The Tommy
Part of the problem stems from the fact that until the two world wars many of those who wrote about the soldier, in poetry or in prose, had little contact with him and so judged him by superficialities - he was a hero in battle, a nuisance in barracks.
'The name Tommy Atkins, used to describe the typical British soldier, probably originated in a War Office publication of 1815 ...'
Rudyard Kipling was educated in England, but spent his early career as a journalist in India, where he often talked to British soldiers and found that they were far more complex than the usual literary clich茅s suggested. His poem Tommy, one of his Barrack-Room Ballads (1892), expresses the soldier鈥檚 contempt for a society that scorns him until there is fighting to be done. It goes straight to the heart of the ambivalent relationship between Britain and her army.
The 鈥榳idow鈥 in the poem is Queen Victoria:
'I went into a public-鈥榦use to get a pint of beer, /The publican 鈥榚 ups and sez, "We serve no red-coats here." /The girls be鈥檌nd the bar they laughed an鈥 giggled fir to die, /I outs into the street again an鈥 to myself sez I: /O it鈥檚 Tommy this, an鈥 Tommy that, 鈥榓鈥 "Tommy, go away"; /But it鈥檚 "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play - /The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play. /O it鈥檚 "Thank you, Mister Atkins," when the band begins to play.
'I went into a theatre as sober as could be, /They gave a drunk civilian room but 鈥榓dn鈥檛 none for me; /They sent me to the gallery or round the music-鈥榓lls, /But when it comes to fightin鈥, Lord! They鈥檒l shove me in the stalls! /For it鈥檚 Tommy this, an鈥 Tommy that, an鈥 "Tommy, wait outside"; /But it鈥檚 "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper鈥檚 on the tide - /The troopship鈥檚 on the tide, my boys, the troopship鈥檚 on the tide, /O it鈥檚 "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper鈥檚 on the tide...
'You talk o鈥 better food for us, an鈥 schools, an鈥 fires, an鈥 all, /We鈥檒l wait for extry rations if you treat us rational. /Don鈥檛 mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face /The Widow鈥檚 uniform is not the soldier-man鈥檚 disgrace. /For it鈥檚 Tommy this, an鈥 Tommy that, an鈥 "Chuck him out, the brute!" /But it鈥檚 鈥淪aviour of 鈥榠s country鈥 when the guns begin to shoot; /An鈥 it鈥檚 Tommy this, an鈥 Tommy that, an鈥 anything you please; /An鈥 Tommy ain鈥檛 a bloomin鈥 fool - you bet that Tommy sees!'
Rudyard Kipling's Verse (Inclusive Edition, 1885-1932)
The name Tommy Atkins, used to describe the typical British soldier, probably originated in a War Office publication of 1815 which showed how a 'Soldier鈥檚 Book' should be made out, and gave Pte Thomas Atkins as its example. Some have suggested that the Duke of Wellington suggested the name himself, in memory of a soldier in his regiment who had been killed in Flanders in 1794.
The nickname had wide currency by the 1880s, and was universal in World War One. Its numerous derivatives included 鈥楾ommy cooker鈥, a small portable stove - or the World War Two Sherman tank, which caught fire all too easily. The widespread use of the word Tommy shows how a more affectionate attitude to the soldier was beginning to make itself felt early in the 20th century, but the old tensions still survived.
Published: 2005-02-28
