He was born and lived in Kilburn, Yorkshire, England, where he set up a business manufacturing oak furniture, which featured a carved mouse on almost every piece.

[citation needed] This chance remark led to him carving a mouse and this remained part of his work from this point onwards.

Thompson was part of the 1920s revival of craftsmanship, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement led by William Morris, John Ruskin and Thomas Carlyle.

The workshop, now being run by his descendants, includes a showroom and visitors' centre,[4] and is located beside the Parish Church, which contains "Mouseman" pews, fittings and other furniture.

These makers include Thomas "Gnomeman" Whittaker (1910–1991), Derek "Lizardman" Slater, Colin "Beaverman" Almack, Robert "Rabbitman" Heap, Graham "Swanman" Duncalf, Alan "Acornman" Grainger, Wilf "Squirrelman" Hutchinson, Albert "Eagleman" Jeffray, Malcolm "Foxman" Pipes, and Shaw & Riley "The Seahorsemen of Hessay".