Robert Thompson Jr's Memorial Poem

Here's a digital image of the poem by Johnny McMaster which was hung on the wall in the Thompson home at Ballyfrench as a memorial to Robert.

"When the sad news of sudden death
By drowning reached their ears
Of him, for whom with praying breath
They pleaded through the years...

...Till then may they still calmly hope
That God His grace made known
To him, the child of many prayers
And called him safely home."

Click on the image to view it at a bigger size

Robert Thompson Jr's Death Certificate

I got this recently from the relevant Registry Office in England. It records Robert's death - which was the inspiration for William's poems - by accidental drowning in "The Canal, Gloucester". He was 20 years old, an Able Seaman of Ballyfrench, County Down, Ireland. The inquest was held on 11th March and his death was registered on 13th March 1911 by HA Barrett, Registrar.

Just click on the graphic to view the certificate at a bigger size.

The Book Is Finally Published!

Yes, after many years of digging and research, "William Thompson - Low Country Poet" has just been published.

All profits will be donated to the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) - and if all 1000 copies of the books sell, then once the printing costs are covered, the RNLI will get about £6000.

We had a small "launch event" at our house on Saturday 22nd Dec 2007, and all five of William Thompson's children were there - John, Margaret, Fred, Eric and Doris. The pic above is them in our front room holding their hardback editions of the book! Tea and warm mince pies were the order of the day. And Jacob Thompson (age 9) read two of the poems aloud.

TO GET YOUR COPY: The book won't be in the shops till mid-January, and we'll be doing some local publicity then to let people know that it's out, and where they can get it. If you want a copy sooner than that, email me and we'll sort you out. Price is £10.00 (plus postage).

THANKS TO: Glen for the great finished art job, to Margaret for proofreading umpteen times, to Doris for finding a few poems that had slipped through the net and to Paul for the financial advice.

[ Meanwhile you can spend some money with the RNLI's online Shop here]