Tommy Atkins (often just Tommy) is a term for a common soldier in the British Army that was already well established in the nineteenth century, but is particularly associated with World War I. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land if they wished to speak to a British soldier. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. No man's land is a term for land that is not occupied or more specifically land that is under dispute between countries or areas that will not occupy it because of fear or uncertainty French and Commonwealth troops would also call British soldiers "Tommies". This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. In more recent times, the term Tommy Atkins has been used less frequently, although the name "Tom" is occasionally still heard, especially with regard to paratroopers.
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Overview
Tommy Atkins has been used as a generic name for a common soldier for many years. The precise origin is a subject of debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. A letter sent from Jamaica about a mutiny amongst the troops says "except for those from N. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. America (mostly Irish Papists) ye Marines and Tommy Atkins behaved splendidly".
Robert Graves, in his autobiography Goodbye to All That (1929), states that: "The original 'Thomas Atkins' was a Royal Welch Fusilier in the American Revolutionary War". Robert Graves (24 July 1895 &ndash 7 December 1985 was an English Poet, Translator and Novelist. Good-bye to All That is the Autobiography of Robert Graves. First published in 1929 the work is a landmark anti-war memoir of life in the trenches The Royal Welch Fusiliers were a Regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Graves was an officer in the Royal Welch in 1915, and mentions this among other regimental history, but does not cite his reference. [1]
According to Lieutenant General Sir William MacArthur, in an article in the Army Medical Services Magazine (circa 1950), "Tommy Atkins" was chosen as a generic name by the War Office in 1815. The War Office was a former department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1963 when
Richard Holmes, in the prologue to Tommy (2005) [2], states that in:
- "1815 a War Office publication showing how the Soldier's Pocket Book should be filled out gave as its example one Private Thomas Atkins, No. Brigadier Edward Richard Holmes CBE TD JP (born March 29 1946) known as Richard Holmes, is a British soldier 6 Troop, 6th Dragoons. Atkins became a sergeant in the 1837 version, and was now able to sign his name rather than merely make his mark. "
No source is provided for this statement.
The Oxford English Dictionary states its origin as "arising out of the casual use of this name in the specimen forms given in the official regulations from 1815 onward"; the citation references Collection of Orders, Regulations, etc. , p. 75-87, published by the War Office, August 31 1815. The name is used for an exemplar cavalry and infantry soldier; other names used included William Jones and John Thomas.
A common belief is that the name was chosen by the Duke of Wellington having been inspired by the bravery of a soldier at the Battle of Boxtel in 1794. Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS ( c The Battle of Boxtel was a battle fought during the French Revolutionary Wars in Flanders on the 15 September 1794. After a fierce engagement, the Duke, in command of the 33rd Regiment of Foot, spotted the best man-at-arms in the regiment, Private Thomas Atkins, terribly wounded. The 33rd Regiment of Foot was an Infantry Regiment of the British Army. The Private said "It's all right sir. It's all in a day's work" and died shortly after.
A further suggestion was given in 1900 by an army chaplain named Reverend E. J. Hardy. He wrote of an incident during the Sepoy Rebellion in 1857. The Indian Rebellion of 1857 began as a mutiny of Sepoys of British East India Company 's army on the 10th of May 1857 in the town of Meerut, When most of the Europeans in Lucknow were fleeing to the British Residency for protection, a private of the 32nd Regiment of Foot remained on duty at an outpost. Lucknow is also a mansion in New Hampshire Lucknow ( लखनऊ لکھنؤ Lakhnaū) is the capital city of Uttar Pradesh The 32nd Regiment of Foot of the British Army was first raised in 1702 as a regiment of marines to fight in the War of Spanish Succession. Despite the pleas of his comrades he insisted that he must remain at his post. He was killed at his post and the Reverend Hardy wrote that "His name happened to be Tommy Atkins and so, throughout the Mutiny Campaign, when a daring deed was done, the doer was said to be 'a regular Tommy Atkins'".
Rudyard Kipling published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack-Room Ballads - themselves dedicated "To T. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936 was an English Author and poet The Barrack-Room Ballads are a set of martial songs and poems by Rudyard Kipling originally published in two parts the first set in 1892, the second in A. ") in 1892, and in 1893 the music hall song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Music hall is a form of British theatrical Entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960 Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins, which was an attack on what McGonagall saw as the disparaging portrayal of Tommy in Kipling's poem. William Topaz McGonagall (1825 &ndash 29 September, 1902) was a Scottish weaver, Actor and Poet.
The British were still called Tommies by the Germans in World War II. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The phrase — "for you Tommy the War is over!" — has become a stock phrase, expressed by a German upon the capture of a British soldier or airman. They also nicknamed the Sherman tanks "Tommy cookers" because early versions tended to "brew-up" (catch fire) easily, due to the way ammunition for the main gun was stowed inside the tank. World War II foreign variants and use Lend-Lease Sherman tanks.
Today's soldier is nicknamed (within the Army) as 'Tom' and the British Army Magazine 'Soldier' features a cartoon strip character called Tom.
The Last Tommy
At the start of 2008 two Tommies from World War I were still alive. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Harry Patch is the last surviving soldier to have seen action, whilst Sydney Lucas was still in training when the Armistice was signed. Henry John "Harry" Patch (born 17 June 1898) is at the age of, the second-oldest living man in the UK and the ninth-oldest verified man Syd(ney Maurice Lucas (born September 21, 1900) is at age 108 one of three remaining British Tommies of the First World War An armistice is a situation where the warring parties agree to stop fighting There is a growing opinion that the passing of the last of them should be marked in an appropriate manner. This is currently the subject of a cross party campaign led by the UK Politician Iain Duncan Smith. George Iain Duncan Smith, PC, MP, (born 9 April 1954 is a British politician It was originally proposed that the last veteran to die should be given a state funeral. However, this met with opposition from the veterans themselves, few of whom wanted to be singled out in this way (BBC article). As of June 28 2006, it was decided that a service at Westminster Abbey would be held upon the death of the last veteran (Times article).
See also
- Digger, Doughboy and Poilu for the allied counterparts
- Jack Tar
- Brodie helmet
- Squaddie
- G.I.
- Joe Bloggins
- Jerry (WWII)
References
- 1 Graves, Robert [1929] (1960). Digger is a New Zealand and Australian military slang term for Soldiers from New Zealand and Australia. Doughboy is an outdated slang term for a United States Army Infantryman best known from its use in World War I, although it dates back to the Mexican-American Poilu is a warmly informal term for a French World War I Infantryman, meaning literally hairy one. Jack Tar was a common English term used to refer to seamen of the Merchant or Royal Navy, particularly during the period of the British The Brodie helmet, called Helmet steel Mark I helmet in Britain and the M1917 Helmet in the U The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. For other uses of GI see GI GI or GI is a term describing members of the U Joe Bloggins, or " Private Bloggins " is a hypothetical Canadian Soldier referred to in training often when giving a cautionary example of incompetence Robert Graves (24 July 1895 &ndash 7 December 1985 was an English Poet, Translator and Novelist. "ch. 11", Goodbye to All That, 1957 revised edition, London: Penguin Books, 85. Good-bye to All That is the Autobiography of Robert Graves. First published in 1929 the work is a landmark anti-war memoir of life in the trenches ISBN 0-14-027420-0.
- 2 Holmes, Richard (2005). Tommy: The British soldier on the Western Front 1914–1918. Harper Perennial, xv. ISBN 0-00-713752-4.
- Oxford English Dictionary Online, third entry for "Thomas", accessed May 30 2006
External links
- Tommy Atkins Society British WW2 Reenactment Society in the UK, and winner of the Best Display Award at the Victory Show 2007 sponsored by the Armchair General Magazine.
- The last time I saw Tommy, illustrated poem by Joshua Quagmire
- The Last Tommy - a campaign to mark the passing of the last WWI Tommy with a state funeral. Joshua Quagmire (sometimes shortened to JQ) is an American Cartoonist for underground and more commercially popular Comic books, best
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