Tomi (born Tamas) Komoly was born in 1936 in Budapest and his father was a scrap metal merchant. Alfred Komoly, (born Kohn), was called up to forced labour in 1943 and during a brief visit to his family, was denounced and killed in Budapest in 1944. An uncle, Otto Komoly had been instrumental in saving lives on the controversial 'Kasztner Train'. Tomi and his mother survived in Swedish protected houses, in a non-Jewish home and in extremely harsh conditions in Budapest. They were liberated in January 1944. Tomi began university but left Hungary in 1956, crossing on foot into Austria. The Jewish Refugees Committee supported him and he finished a mechanical engineering course in Glasgow. He went on to do research at Imperial College and worked for ICI.