: 20 September 1870, in Bombay, India

Baptism: 1 November 1870, in Byculla, Bombay, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Sarah (Wagstaffe) Thomson

Education: Bishop Foxes, near Taunton, Somerset

Married: Philip Algernon Plumbe on 4 November 1903 in St Peters, Southsea, Hampshire, England

The reception appears to have been held back at Ethel's then home, being 84 St Andrew's Road, Southsea.

Philip was the brother of Ethel's stepmother, Caroline Ada Plumbe, who married Henry John Phipps Thomson after the death of Ethel's mother, Sarah Wagstaff.

Children: Death: 24 April 1951, at 42 Kingsfield Road, Bushey, Watford, Hertfordshire, England, aged 80

Census:
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset
1901: Merton, Oxfordshire [Ethel was staying with George Osmond Lees Thomson, her father's brother who was recently widowed. Also there at this time was Philip Agernon Plumbe, George's brother-in-law and two years later to be Ethels' husband]
1911: Watford Urban, Hertfordshire: Ethel Mary Plumbe is aged 40, born in Bombay, India

Sources:

Frances Thomson

Baptism: 25 August 1821, in Hartingleigh, Kent, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Death: 4 May 1831, in London, England

Buried: May 1831, in St Vedart, Foster Lane

Sources:

George Osmond Lees Thomson

Title: Reverend

Birth: 29 June 1842, in Kentisbeare, Devon, England
Rootsweb Cornish-L Archives 8 July 1842 BMDs
At Kentisbeare, Devon, on the 29th ult., the lady of the Rev. Henry Thurston THOMSON, of a son.

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Education: George attended St John's College in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, and matriculated from Magdalen Hall, Oxford on 1 November 1861, aged 19. He was an exhibitioner at Exeter College, Oxford from 1863 to 1866, obtaining a B.A. in 1865 and an M.A. in 1869.

Married: Louisa Elizabeth Plumbe on 30 December 1884, in St Luke, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England
Guardian 31 December 1884 p30
MARRIAGES.
Dec. 30, at St. Luke's, Maidenhead, by the Rev. E. C. Lowe, D.D., Canon of Ely, and Provost of Denstone, assisted by the Rev. W. G. Sawyer, Vicar, the REV. GEORGE OSMOND LEES THOMSON, Head Master of the King's College, Taunton, to LOUISA ELIZABETH, eldest daughter of the late SAMUEL ALDERSON PLUMBE, M.D., of Maidenhead.

George and Louisa were engaged to be married in August 1884.

Children: Occupation: Schoolmaster and clergyman
Registrum Collegii Exoniensis p235 (Charles William Boase, 1894)
   George Osmond Lees Thomson (2 s. late Rev. Henry Thurston, by Agnes Elizabeth Phipps), b Kentisbeare, Devon 29 June 1842, ed. Hurtspierpoit, M. Magdalen H. 1 Nov. 1861, Lucy exhibitioner Magd. H.; How 3 Dec 1863, 2 Classics 1865, B.A. 18 Dec. 1865, M.A. 2 Dec. 1869, Master at S. John's Coll., Hurtspierpoint, Fellow of S. Nicholas Coll., Lancing, Sussex 1867-80; in orders, Head Master of King's Coll., Taunton, 1880.

From 1867 to 1880, George was Second Master at St. John's College in Hurstpierpoint, Sussex, the school that he had attended as a student. The school magazine contains his impressions of moving from pupil to master.
Public School Magazine vol 1 January to June 1898 pp564-5
The Hurst Johnian ...
Many are the coruscations of humour which illuminate these pages. A former editor, G. O. L. Thomson talks about transmigrating from the "feelin' " to the "canin' " species. He means, of course, becoming a master instead of a boy. Speaking of a boy's respect for his headmaster, he remarks: "While a schoolboy is a schoolboy one only 'he' exists. Possibly his mother may share the title of 'she' with a locomotive and a cricket ball. The rest of creation is, comparatively, 'it.' "

In 1880 George was appointed Head Master at King's College in Taunton.
Guardian 8 September 1880 p13
   The Rev. G. O. L. Thomson, M.A., Exeter College, Oxford, for many years Second Master of St John's College, Hurstpierpoint, has been appointed Head Master of the King's College, Taunton

Afterwards George was vicar of Merton, Oxfordshire. He published a series of sermons named "The Messages to the Seven Churches of Asia".
The Church Standard 24 November 1900 p124
The Messages of the Seven Churches of Asia. By G. O. L. Thomson, M.A., Assistant Curate of Holy Trinity, Taunton. New York Longmans, Green & Co.
  This little book of fifty-three pages contains six sermons, preached in Lent. Their respective subjects are Spiritual Coldness, Faithfulness unto Death, Acquiescence in Wrong, Toleration of False Teaching, Spiritual Death, and Spiritual Lukewarmness. The sermons are sound and strong.
    W. M. G. 

Notes:
London Standard 10 November 1899 p3
    TO THE EDITOR OF THE STANDARD.
  SIR,—I possess a copy of Ortelius's Atlas, published at Antwerp in 1570. In the map of Africa is marked a river running south-east, from latitude 25° to about 28°, and called “Fl : del oro” Johannesburg, be it observed, is in latitude 26°. The longitude of the source of the “Fl : del oro” is about 52° East. But as Greenwich, according to Ortelius, would be about 23°, the 52° would represent our 29°, Johannesburg being 28°. The coincidence is, at least, singular. It stands thus:—Johannesburg, latitude 26°; longitude, 28°; source of “Fl : del oro,” latitude, 25°; longitude, 29°. And this in a map which is three hundred and thirty years old.
  It is sufficiently amusing to find in latitude 23°, and eight degrees west of Cape Corrientes (that is, just within the limits of the Boer Republic), a place marked “Buro.”
    I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
        G. O. L. THOMSON.
  Merton Vicarage, Bicester, November 7.

Death: 1909, in Bicester district, Oxfordshire, England, aged 67

Buried: 12 August 1909, in Merton, Oxfordshire, England

Notes: George's second name "Osmond" might be after Osmond G. Phipps, presumably a relative of George's mother, with whom his father collaborated in musical composition.

Census:
1851: Crewkerne, Somerset
1861: St John's College, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex
1871: St John's College, Hurstpierpoint, Sussex
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset
1891: Kings College, Taunton St Mary Magdelen, Somerset
1901: Merton, Oxfordshire

Sources:

Henry Thomson

Title: Reverend

Birth: 9 February 1780, at Cliffords Inn, Fetter Lane, London

Father: John Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth Thurston

Education: Charterhouse School, then Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was awarded a B.A. in 1801 and an M.A. in 1810.

Married: Mary Ann Pittock on 25 November 1809, in St. James, Westminster, London, England. Mary was born about 1780, in Eastry, Kent

Children: Occupation: Clergyman. Henry was ordained a deacon at Westminster on 13 June 1802, and appointed curate of Little Hardres, Kent the same year. He was ordained a priest in 1803, and from 1806 to 1809 was curate of Eastry with Worth in Kent. From 1817 until 1823, Henry was curate of Hastingleigh with Elmstead in Kent. 

Death: 11 May 1835, at Charlton near Woolwich, Kent, England

Buried: 21 May 1835, in Charlton Churchyard, Kent, England

Sources:

Henry Thurston Thomson

Title: Reverend

Birth: 26 June 1812, in Exning, Suffolk, England

Baptism: 26 June 1812, in Exning, Suffolk, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann (Pittock) Thomson

Education: St Paul's School (admitted 2 March 1821, aged 8), then Magdelene College, Cambridge where he was awarded a B.A. in 1837.
Admission Registers of St. Paul's School from 1748 to 1876 (Gardiner, Robert Barlow, 1884) p264
Mar. 2. [1821] Henry Thurston Thomson, aged 8, son of Henry T., clerk, Hastingleigh, Kent.
Pauline Exhibitioner, 1831; Magdalene College, Cambridge (Scholar): B.A. 1837; Chaplain Priest of Ottery St. Mary Devon, 1842; died 1855; author of Sermons; Esther, a Poem, &c.

Alumni Cantabrigienses
Adm. sizar (age 18) at MAGDALENE, June 21, 1831. [2nd] s. of the Rev. Henry (above), of London [of Hastingleigh] (and Mary Ann Pittock). School, St Paul's. Matric. Michs. 1831; B.A. 1837. Chaplain-Priest of Ottery St Mary, Devon, 1842-8. C. of Crewkerne, Somerset, 1852-3. C. of Chard, 1854-5. C. of Cudworth, 1855. Author, Sermons; Esther (a Poem), etc. Died Dec. 13, 1855, aged 43, at Chard. (St Paul's Sch. Reg.; Clergy List; G. Mag., 1856, I. 432.)

Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson
Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson
photo courtesy of Christopher Thomson
Married: Agnes Elizabeth Phipps in 1840, in Thanet district, Kent, England.

Agnes was born in 1813, in Paddington, Middlesex, and baptised on 30 December 1813 at St James, Paddington, the daughter of William Window Phipps and Frances Saffrey. She was a teacher of music, and likely the author of a children's story entitled "The Shepherd-Boy of Vespignano" published in Saint Nicholas vol 7 pp224-7 (Scribner & Company, 1879). Agnes died in 1880, in Thanet district, Kent, aged 66.
Census:
1841: Kentisbeare Village, Kentisbeare, Devon
1851: Crewkerne, Somerset
1861: 2 Mount Pleasant, Barrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire
1871: Ramsgate, Kent: Agnes E. Thomson is widowed, aged 57, born in Paddington

Children: Occupation: Schoolmaster, clergyman. Henry was schoolmaster at Redruth, Cornwall from 1837 to 1839. He was then Chaplain-Priest of Ottery St Mary, Devon from 1842 to 1848, curate of Crewkerne, Somerset, from 1852 to 1853, then curate of Chard, Somerset from 1854 to 1855, and curate of Cudworth in 1855.

Esther's Song
Illustrated Music Cover for Esther's Song written by Henry Thurston Thomson and Osmond G. Phipps.
from The Sheetmusic Warehouse
Notes:
Henry was the author of Esther, a Sacred Poem, in Three Cantos, which was set to music by Osmond G. Phipps and published as Esthers Song. Land of my Fathers. Thy Glory is Faded, dedicated to the Reverend William Sykes, vicar of Collumpton, Devon. (Osmond was presumably a relative of Henry's wife, Agnes Phipps)
West-country Poets (Wright, William Henry Kearley, 1896) p444
REV. HENRY THURSTON THOMSON, B.A. (1812-1855).
MR. THOMSON (born at Exning, Suffolk, 1812) was the author of 'Esther, a Sacred Poem, in Three Cantos,' brought out in three parts and printed at Truro (1837); also some hymns and other poetical works. He was a schoolmaster at Redruth in 1837-39 and subsequently curate of Chard, where he died in 1855.

Death: 13 December 1855, in Chard, Somerset, England, aged 43

Census:
1841: Kentisbeare Village, Kentisbeare, Devon
1851: Crewkerne, Somerset

Sources:

Henry John Phipps Thomson

known as "Harry"

Birth: 1840, in Cullompton, Devon, England

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Married (1st): Sarah Wagstaffe in 1869, in Grantham district, Lincolnshire, England

Children: Married (2nd): Caroline Ada Plumbe on 18 March 1884, in St Luke, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England
Henry is recorded as a widower, aged 43, resident in St Mary Magdelen, Taunton. He is Secretary to the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, Bombay. Caroline is recorded as aged 19. The marriage was witnessed by Samuel Thomson Plumbe M.D., Philip Algernon Plumbe, E. M. Thomson, Louisa B. Plumbe, and Laura Kate Plumbe.
London Evening News 20 March 1884 p4
MARRIAGES.
THOMSON—PLUMBE—On the 18th inst., at St. Luke's, Maidenhead, by the Rev. G. O. L. Thomson, M.A., brother of the bridegroom, assisted by the vicar, the Rev. W. G. Sawyer, M.A., Henry John Phipps Thomson, of Bombay, to Caroline Ada, fourth daughter of the late Samuel Alderson Plumbe, M.D.

Children:

Occupation: Secretary of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway
A Memorandum of Agreement shows Harry employed and contracted for 950 Rupees per mensem to travel from Southampton on 26 December 1869 to work for the Great Indian Peninsula Railway Company. An amount of £94-10/- was loaned to cover personal expenses and passage money to Bombay. Harry rose to be Secretary of the Company.

Death: 12 February 1907, in Portsmouth district, Hampshire, England, aged 66

Census & Addresses:
1841: Kentisbeare Village, Kentisbeare, Devon
1851: Crewkerne, Somerset
1861: 2 Mount Pleasant, Barrowby Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire
1906: 84 St Andrews Road, Southsea, Hampshire   (Rootsweb WorldConnect (martingough I100))

Sources:

Henry Albert Richardson Thomson

Birth: 1843, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Married: Clara Roberts

Death: 1878

Sources:

Henry Shepherd Thomson

Birth: 4 June 1854, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Annie Bailey in 1881, in Hackney district, Middlesex, England

Children:
Grave of Henry Shepherd Thomson
Grave of Henry Shepherd Thomson
in Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa
The inscription reads:
IN LOVING MEMORY
OF
MY BELOVED HUSBAND
HENRY SHEPHERD THOMSON
DIED 19th JULY 1899
AGED 46 YEARS
-------------
DEEPLY REGRETTED BY HIS
SORROWING WIFE & CHILDREN
photo by Gael Howell
Occupation: Solicitor

Death: 19 July 1899, in Cape Town, South Africa, aged 46. Henry was hit by a locomotive while working in the Cape Town Harbour, and died instantly. His wife Annie Thomson wrote in the inquest that he had not been well, and was feeling weak. It seems likely that he fell, and was then hit by the train.

Buried: 21 July 1899, in Maitland Cemetery, Cape Town, South Africa

Notes:
Henry was a cricketer and played two matches for Kent in 1876. He was a left handed batsman, and left arm (round arm) fast bowler. He played vs. the MCC at Canterbury on 10 August 1876 and vs Hampshire in Faversham on 17 August 1876 but that was extent of his first class career.

Census:
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Henry Wagstaffe Thomson

Birth: 22 February 1874, in the Bombay Presidency, India

Baptism: 21 March 1874, in Byculla, Bombay, India

Father: Henry John Phipps Thomson

Mother: Sarah (Wagstaffe) Thomson

Education: Winchester College, Trinity College, Oxford
Winchester College, 1836-1906: A Register p487
Thomson,  Henry Wagstaffe (I), b. 22 Feb 1874, s. of Henry John Phipps Thomson, Esq., Secretary of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, Malabar Hill, Bombay, and Sarah, his wife.
Trin. Coll. Oxon 1893, Exhibnr. 1894, 2 Cl. Mod. 1895; Cadet Federated Malay States Civil Service 1896; held various posts in Selangor, F.M.S. 1898-1900; District Officer, Kuantan, Pahang, F.M.S. 1900-3; seconded for service under the Siamese Government, as Assist. Adviser to H.H. the Raja of Kelantan 1903; 4th-Class Royal Siamese Order of the Crown 1905; resigned the Civil Service of the F.M.S. and joined the Siamese Civil Service 1906. Address Bangkok. Club Sports.

Married: Yvonne Mary Winn in 1907 in Portsmouth district, Hampshire, England

Occupation: Civil Service of the Federated Malay States until 1906 when he resigned to join the Siamese Civil Service. In 1921, Henry was British Adviser, Kelantan of the Unfederated Malay States.

Death: 22 April 1941, at Mixbury, Lower Warberry Road, Torquay, Devon, England, during a wartime bombing raid, aged 67.
Henry's niece and nephew, Elizabeth and Thomas Windeatt, also died at Mixbury during the same raid.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
THOMSON, HENRY WAGSTAFF
Rank: Civilian
Date of Death: 22/04/1941
Age: 67
Regiment/Service: Civilian War Dead
Reporting Authority: TORQUAY, MUNICIPAL BOROUGH
Additional Information: B.A., C.M.G., Order of the Crown of Siam, 4th Class; of 33 Nettlecombe Avenue, Southsea, Hampshire. Son of the late Henry John Phipps Thomson and Sarah Wagstaff Thomson, of Southsea; husband of Yvonne Mary Thomson. Died at Mixbury, Lower Warberry Road.

Further information on Henry's death is provided in a letter from Rev. Charles Mason (who married Kate Plumbe, the sister of Henry's stepmother, Caroline Ada Plumbe) to his school magazine in 1942:
The Aluredian vol XVII no. 1 Lent 1942 p36
( l ) 2nd June, 1942 :—
...
A nephew and piece of Osmund Thomson lived in his house for some time, sons of Harry Thomson by his first wife. Harry, the nephew, went to New College, Oxford (he was a member of the School when there), went in for I.C.S., but got the Colonial C.S., and was for many years in the Straits Settlements. He retired and was living in Southsea, his wife's early home. His house was wrecked, and then he joined up with some cousins at Torquay. One day a 'plane was returning, injured, and to lighten its cargo dropped a bomb just over their house. He, the maid serving tea, and two of the cousin's children were killed instantly and the rest injured, but not seriously, and they made a good recovery: but Harry's death was a great blow to the family.

Census & Addresses:
1881: King's College, Shoreditch Road, Taunton, Somerset
1941: 33 Nettlecombe Avenue, Southsea, Hampshire   (Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Sources:

Henry John Egerton Thomson

Birth: 1883, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: Henry Shepherd Thomson

Mother: Annie (Bailey) Thomson

Death: 1957, in Durban, South Africa, aged 74

Sources:

John Buck Thomson

Birth: 1810, in Newmarket, Suffolk

Baptism: 19 October 1810, in St. Mary's, Newmarket, Suffolk, England

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Married (1st): Elizabeth Payton on 12 November 1833, in St Peters, Thanet, Kent, England. Elizabeth was baptised on 7 June 1807, in St Peters, Thanet. Probably the Elizabeth Thomson who died in Thanet district in 2Q1850.

Children: Married (2nd): Margaret Plumbe on 11 December 1851, in St Georges, Ramsgate, Kent, England

Children: Married (3rd): Mary Anne Knight on 12 October 1875 in Chatham, Kent, England. Mary was born in 1838/9, in Bekesbourne, Kent, the daughter of John Knight. She was a nursemaid in 1861.

Children: Occupation: Surgeon & GP. John was a member of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Census:
1861: 38 Spencer Square, Ramsgate, Kent
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1881: 38 Spencer Square, Ramsgate, Kent

Death: 22 October 1887, at Kenfield Lodge, Thanet district, Kent, England, aged 77. (Note: I can find no record of Kenfield Lodge, but assume that it might be related to Kenfield Hall, near Petham, in Kent)

Sources:

John Thomson

Birth: 1847, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Death: 1849, in Thanet district, Kent, England

Notes: John was a twin to Agnes

Sources:

Katherine Ethel (Thomson) Bensted-Smith

Katherine Ethel Thomson and siblings
Katherine Ethel Thomson
(seated right, aged 12) with her siblings, 1901
photo courtesy of Claire Freestone
Birth: 9 August 1888, at King's College, Taunton, Somerset, England
Guardian 22 August 1888 p13
BIRTHS.
DAUGHTERS.
THOMSON.—Aug 9, King's College, Taunton, the wife of Rev. G. O. L. Thomson.

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: William Francis Bensted-Smith in 1915, in St George Hanover Square district, London, England

William was born in 1888/9. He was a doctor who contributed a number of letters to the British Medical Journal. William was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 3rd London General Hospital unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps on 10 April 1915 (London Gazette 21 May 1915 p4906). On 2 July 1916, he was a captain, and transferred to the London Casualty Clearing Station, also in the Royal Army Medical Corps (London Gazette 30 June 1916 p6581). William was promoted to acting major while specially employed on 19 January 1919, relinquishing the acting rank on 20 March 1919 (London Gazette 4 July 1919 p8519) and mentioned in despatches on 10 July 1919 (London Gazette 8 July 1919 p8779). He died on 31 December 1964 in Plympton district, Devon, England, aged 75.
Addresses:
1964: Taffarel, Riverside Road, Newton Ferrers, Devon   (London Gazette 19 January 1965 p772)

Notes: Katherine was known as "Kitty"

Death: 1941, in Newton Ferrers, Newton and Noss, Devon, England, aged 53
Western Times (Devon) 12 December 1941
The death has taken place at Newton Ferrers of Mrs. Katherine Ethel Bensted-Smith, wife of Dr. W. F. Bensted-Smith.

Census:
1891: Kings College, Taunton St Mary Magdelen, Somerset
1901: Merton, Oxfordshire
1911: St Margaret and St John, London: Katherine Thomson, boarder, is aged 22, born in Taunton, Somerset

Sources:

Lilian Mary (Thomson) Windeatt

Katherine Ethel Thomson and siblings
Lilian Mary Thomson
(second from right, aged 10) with her siblings, 1901
photo courtesy of Claire Freestone
Birth: 28 November 1890, at King's College, Taunton, Somerset, England
Guardian 3 December 1890 p12
BIRTHS.
DAUGHTERS.
THOMSON.—Nov. 28, the King's College, Taunton, the wife of Rev. G. O. L. Thomson.

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Thomas Reginald Amery Windeatt
The Straits Times 8 November 1921 p8
  The engagement is announced of Mr. T. R. A. Windeatt of Messrs. Osborne and Chappel, Ipoh, son of the late Mr. T. W. Windeatt and Mrs. Windeatt, Totnes, Devon, to Miss L. M. (Anne) Thomson, daughter of the late Rev. G. O. L. Thomson and Mrs Thomson, Merton Vicarage, Bicester, and cousin of Mr. H. W. Thomson, British Adviser, Kelantan.

Notes: Known as "Anne"

Census:
1891: Kings College, Taunton St Mary Magdelen, Somerset
1901: Merton, Oxfordshire

Sources:

Margaret Emma (Thomson) King

Birth: 1855, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Charles Thomas King (his third wife)

Death: May 1951, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, England, aged 96

Census:
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1881: High Street, Cookham, Berkshire

Sources:

Marguerite Shepherd Thomson

Birth: 1860, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 1897, at Monkendons, Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, aged 37
London Daily Mail 5 August 1897 p1
THOMSON.—On August 1, at Monkendons, Maidenhead, Marguerite Shepherd Thomson, daughter of the late John Buck Thomson, Surgeon, of Ramsgate, aged 37.

Census:
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1881: High Street, Cookham, Berkshire

Sources:

Margaret Maud Thomson

Birth: about 1886

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Mary Ann Thomson

Birth: January 1816, in Deal, Kent

Father: Henry Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann Pittock

Married: Christopher Mends Gibson. Christopher was born 22 February 1796 and baptised 22 March 1796 at Batter Street-Presbyterian, Plymouth, Devon, the son of Archibald Burt Gibson and Ann. He died in 1872, in Truro district, Devon, aged 76. Christopher was a clergyman.

Children: Buried: St Clement, Truro, Cornwall, England

Sources:

Mary Elizabeth Thomson

Birth: about 1833

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Sources:

Mary Ann Christina Thomson

Birth: 25 December 1876, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Mary Ann (Knight) Thomson

Occupation: Music Teacher

Census:
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Reginald Gresham Thomson

Katherine Ethel Thomson and siblings
Reginald Gresham Thomson
(second from left, aged 5) with his siblings, 1901
photo courtesy of Claire Freestone
Birth: 1 August 1896, in Taunton, Somerset, England

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Education: Shirley House School (Watford), St Edmund's School, Canterbury, and R.M.C., Sandhurst

Occupation: Served in the King's Shropshire Light Infantry, 3rd Battalion. Served in Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Reggie was a Lieutenant and Acting Captain. Awarded the Military Cross.

Notes: known as "Reggie"

Brie British Cemetery
Brie British Cemetery where Reggie Thomson is buried
from Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Death: 18 September 1918, aged 22

Buried: Brie British Cemetery, Somme, France. Grave I.B. 5

Memorial Plaque St Marys Watford
Memorial Plaque of the Great War
in St. Mary’s Church, Watford
listing Lieut. R. G. Thomson M.C.
photo by Stuart Glover published in Men of St. Mary's Watford
Reginald is listed on the Memorial Plaque of the Great War in St Mary's Church, Watford, Hertfordshire.

Biography:
Men of St. Mary's Watford pp80-1 (Judith Ballard, 2014)
THOMSON, R.G., (M.C.)
Acting Captain, King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, “A” Company, 1st Battalion
  Reginald Gresham Thomson was born in the summer of 1896, in Taunton, Somerset. He was the youngest of five children, and his father was a “Clerk in Holy Orders” and the headmaster of King’s College in Taunton. After that he returned to parish work, and was the Vicar of St. Swithun’s Church, Merton, in Bicester, Oxfordshire.
  After his father died Reginald was sent to live with his uncle, G. S. Whitfield, who lived at Little Cassiobury House, Watford, and from there he attended Shirley House School. Afterwards he went to St. Edmund’s School in Canterbury, where he is shown as a 14 year-old Boarder in the 1911 Census. This school was called a “Clergy Orphan School for Boys” and was at St. Thomas Hill in Canterbury.
  In 1915, at the age of 18, he attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and from there went straight into the field of Battle. He was in Gallipoli in 1915, which is where, as Lieutenant, he was mentioned in Despatches and also won the Military Cross, although so far no account of his actions in order to win this award have been found. In 1916 Reginald was in Mesopotamia, where he was badly wounded. It was unlikely that he was with the 1st Battalion at this point, more likely the 8th Battalion. Again, there is no record of his injury or recovery yet discovered.
  In 1917 he went to France. By this time he was Acting Captain. The 1st Battalion saw action at the battle of Hill 70, Cambrai, and St. Quentin. Reginald was wounded again in March 1918, and had only just returned to the Front when he was fatally wounded on the 18th September 1918.
  He is buried at BRIE BRITISH CEMETERY. He was 22 years old.
  As well as being Mentioned in Despatches, and being awarded the Military Cross, he was also eligible for the 1915 Star, the Victory Medal and the British War Medal.

Census:
1901: Merton, Oxfordshire

Sources:

Richard Edwin Toker Thomson

Birth: 1861, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Occupation: Clerk, Bank of England

Death: 1914

Census:
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1881: 38 Spencer Sq, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Richard Edward J. Thomson

Title: Lieutenant

Birth: about 1891, in India

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Notes: Richard served, and died, in World War I with the 15th Ludhiana Sikhs

Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery
Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery where Richard Thomson is buried
from Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Death: 19 May 1915

Buried: Caberet-Rouge British Cemetery, Souchez. Grave XVII. C. 4

Sources:

Samuel John Thomson

Title: Colonel, C.I.E., C.B.E.

Birth: 17 January 1853, at 38 Spencer Square, Ramsgate, Kent, England

Baptism: 3 March 1853, at St George, Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Margaret (Plumbe) Thomson

Married: Isabella Gordon Cowie on 23 July 1885 in St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta, Bengal, India.

Children: Occupation: Surgeon (M.R.C.S England) who served in the Indian Medical Service both in military and civilian capacities. Later he became a hospital administrator in Birmingham. He also authored a number of books on his experiences in South Africa and India. The books he authored include: Notes:
Samuel's obituary claims that "in 1880 he was one of the medical officers in the famous forced march of Lord Roberts for the relief of Kandahar" during the second Anglo-Afghan war. Samuel did not actually take part in General Roberts' famous march from Kabul, but did march to the relief of Kandahar in a second column under General Phayre from Quetta over the Bolan Pass that, besieged by transport, sickness and bandits, did not get there as quickly, arriving a couple or so days after Roberts had already defeated Ayub Khan. This conclusion has been reached by Samuel's own account in The Silent India (page 102) "It was a relief, therefore, when one day a yellow envelope marked "State Urgent" was handed to the writer. Its contents were laconic. The defeat at Maiwand had just occurred, and the telegram ran, "Join - regiment marching to Morar." A second one later in the day from the commanding officer, stated that we were to join the field force for the relief of Kandahar, and a week later we were blundering over the stones in the dismal Bolan Pass on our way to the front. But that, as Kipling would say, is another story." and the help of Garen Ewing of the The March to Kandahar Project.

Death: 27 February 1936, at Louise English Nursing Home, Post de l'Union, Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France

Gravestone of Samuel John Thomson
Gravestone of Samuel John Thomson in Trabuquet cemetery, Menton, France
photograph from www.gravestonephotos.com
Burial: Trabuquet cemetery, Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France
The gravestone reads:
Also in Memory of
BT Col. Samuel John Thomson. C.I.E.
who died at Menton Feb 27, 1936
"A Perfect Father" 

Obituary:
The Times: 5 March 1936
      COLONEL THOMSON
     LEPROSY AND PLAGUE IN INDIA
  Brevet-Colonel Samuel John Thomson, C.I.E., C.B.E, who died at his home at Menton on February 27 at the age of 83, was one of the best known members of the Indian Medical Service of his day and made valuable contributions to sanitary science and epidemiological research.
   A son of Mr. J. B. Thomson, of Ramsgate, he was born on January 17, 1853, and after being at St. John's College, Hurstpierpoint, studied medicine at St. Mary's Hospital, London, becoming M.R.C.S. England, and later he gained the diploma in public health of Cambridge University. He was also gold medallist and Herbert memorialist at Netley. He entered the Indian Medical Service 59 years ago, in good time to serve in the second Afghan War, and in 1880 he was one of the medical officers in the famous forced march of Lord Roberts for the relief of Kandahar. After transfer to the civil side of the Service he devoted special attention to Indian epidemics. He was a member of the Commission which in 1890 explored the incidence of leprosy in India, and his plague and famine investigations and practical work led to his being made C.I.E. in 1893. Early in 1902 he was deputed to South Africa to be Director of the Burgher Camps of the Transvaal, and was mentioned in dispatches. He wrote an account of these camps, which were a subject of much political controversy in this country at the time. He rose to be Sanitary Commissioner of the United Provinces, and he gave the fruit of his experiences and studies in "Sanitary Principles, More Especially as Applied to India."
   After retirement from the I.M.S. in 1908 Thomson found many opportunities for the further pursuit of his profession, while giving rein to his liking for authorship in such works as "The Silent India" and "The Real Indian People" In the War he was from June 1915, Commandant of the 2nd War Hospital, Birmingham. In 1920 he was made C.B.E. for this service and was appointed Medical Superintendent, Ministry of Pensions Hospital, Hollymoor, Birmingham. He married in 1885 Isabel Gordon, daughter of Surgeon-General A. J. Cowie, Bengal. They had a son and four daughters. Mrs. Thomson died in 1925, and thereafter he made his home at Menton.

Probate: granted 7 July 1936 to William Thomas Hillier and Arthur Henry Levenson Thomson
National Index of Wills and Administrations 1936 p102
THOMSON C.B.E. C.I.E. Samuel John of Hotel Stella Bella Mentone France and care of Westminster Bank Limited Lothbury London died 27 February 1936 at Louise English Nursing Home Post de l'Union Mentone Probate Lewes 7 July to William Thomas Hillier M.R.C.S. L.R.C.P. D.P.H. medical practitioner and Arthur Henry Levenson Thomson accountant. Effects £4296 5s. 9d.

Census & Addresses:
1861: 38 Spencer Square, Ramsgate, Kent
1871: Ramsgate, Kent
1911: Canterbury Holy Cross Westgate, Canterbury, Kent
1936: Hotel Stella Bella, Menton, France   (National Index of Wills and Administrations 1936 p102)

Sources:

Sarah Jane (Thomson) Hillier

Birth: 5 May 1836, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: John Buck Thomson

Mother: Elizabeth (Payton) Thomson

Married: James Thomas Hiller. James was born in 1826/7, in Broadstairs, Kent. He was a General Practitioner.

Children:
 Census:
1881: 4 Chapel Place, Ramsgate, Kent

Sources:

Thomas Kenfield Thomson

Birth: 1847, in Ottery St. Mary, Devon, England

Father: Henry Thurston Thomson

Mother: Agnes Elizabeth (Phipps) Thomson

Occupation: Schoolmaster

Death: 1879, in Thanet district, Kent, England, aged 31

Census:
1851: Crewkerne, Somerset
1861: 5 Effingham Place, Ramsgate, Kent
1871: Uppingham, Rutland

Sources:

Thomas Kenelm Thomson

Birth: 6 October 1899, in Chartham, Kent, England

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Sources:

Winifred Mary Thomson

Birth: 9 November 1889, in Ramsgate, Kent, England

Father: Samuel John Thomson

Mother: Isabella Gordon (Cowie) Thomson

Census:
1911: Canterbury Holy Cross Westgate, Canterbury, Kent

Sources:

Unnamed Thomson

Birth: 3 July 1898

Father: George Osmond Lees Thomson

Mother: Louisa Elizabeth (Plumbe) Thomson

Death: 3 July 1898

Notes: This baby was stillborn

Sources:
Return to Chris Gosnell's Home Page

If you have any comments, additions or modifications to the information on this page, please feel free to email me.
Created and maintained by: chris@ocotilloroad.com