A few years ago, I was pleased to come into possession of a number of scrap books filled with historical documents relating to the work of Colonel Dan ThompsonDan Thompson (1920 – 2005) Was a diver and original member of the Real Eight Company. Born in Savannah, Georgia, he was an electrical engineer and had a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Forc... and the Real Eight CompanyAlso referred to occasionally as “The Real 8 Company”- was incorporated in 1961. It had eight members….Kip Wagner, Kip Kelso, Dan Thompson, Harry Cannon, Lou Ullian, Del Long, Erv Taylor and Lis.... These books were the property of Jane Thompson, widow of the Colonel. Jane kept a meticulous record of her husband’s exploits recovering coins and artifacts from the wreck sites of the 1715 Fleet.
Jane’s files included not only hundreds of newspapers articles, but also magazine articles, personal photos, and records of the Real Eight CompanyAlso referred to occasionally as “The Real 8 Company”- was incorporated in 1961. It had eight members….Kip Wagner, Kip Kelso, Dan Thompson, Harry Cannon, Lou Ullian, Del Long, Erv Taylor and Lis.... Many of these documents are original and I suspect have not been seen for decades.
With Jane’s permission I was able to download over 1,500 documents which are now digitally reproduced. It has taken quite some time to accomplish this task. The Fleet Society is now reviewing the collection to determine what can legally be reproduced and displayed on this website.
Over the next few months, we will be publishing pieces of the collection in our documents section under the category “The Thompson Files.” Whenever we post a new installment we will notify our readers with a message in our newsletter.
We believe that this added feature will be quite popular as well as educational and informative. We wish to thank Jane Thompson and her family for allowing us to share this information with our readers.
Ben Costello
Director, 1715 Fleet Society
