White, Thomas Wilson

Thomas was born in Belfast in April 1916 to parents Robert and Agnes. The family home was on Lindsey Street, Belfast. Thomas had 4 sisters, Irean, Hilda, Dorothy and Maureen and 2 brothers, Bobby and Walter..

Thomas married Frances Collins, who was from Warwick, at St Mary’s Church on October 1st 1938. Their son, also named Thomas, was born on 30th April 1939 and was christened in St Mary’s. The 1939 Register shows the couple living at 17 Market Street with Frances’ parents. According to Thomas’s army record, 17 Market Street was also the address of his mother, Agnes. Thomas was granted 10 days home leave in March 1940, which may have been when this photo was taken.

Thomas junior didn’t find out where his father was buried until he himself was 72 years old. He says “Over the years I became curious about what had happened to him. I wrote to various government departments for details to try to find out what happened. I never could discover the truth. Then one day I went to St John’s Museum. I was speaking to a chap about it and he suggested I took a look at a book titled The Forgotten Massacre by Guy Rommelaere, all about the fate of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940. Imagine my surprise when I found my dad’s name in the back.”
Tom’s partner Kathy tells us that, coincidentally, the book was translated into English by Shirley Wallis who lived on High Street, Warwick. Guy Rommelaere was Deputy Mayor of Esquelbecq in 2000 and wrote the book to raise funds to create a memorial.

Tom went to visit his father’s grave in November 2011, travelling with the British Legion, and was able to see the site of the massacre. He was interviewed for a feature that appeared in the November 2011 issue of Warwickshire Life.

Tom’s mother Frances remarried in November 1949, becoming Mrs Scattergood.