FOR KING AND COUNTRY.
DEATH.
Thompson - On the 8th November, at his father's residence, 110 Stafford st, 55816 Lance-corporal Alexander Thompson (late 28th Reinforcements). Private interment. - Frapwell and Howell, undertakers. -Evening Star, 8/11/1920.
Lance-corporal Alexander Thompson, second son of Mr Alexander Thompson, Stafford street, passed away at his father's residence early yesterday morning. Lance-corporal Thompson left New Zealand for the firing line with the 23th Reinforcement, and after a period of service he caught a severe chill in the trenches. He was invalided out of the line and spent some time in hospitals in France and England. He arrived back in New Zealand in December, 1918, but the hardships he had undergone had irreparably undermined his health. Always of a bright and happy disposition, he was most popular amongst a large circle of friends, and he bore his illness with the cheerfulness and fortitude of a true Digger. The deceased soldier was at one time a member of the Dunedin Amateur Boating Club, and formerly was a member of the Dunedin Choral Society. At the time of his death he was a member of the Commercial Travellers' Club. The funeral will be a private one. -Otago Daily Times, 9/11/1920.
Alexander Thompson joined his unit, the NZ Rifle Brigade, in April, 1918, but was in the field little more than a month before he was hospitalised with a disease named "trench nephritis." It was a new one to medicine, and its cause was debated by medical authorities. It might have been toxins in food, possibly due to exposure. Its cause was not found during the war and it is speculated that it was a type of hantavirus, spread by rats.
Its symptoms included high blood pressure, difficulty breathing, swelling, headache and bronchitis. Hundreds of soldiers died of it and recovery for those who survived was long.
Alexander was eventually embarked for home just before the war ended and discharged as unfit due to illness contracted on active service in January, 1919.
No comments:
Post a Comment