John Tonkin (British Army officer)

John Tonkin
Born(1920-07-21)21 July 1920
Singapore
Died10 June 1995(1995-06-10) (aged 74)
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
BranchBritish Army
RankCaptain
UnitRoyal Northumberland Fusiliers
Special Air Service
Battles / warsSecond World War

John Eliot Tonkin (21 July 1920 – 10 June 1995) was an officer of the British Army and a member of the Special Air Service (SAS) during the Second World War. He was one of the few survivors of Operation Bulbasket, where 34 members of SAS, 7 French Resistance fighters and one US Army Air Force pilot were captured and executed by members of the German Army. Following the war, he participated in Operation Tabarin. He later worked for Shell Oil before moving to Australia in the 1950s where he became general manager of a mine.