Thomas L Bentley was educated at Leicester City Boy's Grammar School.

Signalman T L Bentley was a member of the 6th Airborne Divisional Signals. Thomas joined The Royal Signals in 1942. In 1943 he volunteered to join the airborne forces.  

He was parachute jump trained at RAF Ringway on course 64. This course ran between 10 and 21 May 1943. His jump instructor noted this about his performance in the course report:

"Good control"

His unit went to Normandy on 6 June 1944 and the men acted as signallers for various airborne unit. Thomas was captured by German forces and kept as a prisoner at Stalag Vlll-C for the rest of the war. An account of his army service in his own words can be found in the Paradata archive.

He met his soon to be wife, Kathleen, in April 1942, they were engaged in June 1943 and married on 6 February 1944. Thomas moved from Leicester to Colchester 1955. His whole working life with the GPO which became the POC and then BT, retiring at the age of 60, in 1981.