by Margaret Henshaw, daughter (May 2005 edition)
My father, John Victor Thomas (Known as Jack) was born on 15th September, 1915 at Woollahra in Sydney. Jack was the son of Charles Wilfred and Lottie May Thomas. He had sister Mavis and a brother Frederick.
The family moved to Paddingtonl, also in Sudney, where he went to Paddingtion State School and later Punchbowl.
As a child and in his teens Jack spent a lot of time platying both in Centennial Park and the sand hills around the park. He liked riding his bike and sailing model boats made by his father.
At the age of 15, Jack entered the workforce, gaining employment at the Government Tourist Bureau. Later on he met cruise liners coming into Sydney and helped organise tours for the passengers.
During the summar moths he spent summer months, Jack as a sguide in the Jenolan Caves. In winter, he worked as a ski instructor at the Snow Reveller’s Lodge at Periher Valley-Charlotte’s Pass. On one occasion there was a fire at one of the chalets and Jack and another man skiied across the valley at night to summon help.
Jack also featured in a number of advertisements including one for Bonox.
After the war Jack was seconded to go to Greece and Crete to teach alpine skills to the troops, but the campaign in Greece ended too quickly and he was trnaferred instead to the 2/12th Field Ambulance. After completion of his training Jack maried my mother Joan Webb and was transferred to Darwin for two years. He was in Darwin when it was bombed by the Japanese.
Jack came home and he and my mother had a memorable two weeks holiday at the Lapstone Hotel which was later to become and still is the Glenbrook Army Base. Then he was assigned to the hospital ship ‘Centaur’. At the time of his death Jack was one of Australia’s top skiers.