John George Tomlinson
- Family History
- Military History
- Extra Information
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John Tomlinson married Emma Jane Sheppard at Retford in 1884. They lived in Spittal Hill in Retford for the rest of their lives and all their children were born there except the first born, Grace who was born in Newark in 1884. The couple had another ten children, John George 1885, Fanny 1886, Kathleen 1888, Florence Jane 1891, Emma 1893, Leonard 1896, Dorothy 1899. Ethel 1898, Christina 1901, Mary Charlotte 1904 and Margaret born 1906. John supported his family through his earnings as a lifelong occupation as a house painter and decorator. There were two of their offspring who did not survive after joining the colours. One was George Tomlinson who was born in 1885 and registered as John George. Although mainly referred to as George, in 1911 he was working at Doncaster for the Doncaster Wire Company as a wire drawer under the name John George. In 1914 he married Frances Mary Thackery in Rotherham and the following year had a son named George W Tomlinson who was born back in Retford. George’s younger brother, Leonard also failed to return from the war. He was 10 years Georges’ junior and in 1911 had started working as an apprentice iron moulder in the local foundry, aged just 15.
John George Tomlinson enlisted at Retford in the 1st Lincolnshire Regiment. The Battalion landed at Le Havre on 14 August 1914. John George was killed in action three months later on 14 November 1914, possibly in the Battle of the Aisne. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial, Belgium. He qualified for the 1914 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. CWGC - History of Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial (extract): 'The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war. The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when a small British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back to the Passchendaele Ridge ... The battles of the Ypres Salient claimed many lives on both sides and it quickly became clear that the commemoration of members of the Commonwealth forces with no known grave would have to be divided between several different sites. The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because of the hundreds of thousands of men who passed through it on their way to the battlefields.' (www.cwgc.org)
His brother Leonard served in the 2nd Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment (32619 Private) and was killed in action on 29 October 1915. (See record on this Roll of Honour) CWGC additional information:- 'Son of John and Emma Tomlinson, of 57, Spital Hill, Retford; husband of Frances Mary Tomlinson, of 55, Spital Hill, Retford, Notts.' Retford Times, 25th December 1914 'Pte George Tomlinson 'Mr and Mrs John Tomlinson, 57 Spital Hill, Retford, received the sad news on Saturday that their eldest son, Private Geo. Tomlinson, 1st Lincolnshire Regiment, was killed in action at a place not stated on November 14th last. A leaflet was enclosed signed by Lord Kitchener intimating that, “The King commands me to assure you of the true sympathy of His Majesty and the Queen in your sorrow.” 'Private Tomlinson was a reservist and when recalled to the colours last August, he only had a few months to complete his service in the Army. He was a postman at Maltby and leaves a widow. 'Writing his last letter home, under date 5th November, the deceased soldier said:- “I am just enjoying a few days at case, and I could do with it. I am not very well. I think it is only cold. I could do with a good “bust” up for a change. Don’t worry much, as it is no good. There are lots of things I should like but I think I can manage until Christmas, when, from what I read in the papers, we are to receive presents. We have cold nights. We have plenty of clothes but it is the wet that is the worst. We have some nice weather at times but I don’t think I shall bother for a holiday out here. I think I am a cat of nine lives. The men who came out with us are nearly all gone. I am only just alive, as we have had it a bit rough. I am lucky to get out of it, but here I am – a slight tap. It is all fight, but we must expect it. I don’t think the people in England seem to realise what it is like out here. Grande and Taylor went under yesterday, with about 500. We had altogether a loss of 1,200.” 'Mr and Mrs Tomlinson have another son, Leonard in the York and Lancaster Regiment, now serving at the front.' Research by Colin Dannatt.
