Barry’s career in brief
Brought up with a love of the sea and some experience in small boats in the South of England, Barry Thompson embarked upon a career at sea, serving his apprenticeship with Port Line. After obtaining his Second Mate’s certificate he joined P&O, leaving after brief periods as Staff Captain and in command, to settle in Auckland, New Zealand.
He became a marine surveyor, shortly afterwards running his own business and was later appointed the Auckland Lloyd’s Agent and a consultant surveyor retained by the Salvage Association. Retiring in due course from full time employment Barry became a Marine Consultant to the insurance and shipping industries in New Zealand. He was, for a time, Deputy Chairman of the NZ Committee of Lloyd’s Register of Shipping.
Barry was a Liveryman of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners and a Fellow of the Nautical Institute. Since 2000 he has contributed several units to the IIMS Diploma Courses and is the author of the well-
established textbook Surveying Marine Damage published by Witherbys and now in its 3rd edition.
Barry was awarded an IIMS Honorary Fellowship in June 2010. The Barry Thompson Scholarship was subsequently established and James Newcombe, based in New Zealand, became the first and to date only student to win the scholarship.
Barry was the inaugural Regional Director of the IIMS New Zealand Branch, the first overseas branch opened up by the Institute a number of years ago and his efforts are well documented.
Writing from New Zealand, his close friend and colleague Mike Austin said, “Barry was at sea in the merchant navy as an officer and gentleman before coming to New Zealand and settling down in St Heliers with his wife Diana who was a nurse and in due course their two children Kate and Sara. He became a Marine Surveyor in 1964 as a partner in Thompson Whiston & Co. then formed his own company Thompson Marine in 1968. He had a marine shop with the business in St Heliers, in a premises that was previously the Eastern Suburbs Bus service. It had a concrete floor and high ceilings and was shared with a squash court. He joined forces with Mike Austin in 1974. Barry was a longstanding member of the Maritime Law
Association, and he and Mike (together with many of their staff) attended the early MLA conferences that were held at Tokanau, and have been to nearly every annual conference since. They considered it the best meeting ground for folk involved in marine law, shipping, ports, marine insurance, etc. Barry was asked to act as arbitrator on occasions and became a member of the Association.
Barry was a member of the New Zealand Royal Navy Reserve, a member of Rotary, a member and subsequently president of the Coastguard, and in 1972 a founder and original board member of the Spirit of Adventure Trust where he sailed as Master and was closely involved with sail training in New Zealand and around the world, and was one of their Vice Patrons.
Barry also had a well-known enthusiasm for heraldry – it was important to get flags right he always said!
In 1980 Thompson Marine became the Lloyds Agents and that continues to this day. In 1986 the firm joined MBS Loss Adjusters that has morphed with changing owners over the years to Sedgwick. Barry retired in 1991 to become a consultant, and also to author his book Surveying Marine Damage that was first published by Witherby in 1994 and is now in its third edition, published in 2016.
Captain Thompson leaves a lasting legacy. The New Zealand marine industry and our Association is all the better for his contribution and it was a privilege to know him.
The Report • December 2020 • Issue 94 | 31
Member News
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