Born 17 September 1916, in Wem, Shropshire;
UK Commonwealth Graves records him as the
son of William and Sarah Tomlinson; husband of Dorothy Edna Tomlinson, of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire.

Cheshire BMD records the marriage of
William Tomlinson and Sarah J. Jones in Witton, Cheshire, 1906.

Shropshire BMD records birth of
William Tomlinson in Wem, 1913

The Free BMD records the marriage of
William Tomlinson and Dorothy Edna Bird in
Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, 1937.

During WWII, William Tomlinson was a
Lance Corporal, [4031197], Kings Shropshire Light Infantry attd. Aux.Mil., Pioneer Corps.
Died: Monday 17 June 1940, aged 27 years.
Casualty List No. 285: Missing.
Casualty List No. 706: Killed in Action.
Cemetery: Dunkirk Memorial, Nord, France
[Grave or Reference Panel Number: Column 115]

UK Commonwealth Graves reports that
William Tomlinson was killed in the attack on the SS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe (17 June 1940).
[About 4,000 people died in this raid.]
However other evidence indicates that he was killed in the Rennes troop train bombing raid
by the Luftwaffe, which also took place on 17 June 1940.
Some of the soldiers who died in this latter bombing are recorded on the Dunkirk Memorial.
The troop train was destined for the port of Saint Nazaire.

For further information see The Forgotten Tragedy, The Story of the Sinking of HMT Lancastria by Brian James Crabb.