John Thomlinson

 

Photo from Charterhouse School Archives, who retain all rights, please do not copy (link)

In August 1940, John Thomlinson was a very new recruit in the Black Watch, having joined as a private in the last few months.  He was 20 years old and had just passed exams at St Andrews University as part of his year of studying for a Master of Arts.  In his first year he had studied Latin at junior Level and , English Literature and Moral Philosophy at Ordinary level (thanks to Sarah Rodriguez, Muniments Archivist at St Andrews University for retrieving this information and explaining the three levels of course at the time were Junior, Ordinary and Honours).


From the St Andrews Citizen, 15th June 1940

He lived in St Salvatore's Hall of Residence.

However, early in his military service he was taken ill and admitted to Gleneagles Hospital, Blackford.  He died on 31st August of broncho-pneumonia, myocarditis and bronchiectasis.

Gleneagles Hospital was the well-known hotel, which had closed in September 1939 to be used as a medical facility:

John was born on 14th February 1920.   His parents were Arthur Reginald Thomlinson, a coal mining engineer, and May Lawson.  However, May died aged 31 when he was two weeks old – the cause was mitral stenosis and confinement (hypostatic congestion of the lungs).  

His father married Lilian Stock the following year and Raymond Hugh Thomlinson, John’s brother was born in 1922.

His primary school was Orleton School, Scarborough.  From 1934 to 1939 he attended Charterhouse School.  The 1939 Register (in September) found the family living at The Cottage, Brodsworth, near Doncaster.


They were sufficiently wealthy to have a cook and housemaid, as well as sending John to public school.  Note in the right-hand column that as the war had just started, Arthur was a special constable in the police (in addition to his 'day job') and Lilian was an auxiliary nurse.

The Cottage retains its name and is a very beautiful property on the edge of a village and opposite a farm:

John's connection to Bearsden is not known – although there were several people with this surname on the 1940 Valuation Roll.  The name on the war memorial is John Thomlinson; there is only one person on the CWGC list of war dead and searching Scotland’s People for deaths between 1938 and 1959 for the same name only yields the same case.  He is not mentioned in the Milngavie and Bearsden Herald.

He is buried in Old Campsall Cemetery:




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