Bay Harbour: January 25, 2017

Wednesday January 25 2017
News
BAY HARBOUR
PAGE 9
Protester bowling along at 100
• By Caitlin Miles
TURNING 100 wasn’t going
to stop Jean Thompson playing
indoor bowls with friends and
family on Friday.
Mrs Thompson lives at Edith
Cavell Lifecare in Sumner and
celebrated her birthday playing
bowls and folk dancing.
Over the decades Mrs Thompson
has been a lifelong advocate
for peace and has never shirked
from protesting against what she
believed in, including the 1981
Springbok tour when she was in
her mid-60s.
“One time we were sitting
protesting the war (World War
2) and I refused to move, then
a police officer came along
and told me to move, I think
I did quickly after that,” Mrs
Thompson said.
Protesting against the war was
not the fashionable thing to do
in the 1940s, but that didn’t stop
Mrs Thompson.
That attitude changed with the
Vietnam War in the late 1960s
and early 70s, when her late
husband Noel also joined in the
protest.
She also campaigned to keep
New Zealand nuclear free.
“It was always important to
stand for peace,” she said.
Her daughter, Janet Thompson,
told Bay Harbour News it was
amazing that she was so strong
in her views as a young female
during World War 2.
“For her to stand up like that
it was pretty incredible,” Janet
Thompson said.
Mrs Thompson was 17 when
he met her husband, Noel, she
was short at 1.5m tall, while Noel
was much taller.
“My father used to laugh
because she had to stand on a
step to be able to kiss him good
night,” she said.
Mrs Thompson trained as a
teacher, working in Woolston
before she had three children,
Tom, Bruce and Janet.
Now she has turned 100, Mrs
Thompson still insists on enjoying
the sunshine when she can,
enjoying the warmth on her face,
she said.
STILL PLAYING: Jean Thompson’s 100 birthday celebrations
included her competitive streak coming out to play lawn
bowls.
PHOTO: GEOFF SLOAN
PROTEST: Mrs Thompson was passionate about protesting against the 1981 Springbok Tour and
numerous wars.
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