Tommy Atkins is slang for a common soldier in the British Army. It was already well established
in the 19th century, but is particularly associated with World War I. It can be used as a term
of reference, or as a form of address. German soldiers would call out to "Tommy" across
no man's land if they wished to speak to a British soldier. French and Commonwealth troops
would also call British soldiers "Tommies". 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.
History Tommy Atkins or Thomas Atkins has been used
as a generic name for a common British soldier for many years. The origin of the term 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. America ye
Marines and Tommy Atkins behaved splendidly". A common belief is that the name was chosen
by the Duke of Wellington after having been inspired by the bravery of a soldier at the
Battle of Boxtel in 1794 during the Flanders Campaign. 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 private said "It's all right, sir. It's all in a day's
work" and died shortly after. According to Lieutenant General Sir William
MacArthur in an article in the Army Medical Services Magazine, "Tommy Atkins" was chosen
as a generic name by the War Office in 1815. Richard Holmes, in the prologue to Tommy,
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. 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."
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., pp. 75–87, published by the War Office,
31 August 1815. The name is used for an exemplary cavalry and infantry soldier; other names
used included William Jones and John Thomas. Thomas Atkins continued to be used in the
"Soldier's Account Book" until the early 20th century.
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. 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. 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'".
Following the British defeat by the Boers at the Battle of Magersfontein in December
1899, Private Smith of the Black Watch wrote the following poem:
Robert Graves, in his autobiography Goodbye to All That, states that: "The original 'Thomas
Atkins' was a Royal Welch Fusilier in the American Revolutionary War. Graves, an officer
in the Royal Welch in 1915, mentions this among other regimental history but does not
cite his reference. In the same volume, Graves quotes a German soldier addressing the British:
"Ach, Tommee, hast du den deutsch gelernt?" Rudyard Kipling published the poem Tommy in
1892, and in 1893 the music hall song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry
Hamilton and music by S. 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. It is also said that the name "Tommy Atkins"
was the example name on conscription sheets during the First World War, and that teenagers
who were underage often signed up as "Tommy Atkins".
"Tommy cooker" was a nickname for a British soldier's portable stove, which was fuelled
by something referred to as solidified alcohol, making it smokeless but very inefficient.
Today's soldier is nicknamed "Tom", and the British Army magazine Soldier features a cartoon
strip character called Tom. The last Tommy
On 25 July 2009, the death of the last "Tommy" from World War I, Harry Patch, left Claude
Choules as the last serviceman of the British forces in World War I.
There was a growing opinion that the passing of the last of them should be marked in an
appropriate manner. This was the subject of a cross party campaign led by the politician
Iain Duncan Smith. 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. As of 28 June 2006, it was decided that a service
at Westminster Abbey would be held upon the death of the last veteran.
See also Alternative names for the British
Limey Digger, Doughboy and Poilu for the allied
counterparts Jack Tar
Kraut Brodie helmet
Squaddie G.I.
Joe Bloggs Jerry
HMS Birkenhead References
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. Imperial War Museum. "Why were English soldiers
called "Tommy Atkins" or "Tommy"?". archive.iwm.org.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2013.