Audio for Thomas

The life of Thomas Wiliam Line spanned a remarkable period. He was a teenager when Gotlieb Daimler rolled out his first "horseless carriage" and was married with a young family when Orville and Wilbur Wright first took to the air. Towards the end of his life he had lived through two world wars and under six sovereigns.  By the end of his life he   witnessed the first men walking on the Moon.  He recorded his life in a unique diary now in the hands of his granddaughter, Linda Fitz-Gerald. It contains vital information concerning many aspects and members of this branch of the Line family. Sadly Mrs Fitz-Gerald was unwilling to co-operate in this web project and refused to make the contents of the diary available to the author. As a result there are numerous gaps in the family history which, as yet, cannot be filled in.

 

 

Picture courtesy of the Croydon Advertiser taken on the occasion of his 60th wedding anniversary -   he and his wife Susannah were eventually married for almost 70 years

Born in 1878, Susannah Line (nee Pattison) left her South Shields home towards the end of the nineteenth century to enter service in London.  It is believed she met and became betrothed to T W Line shortly after her arrival.  This photograph would have been taken at some time around the outbreak of the First World War. She died six months after her husband in 1972.

 

Thomas William Line and Susannah Pattison were married on Christmas Day 1902 in London soon after his return from service in the Boer War. The guests in this wedding picture were: Back row standing L to R: Bill Bishop, Arthur Ellis, Bella Trussler, Arthur Trussler, Amis Addison, Edward "Bob" Line, Bert Stonall.  Second row standing: Harry Line, A hanger-on, Jack Leach (who married Maud Line), Bella Pattison, George Frederick Line, Bride`s Father, George Greenwill, Richard Line. Front Row:  Harry Line`s wife and son Harry, R.E Line, T W Line, Susannah Line, Susannah pattison (Aunt), Mrs Lord, Ben Lord (local builder and friend of TWL). Foreground Maud Line, Nell Line. Missing - Kit Line, who was ill at the time, and the groom`s mother.

 

This picture, probably dating from around 1913 or 1914, was taken at Fort George in Scotland where T W Line had been stationed with his family after joining the Seaforth Highlanders. The three boys are Thomas, born in Dublin in 1903, George Henry  born at Aldershot in 1906 and Charles Edward born at Fort George in 1910. Almost certainly Susannah Line was pregant with Katherin "Kitty" Line at the time the photograph was taken.

 

In 1891 T W Line joined the 1st Cadet Battalion of the Queen`s (Victoria) Royal West Surrey Regiment where he served until going to the 2nd Battalion, The Royal Fusiliers in 1895. Six months later he was enlisted into the regular army serving with The West Yorkshire Regiment and the Royal Warwickshire Regiment  until joining the Seaforth Highlanders as Pioneer Sergeant in 1903. By 1917 he had reached the rank of RQMS and in 1919 he was commissioned into the Royal Munster Fusiliers as Lieutenant and Quartermaster. After leaving the army he joined the War Office where he remained until 1940. Following this he joined the Ministry of Economic Warfare until he retired in 1943 having completed 52 years continuous military and government servce

 

The only photograph showing all four children of Thomas William and Susannah Line together, probably taken around 1925. From left to right: Kitty, George Henry, Charles Edward and Thomas.

Links

Thomas Line

George Henry Line

Charles Edward Line

Kitty Line

 

Taken in July 1938, the photogaph shows Thomes William Line standing in front of his recently built house at 72 Lucerne Road, Thornton Heath, Surrey (now a London Borough) with daughter Kitty. The house was named "Rosemarkie" after the small community on Scotland`s Black Isle, across the Murray Firth and opposite Fort George, where the family lived at the outbreak of the First World War  and while TWL was stationed abroad with the Seaforth Highlanders. Both the house and car survived the Blitz