The Family After The War

Mrs May Lawton later told Jessie Preedy that on Saturday, 28th October 1916 Jack Brewster's family had a letter telling them of Joe's death.  One brother went into town and met Janey there, but it was obvious that the Thompson family had had no word of Joe, so this brother waited at the station for many hours to meet William Thompson ("Father" in these letters) on his return from Barrow and broke the news to him.  William went home and at first said he had heard that Joe had been wounded, but Jane Thompson ("Mother") immediately wanted to know where he was so that she could visit him; so William had to break the news to her.  (The details of this incident caused some confusion as May reported that Jack had met "Uncle Thompson", but that was the name used to refer to William; by that time J Thompson Ray had a motor-bike so would not have been using the train.) 

After the war the family were informed that Billie was buried in Plot 1, Row H Grave 13 of the Serre Road Cemetary No 2, Beaumont Hamel & Hebuterne, France.  Sarah did visit his grave. 

Joe had no known grave.  In October 1988 Chris Preedy (Jessie's great grandson) wrote to the War Graves Commission before going to the Battlefields and it was then that the family first knew that Joe's name is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial France, Pier and Face 6A & 7C.  Sally Ashman visited the graves in 1989 and David Preedy visited them in 2002. 

It is a strange result of the inevitable chaos of the wartime situation that Billie's fate was uncertain at the time but his body was found and is in a known grave.  However Joe's death was observed and his body was buried at the time but the whereabouts of that grave were presumably lost later in the War. 

John did not return to France.  At the end of the War by which time he had been promoted to Captain, he returned to teaching and for very many years was the Headmaster of Denham School in Bucks.  His wounded leg troubled him all his life and he did receive a small invalidity pension. 

J. Thompson Ray did join the Army and served in Egypt.  Whilst he was away his wife, Janey, carried on his job as a grocery rep and she travelled daily through Cumberland and Westmoreland as well as caring for her mother. 

Sarah Thompson joined the then very new Spirella Co. in May 1916.  She was the chief organiser for Scotland and then for the whole of the North of England. 

Jessie and John Kennaugh brought up their family in Liverpool, but they always maintained very close ties with Whtehaven and they and their daughters spent many holidays in Whitehaven and St Bees.  In 1943 John Kennaugh presented a lifeboat to the Whitehaven Sea Scouts.  It was wrecked almost immediately on exercise but he arranged for its replacement. 

Jane Thompson never recovered from the loss of her two sons.  She rarely left the house and was always dressed completely in black, relieved only by a plain gold locket with a photograph of Billie and Joe on either side.  Her three sisters visited her practically every day of their lives. 

The Thompsons had five granddaughters and Jane lived to see two great granddaughters.  She died a few weeks before the birth of John Wood, the first boy to be born into the immediate family for 52 years. 

Mary Watson married Henry Lawton the Whitehaven Solicitor.  Gus Watson served in the RAF in World War II. 

Jennie Braithwaite married Allan Christian of Whitehaven. 

After his retirement from Vickers, William spent most of his time cultivating his garden, Janey's garden and an allotment.  His constant companion for many years was Janey's dog Badger.  Every Friday they would walk across the Loop Road, through the Park and visit the War Memorial, he would take flowers from his garden or greenhouse and sadly read the inscriptions.