The Home Guard documents for County Durham are online at The National Archives, and currently free to download - there is one Dorling - Thom (Tom) born 1895 who served in the Durham Home Guard, 5th Battalion.  The Home Guard record gives his date of birth as 2nd September, and his next of kin as Jane Dorling of 31 The Bungalows, Tanfield Lea, Chester-le-Street. He was accepted for the Home Guard in June 1940 "for the duration of the emergency".  In June 1941 he was a 2nd Lieutenant, and sometime after that became Lieutenant.  He was discharged when the Home Guard was disbanded on 31 Dec 1945.

Thom was the son of Thomas Jacob Dorling b. 1836 Barton Mills, Suffolk, and Mary Ann Crane b. 1860 Manchester.   Their family lived in Chester-le-Street, County Durham.  In 1915 Thom married Jennie / Jane Wright, and then served as a private 1915-1919 in the 2nd Battalion of the Durham Light Infantry in WW1.  After the war Thom and Jane had two daughters, Phyllis and Olga.  In 1939 Thomas was "Colliery Deputy Overman Below".   He died in 1961 age 85.