Tom grew up in Stockton-on-Tees. He volunteered for the RAF in May 1940 and joined the No. 1 course at 4 BFTS (British Flying Training School) in Phoenix, Arizona for pilot training in June 1941. The trainee pilots arrived in Canada in uniform and changed into civilian clothes before entering the USA which, at that time, was still a neutral country. He learned to fly on the Stearman PT17 biplane, Vultee BT13A and Harvard AT-6. He completed the course as a Sergeant pilot.

In England he trained as a Spitfire pilot and was posted to 611 Squadron. In the summer of 1942, the squadron was re-equipped with the new Spitfire Mark IX and flying sorties over occupied France from Biggin Hill airfield in Kent. In November 1942 he was ‘shot up’ over France and despite being wounded flew his damaged aircraft back over the Channel to crash land at Hawkinge in Kent one of the Forward Landing Ground airfields. He was the event of the day at Canterbury hospital with every nurse coming to watch the Doctor digging the shrapnel out of his left side.  Six weeks later he was flying again. He also had temporary posting to Boscombe Down as a Spitfire IX test pilot.

In 1943 he was promoted to Pilot Officer and spent 6 months with the Defence of Gibraltar Flight before joining 43 Squadron in Italy for his second tour of operations. He finished the war as a Flight Lieutenant in charge of the Meteorological Flight at Benghazi, Libya and 6oo German PoWs.

After the war he changed to using the name Ken, studied Geography at Newcastle University and then worked as a Geography teacher back at his old school in Stockton-on Tees for 30 years. He married Sheila in 1953 and had 3 sons. He died in 2005, aged 83.