

LIEUTENANT COLONEL GRAHAM O. THOMPSON
13 JULY 1970 ~ 13 SEPTEMBER 1970
Colonel Graham Thompson was born
in Melbourne on 2 January 1921. He enlisted
in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) in
May 1941 and was commissioned in 1942.
Initially he served with the 2/6th
Battalion, the 2/14th Battalion and 14th
Infantry Battalion in Victoria. In August
1942 he joined the 14/32nd Infantry
Battalion in Western Australia and served
with this battalion in New Guinea and New
Britain from 1943 to 1945 as a platoon
commander, assistant adjutant and adjutant.
He left the Army for a short period and on
re-joining in August 1948 he served as
Adjutant of the Army Apprentices School and
then as Adjutant of 45th Infantry Battalion
at Arncliff in NSW. He attended the Army
Staff College in 1953 after which he was
posted to HQ 28 British Commonwealth Brigade
in Korea. This was followed by staff and
training appointments including two postings
as an instructor on Tactics Wing at the
School of Infantry at Seymour, Vic. During
this time he qualified as a parachutist. In
1961-63 he was posted to the UK School of
Infantry at Warminster as an Instructor in
Tactics.
In April 1963 Colonel Thompson was posted as
a company commander with 1st Battalion Royal
Australian Regiment (1RAR). After staff
postings as a Lieutenant Colonel in Army
Headquarters (AHQ) Canberra and HQ
Communication Zone in Sydney, he served in
South Vietnam in 1968-69 with the Amenities
& Welfare Unit, HQ AFV. He then became
Commanding Officer of the Army Apprentices
School at Balcombe, Victoria. Colonel
Thompson was Commanding Officer of 5RAR from
13 July to 13 September 1970 at Holsworthy
NSW. He retired from the Army in January
1971 and granted the title of Colonel.
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