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Thompson, James G. '44

Thompson, James G. '44
Canadian businessman, sportsman and philanthropist, James G. ‘Jim’ Thompson was born in London, Ontario and attended Ridley from 1939-44.  Following Ridley, he graduated as a Naval Officer from the Royal Canadian Naval College/Royal Roads Military College. He also studied engineering at the University of Toronto, and business at the University of Western Ontario. In 1950, Thompson and his father bought a hydroplane named Miss Canada IV from retired racer and fellow Ridleian, Harold Wilson ’30 which they refurbished and renamed Miss Supertest I. In 1954, Thompson and his father built Miss Supertest II which set a Canadian and British Empire speed record for propeller-driven craft of 184.494 mph (296.914 km/h). Miss Supertest III won the 1959 Detroit Memorial Regatta and the Harmsworth Cup in 1959, 1960, and 1961. He was elected into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1959, received the medal of honour from the Union of International Motorboating in 1959, inducted into the Canadian Boating Hall of Fame in 1995, the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame and the London Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. Thompson was named president of Supertest Petroleum Corporation Limited in 1959, a position he held until the company was purchased by British Petroleum in 1971. He served as Honourary Colonel of 1st Hussars Regiment (RCAC) from 1979 to 1999. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in August 2011 honouring the hydroplane racingboat Miss Supertest III, her driver Bob Hayward and Thompson, who designed and built her. Now retired, Thompson lives in London, Ontario.
P.O. Box 3013, 2 Ridley Road St. Catharines, Ontario L2R 7C3 Canada 905 684 1889
With more than 700 students from 60 countries, the largest boarding programme in Ontario and the third largest in Canada, Ridley College is a truly international, co-educational, day and boarding school of the world that prepares students for the world. It has provided enriching learning and life-shaping experiences focused on the arts, academics, and athletics since 1889. Ridley’s Lower School offers JK-Grade 8, its Upper School consists of Grade 9-PG, and Ridley graduates attend some of the top universities and colleges around the world. Ridley is the only   co-ed independent boarding school in Canada and one of only three in North America authorized to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum programme.