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L/Cpl Cyril George "Bud" Tomalin . British Army 1st Battalion Cameronian (Scottish Rifles) from Kensington, London Cyril Tomalin enlisted at the age of 18 yrs with the Regiment in London on the 13th November 1935 and served until 30th May 1945. His friend, Lawrence William "Laurie" Viner s/n 3245258 joined up at the same time.
He served with the Regiment in India before WW2 and, on war being declared, was a PT Instructor training the Indian Police.
On the Japanese invasion of Burma in 1942, the 1st Battalion Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) were one of the many regiments sent into Burma to repel them. During the fighting and on 28th Feb 1942 his friend, Lawrence William "Laurie" Viner s/n 3245258, was killed beside him and he buried him using a piece of wood from the side of an Army truck as a makeshift cross (for which he was threatened with Court Marshall for destroying Army equipment!). On the retreat from Burma, he became detached from the Regiment and led a small group of Cameronians back towards the Irrawaddy River and safety in India. One of the group, Charles "Charlie" Connor s/n 10602700, was sure they were heading in the wrong direction and left the group only to be captured by the Japenese. He ended up on the Burma Railway, where he died on the 8th April 1944.
On reaching the Irrawaddy River, they found it heavily swollen by rainwater and fast flowing. Under heavy Japenese fire and using, as floats, empty water bottles taken from the bodies of dead soldiers littering the banks, they managed to go upstream and cross the river on the current where friendly forces hauled them ashore on the far bank.
From the whole Battalion of the 1st Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) only 14 officers and 120 other ranks escaped with their lives.
Cyril was hospitalised in India suffering from malnutrition, dysentery, malaria and the mental scars of his ordeal in Burma. He was to have recurring bouts of malaria for the rest of his life. He was evacuated back to England and to Hammersmith Hospital in London, where his future wife and my mother, Evelyn Rosemary Emily "Eve" Williams, was one of the nurses that cared for him. They were married on the 12 May 1945 at St Clements Church, Fulham, London.
My father would never talk about his experiences during the War and refused to even send for his medals. My mother sent for them following his death in 1984. She has his 1939-45 Star, Burma Star, War and Victory Medals but I also know he was awarded the 1936-9 General Service Medal with Palestine Clasp and the India General Service Medal with North West Frontier 1937-39 Clasp but do not know if these are available, or not.
I think the following tribute says it all!
From Lt Gen Sir William Slim KCB, CBE, DSO, MC. Tribute to the 1st Cameronian Scottish Rifles the 8th April 1944.
"The retreat from Burma in 1942 was as severe an ordeal as any army could be called to endure - Battered, exhausted, hungry, reduced by casualties to a fraction of their strength, they never lost their fighting spirit or their indomitable cheerfulness."
"Lest we forget"
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L/Cpl. Cyril George "Bud" Tomalin . British Army 1st Btn. C Coy. Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) from Kensington, London My father, Cyril Tomalin (known as Bud or Tom) served for 10 years with the 1st Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) in India before the 2nd World War and in Burma during the War. He was involved in the retreat from Prome back to India via the Chindwin River in 1942. He was a PT instructor with the Battalion.
He would not talk about his dreadful experiences to us children and I have only lately been able to piece together part of his story from my Mother, his Army records and other records on the internet. He did not claim his War medals and it was only after he died that my Mother sent for them.
What I have discovered is that he joined the Regiment in London on the 13th Nov 1935 with his friend Lawrence William Viner 3245258 and served until 30th of May 1945. He spent most of his service life stationed with the Regiment in India. He did not altogether enjoy Army life and on telling his father this his father offered to buy him out. Tom would not accept this though and said he had made his bed so must lie in it.
He and his Battalion were amongst the first troops to be sent into Burma to deal with the invading Japanese but found them a more formidable enemy than expected. On the 28th of Feb 1942, he was threatened with court-martial, his crime being to use wood from the side of an Army lorry for a make-shift cross for his best friend Laurie, who had died beside him.
Although there are several references to the Retreat from Burma, I get the impression it was not so well organised as it sounded. Certainly, my father was separated from the main body and had to make his own way back from Prome to the Indian border, using his skill and the stars to guide him. He was leading a small group of Cameronians and, at one point, one of their number, Charles Connor 10602700, said he thought they were going the wrong way and left to make his own way. Unfortunately, he was captured by the Japanese and ended up on the Burma Railway where he died on the 8th of Apr 1944. When he reached the Chindwin River it was heavily swollen with the rains. The Japanese were firing on them from the jungle and many soldiers lay dead on the banks or drowned in the river. My father had the foresight to collect as many water bottles as he could from the bodies strewn on the bank and emptied them out before tying them around his waist. Entering the river upstream and with the aid of the empty bottles, he managed to cross the river on the current and then had to scale the far bank with the aid of ropes sent down by friendly forces.
When he reached India, he was immediately hospitalised. He weighed half his normal body weight and had Malaria, Dysentery and was physically and mentally scarred and exhausted. He was then evacuated back to London and spent some time in Hammersmith Hospital, where my Mother was one of the nurses who cared for him. The rest, as they say, is history.
He was, however, to suffer from recurring bouts of Malaria and nightmares from the mental scars for the rest of his life. He died in 1984 from lung cancer from heavy smoking, which was the only thing that kept him sane but was to kill him in the end.
The 1st Battalion, The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles) was based in India on the outbreak of war on 3rd of September 1939. When it re-entered India on 26th of May 1942, the battalion had been reduced to 14 officers and 120 other ranks. The Cameronians lost a total of 1,222 men during World War II.
From Lieutenant General Sir William Slim KCB, CBE, DSO, MC
Commanding 14th Army:
"The retreat from Burma in 1942 was as severe an ordeal as any army could be called to endure, but the British and Indian Units of the Burma Corps, fighting and falling back and turning to fight again and again, lived up to the great traditions of their Services. Unsurpassed among them in that unquenchable spirit, which lifts men above fatigue and disaster and is the essence of a Regiment was the 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles).
Battered, exhausted, hungry, reduced by casualties to a fraction of their strength, they never lost their fighting spirit or their indomitable cheerfulness. Whether they were six hundred or one hundred they were always the 1st Battalion The Cameronians (Scottish Rifles)."
(Signed) WJ Slim Lieutenant General.
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JT Tomalin . British Army Sherwood Foresters JT Tomalin served with the Sherwood Foresters British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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2nd Lt. Otto Tomasi . Italian Army 4th Artillery My grandfather Otto Tomasi served as a 2nd Lt with the Italian Artillery during the Second World War, and I would like to know more information about his time at PG 38. The story goes that he was a translator. If any one has more information and knows the name please let me know. I know the chances are super slim anyone still alive would remember him, but I figured maybe I'll give it a shot.
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H Tomasso . British Army H Tomasso served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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LLoyd Tomblin . United States Army 321st Glider Field Artillery Btn.
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Albert Tombling . Royal Air Force Anyone remember Albert Tombling from West Hartlepool who served in the Home Guard and then the RAF?
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JF Tomkinson . British Army JF Tomkinson served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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A Tomlin . British Army A Tomlin served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Pte. Reginald Percy William Tomlins . British Army Leicestershire Regiment from Twickenham, Middlesex My father was POW in Stalag 357,
He was originally in the Leicestershire Regiment, then transferred to the Cameron Highlanders. He told us that He was at the docks waiting to embark when an arm came down between him and another soldier and told he was now in the Camerons. His POW number was 29018.
He came home very ill. He died in 2005 at the great age of 90,
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AE Tomlinson . British Army Royal Armoured Corps AE Tomlinson served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Sgt. Albert John Tomlinson . British Army 1st Btn Hampshire Regiment Albert Tomlinson served with the 1st Hampshire Regiment and took part in the
the landing in Sicily in 1942.
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C Tomlinson . British Army Royal Armoured Corps C Tomlinson served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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L/Sgt Charles Tomlinson . British Army Seaforth Highlanders from Glasgow
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Sgt. Frederick Tomlinson . Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve Air Bomber 78 Squadron from Scunthorpe, UK (d.13th June 1944) Freddie enlisted in the RAFVR on the 3rd of July 1940. He was trained on his General Duties and was then mustered as a Ground Gunner until the 30th of July 1942. He volunteered for Aircrew and was initially selected for Pilot service. He arrived at Canada at the beginning of January to start his Technical training, and was hospitalized for a week for an unknown reason from the 30th of January until the 6th of February 1943. He was re-mustered as an under-training Air Bomber.
He was promoted to Sergeant on August 6th 1943, and arrived back in the UK on November 9th, 1943. In early January 1944 he started his Operational training at No. 10 OTU and did submarine raids in the Bay of Biscay until the 27th of May when he crewed up at the Heavy Conversion Unit and onto 41 Base with 78th Squadron.
He completed 4 bombing raids in a 4 engine Halifax MkIII taking place on the nights of June 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th with his last being on the night of the 12th of June. While returning from bombing railway communications at Amiens, they were attacked by Gehrard Raht, a nightfighter ace who survived the war. They were attacked while over the English Channel and had enough time to turn inland, and crashed in a ball of fire in-between the small towns of Varengeville Sur-Mer and Longueil, Seine-Maritime. While the town was occupied by the Germans, all 7 crew members including Freddie were given a proper burial in a Longueil churchyard.
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GH Tomlinson . British Army GH Tomlinson served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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H Tomlinson . British Army H Tomlinson served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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J Tomlinson . British Army 22nd Dragoons J Tomlinson served with the 22nd Dragoons British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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AB. Peter Stanley Tomlinson . Royal Navy HMS Renown (d.5th September 1944) Peter Tomlinson was an uncle I never knew. He was killed in 1944 in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and is buried in Trincomalee British War Cemetery in Sri Lanka. His death was something of a mystery as he was discovered, according to a letter received from the Captain of HMS Renown on which he was serving, with fatal head injuries in the harbour after being assigned to picket duties on board the ship. The letter is in my Mother's possession and is the only information which the family received regarding his death. He was aged 19 when he died and my Mother remembers her older brother with great fondness. RIP Uncle Peter I am proud to be your nephew.
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RA Tomlinson . British Army RA Tomlinson served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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MidShp. Reginald Tomlinson MID. Royal Navy HMS Birmingham from Lincolnshire During his service on the ship, they where laying mines out into the sea. When this was happening the captain was shooting at them, as they exploded it made some of the mines get closer to the ship. What happened was that a mine hit the side of the ship but it did not explode, due to my great Uncle Reginald being the black smith his job was to deactivate mines, bombs and shells. What he did was that he jumped into the sea and deactivated it due to this he was Mentioned in Dispatches). Due to him doing this it caused serve problems with his chest and at which he died within the 1970s.
If you know of my great uncle Midshipman Reginald Tomlinson then please contact me.
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S Tomlinson . British Army 25th Dragoons S Tomlinson served with the 25th Dragoons British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Lt Col. Thomas W A Tomlinson DSO.. British Army 4th Battalion Border Regiment from Kendal Lt Col Thomas Tomlinson DSO TD was a WW1 veteran, who was commissioned in the Great War and served with the The Border Regiment 4th Battalion. He would eventually go on to command the battalion when it was part of 23 Brigade, 1 Armoured Division BEF in France.
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C. W. Tomlinson. . (d.7th Sep 1943) C. Tomlinson was a bomber aimer killed on 7 Sep 1943 flying from RAF Elvington.
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F/Lt D G Tomlinson. . RAF 10 Sqd
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BJP Tompkins . British Army BJP Tompkins served with the British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Sgt Edward Stanley " " Tompkins . from (d. 13 May 1943)
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GH Tompkins . British Army Royal Armoured Corps GH Tompkins served with the Royal Armoured Corps British Army. I have his unissued dogtags, made in preparation for deployment to the Far East and would love to get them home to his family. I am happy to cover all costs. If you are a family member or can put me in touch with them please get in touch. Update: The Wartime Memories Project is no longer in contact with Dan , his website, facebook page and email have all ceased to function. But if you can add any details about the person listed, please use the add to record link below.
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Cpl. Donald Joseph Tompson . Canadian Army Seaforth Highlanders of Canada from Vernon BC Donald Tompson was my dad. He first tried enlisting when he was 17 but was turned down. Then when he was 18 he tried again but was not taken because he had scarlet fever as kid. At 19 in 1943 he was accepted when the push was on and men were needed badly. Dad served overseas in Ortona then on to Holland. He was promoted to corporal not long after landing in Italy. I never knew my father, I was 6 years old when he died of polio in 1958. Seems like a sad ending for someone who gave so much when so young.
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WO. Harry Campbell Tompson . Royal Australian Air Force 460 Squadron from Manly, NSW Australia My father Harry Tompson joined the RAAF in Sydney, Australia and then undertook pilot raining in Urunquinty and Deniliquin, Australia before deploying to the UK for conversion training to Lancasters and was subsequently trained as a bomb aimer.
He undertook several raids on Germany in 1943 and was shot down on the 3rd October 1943, his birthday. He remained at large for a week or more travelling at night and staying out of villages and towns heading towards Switzerland before he was captured in sight of the border. He was then ultimately transferred to Stalag IVB at Muhlberg in Germany.
He remained at Stalag IVb until released by the Russian advance in 1945 and the together with Asheton Taylor, Sam Weller and Johnny Farmer, the other Australians in his crew who were all at Stalag IVB walked to the Allied lines and was then repatriated to the UK and ultimately Australia.
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