[3] Thompson was born in Hillingdon, London and taught maths at Southland's comprehensive school, New Romney, from the mid 1970s.

[2] He practised to compete at the Olympic Games in Rome in 1960 by exercising in a steam-filled bathroom at home, with the heating turned up and wearing a heavy tracksuit.

At the time, he attributed his light-headedness to the effects of heat and humidity, but later realised that it was carbon monoxide fumes from the paraffin heater.

In 1983, he fell and broke his collarbone during a marathon walk in Thanet; undeterred, he completed the race before seeking treatment.

He was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 1970 New Year Honours for services to athletics.