| Thomas Alexander Lynn was the eldest son of Samuel and Isabella Lynn.
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| Alex, as he was known, was born in 1918 at Tattyknuckle, Fivemiletown, in a farmhouse belonging to the Rusk family, behind the old Tullynageeran Graveyard.
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| The family moved to Newtownards in 1940, but Alex had already moved to England in 1938 to seek work, joining the Loyal Regiment.
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| After the outbreak of war Alex was serving with the British Expeditionary Force in France and was evacuated from the beaches in Dunkirk in 1940.
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| His uncle, Fusilier William Gillespie, his mother’s brother, was killed during the retreat to Dunkirk.
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| He was posted to North Africa and served at Tobruk. Alex met his uncle Samuel Gillespie by chance in Tripoli. He was serving with the Corps of Signals. Seven of the Gillespie brothers served in the British Army.
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| After the North Africa campaign Alex came home on leave, this was the last time he was seen by his family.
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| Corporal Thomas Alexander Lynn went on to serve in the invasion of Normandy and was killed in action on 23rd August 1944. He was 25 years old.
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| Corporal Alex Lynn was buried in St Desir War Cemetery, France.
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| The CWGC record Corporal Thomas Alexander Lynn as the son of Samuel and Isabella Lynn of Dundonald, County Down, Northern Ireland.
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| The name of Corporal Thomas Alexander Lynn was added to Fivemiletown Community War Memorial for Remembrance Sunday 2018. The inscription was dedicated by Rev Canon Kyle Hanlon - Rector of St John’s Parish Church, Fivemiletown.
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| All the information and photos here comes courtesy of Mark Byers, Fivemiletown, who wrote the Fivemiletown book and who continues to research the war dead of the area.
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