People Australia

Fred Thompon, 1943

B883, VX91788 (National Archives of Australia)

Frederick Bruce (Fred) Thompson, also known as Frederic (1920-2011?), fitter and turner, trade union official and Communist 

Birth: 27 February 1920 at Carlton, Melbourne, son of native-born parents Walter Ambrose Thompson (1886-1927), ironworker, and his second wife Beryl Douglas, née Moore (1892-1980). Marriages: (1) 1942 in Victoria to Muriel Jean Motherwell. The marriage ended in divorce. (2) 1950 in Victoria to Lorna Ruth Inglis. Death: possibly 4 September 2011 in New Guinea; usual residence Currajong, Townsville, Queensland. Religion: Anglican [on service record]. 

• When Fred was aged seven, his father died; his mother later remarried.
• Worked as a fitter and turner in Melbourne. Joined Amalgamated Engineering Union (AEU) in 1939. Became shop steward. President of the Melbourne branch and district Committee in 1940. Foundation secretary of the first AEU Youth Committee.
• Called up for military service, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (as Frederic Bruce Thompson) on 24 March 1943. Served in New Britain in the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was promoted to sergeant and was discharged on 7 November 1946.
• Worked at Ford factory in Geelong. Elected president of Geelong branch of AEU in 1947; assisted organiser in 1949 and 1950.
• Moved to Townsville, Queensland, in 1950 having been recently married. Worked on Magnetic Island in the Railway Workshop. Elected to Townsville District Committee and became organiser for the Amalgamated Engineering Union (later Amalgamated Metal Workers Union) in 1952, defeating J. A. Witlett. Retained position until his retirement in 1976.
• Involved in major union struggles in Northern and Western Queensland, most notably in the sugar industry strike in 1953, the Mt Isa strikes of 1959, 1961 and 1965 and the construction industry Collinsville Power House dispute in 1966. Chairman of the Queensland State conference sub-committee on apprenticeship training 1973-1976.
• Active in issues involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, foreign ownership and exploitation of mineral resources and opposition to the Vietnam War. Long-standing member of the Communist Party of Australia. 

Sources
Amalgamated Metal Workers’ Union Monthly Journal, March 1977, p 17; Metal Worker, May 1989.