Our Veterans > World War II > Hugh Thompson
Hugh Thompson
(First Lieutenant Infantry and Artillery 1943-1946)
Hugh Thompson was born in Toronto on March 8, 1923 into a family of 6 children. He was also one of three Canadian officers who served in the British army (also termed 'Canloan' officers) from the Windsor/Essex County area.
In 1942-1943, he was studying chemical engineering at the University of Toronto. At that time, university students were receiving regular military training in addition to their academic courses. However, it was not until he had finished his second year of study, and sent to a camp at Niagara-On-The-Lake, that Hugh decided to join the Army permanently in June 1943.
After officers' training in Thee Rivers, Quebec and Brockeville and Petawawa, Ontario, he was commissioned as the first Lieutenant in the artillery and stationed in Petawawa as an instructor. In February 1944, in order to get overseas sooner, he volunteered to convert from artillery to infantry and joined the British Army. After an infantry conversion training course in Brockeville, he sailed to England in June 1944.
Hugh has much to tell about his military life, both in the training camp in Canada, and on the frontlines in Europe. View his video to learn more.