About Samuel Frederick Henry Thompson
Captain Samuel Frederick Henry "Siffy" Thompson (30 August 1890 – 27 September 1918) was a British World War I two-seater fighter ace who, in conjunction with his observer-gunners, was credited with thirty aerial victories (18 destroyed, 12 'out of control') before being shot down and killed. Despite having an active fighter career of only five months, he reached the rank of captain and was awarded two British military decorations. == Early life == Thompson was born to Samuel Whitell Thompson, a medical practitioner, and his wife Florence Augusta Jane (née Evans) in Bow, London in 1890. In the 1911 census the family were resident in Blackheath, and the 20-year-old Thompson was studying to become a civil engineer. == Military service == Thompson was commissioned as a temporary second lieutenant in the Army Service Corps on 22 March 1915, and was promoted to lieutenant on 25 August 1915. On 7 June 1917 Thompson was transferred to the General List to serve in the Royal Flying Corps, and appointed a flying officer. After joining No. 20 Squadron in late 1917, Thompson's career started somewhat awkwardly, as he crashed his aircraft on 27 October, after which he was transferred to No. 22 Squadron. Flying the Bristol F.2b, he scored his first victory, an Albatros D.V, east of Merville, France on 22 April 1918.
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