User:Christom2

Frank Charles Tomlinson

Draper, father, airman. Frank attended Richmond school and later Mt Albert Grammar.  At the age of 19 years Frank joined the Royal NZ Airforce as a Flight Lieutenant, F22 Squadron. Frank trained at Wigram, New York and Ardmore using Harvard North American T6 Texans. Frank spent some time in the Solomon Islands between 1943 and 1945 flying Curtis P-40 War-hawk aircraft, until the end of WW2.  He was then posted to Britain for a short time flying reconnaissance. After the war Frank worked as a realtor then in 1947 married Minkie Hill, whose father Walter Stanley Hill, was a notable teacher of agriculture who founded the Auckland Farmer's Club. They lived for 25 years in View Rd, Titirangi then 3a Holiday Rd, Milford. The family moved to 645 Glenfield Rd about 1972. After the death of his father, John Tomlinson who emigrated from Oldham in 1913, Frank worked with his mother Isabel, in the drapery shop on Rosebank Rd called Tomlinson's Drapery and another in Blockhouse Bay. He said on occasion that many of his customers were Tongan and Samoan women as his store supplied women's wear as well as fabrics, wool and cotton's. He retired in 1980 and spent a number of years travelling with Minkie until her death in 1990. Frank lived another seven years in the Glenfield home until his cancer caught up with him.