For You Tommy... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Atkins

Tommy Atkins was "born" in the 18th Century, but came into popular usage during the First World War, (1914-1918), when the German troops would call out to "Tommy" across no man's land.
In more recent years the name is mainly used for Paratroopers.

Answer: Goodbye to All That

Robert Graves, (1895 - 1985), served as an officer in the Welsh Fusiliers during World War I. In "Goodbye to All That" he mentions "the original Tommy Atkins" as being a member of his regiment during the American Revolutionary War.

Answer: Soldier's Pocket Book

The "Soldier's Pocket Book" was published by the British War Office and showed details of "Private Thomas Atkins, No 6 Troop, 6th Dragoons". Tommy signed by making his mark as he couldn't write, in common with a large number of enlisted men from deprived backgrounds.

Answer: Sergeant

By the 1837 issue of "Soldier's Pocket Book," Tommy was "Sergeant Atkins" and had also learned to write his name rather than making his mark.

Answer: Duke of Wellington

The Duke of Wellington noticed that the best man in the 33rd Regiment of Foot, of which he had command, was mortally wounded. The man, Tommy Atkins, was recorded as saying "It's all right Sir, it's all in a days work" just before he died.

Answer: Sherman Tanks

The Sherman Tanks were referred to by the German troops as "Tommy cookers" because they had an unfortunate tendency to catch fire due to the design.
The way the ammunition was stored, in an unprotected position above the tracks, would allow it to rapidly overheat and ignite.
This process, known as "brewing up," led to high casualties among the crews.
The British troops called them "Ronsons" after a popular brand of cigarette lighter.

Answer: Rudyard Kipling

Kipling's "Tommy" was published in his anthology "Barrack Room Ballads," dedicated to "T. A." in 1892.
Kipling was both the youngest, and the first English language writer, to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, which he did in 1907.
The poem "Tommy" is a protest at the treatment of soldiers home from the wars, telling of a redcoat refused a drink in a bar.

"For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country," when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
But Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!"

Answer: William McGonagall

McGonagall, (1825 - 1902) is famous for the "badness" of his poetry, yet his works are still published over 100 years after his death.
He wrote "Lines in Praise of Tommy Atkins" because he thought that Kipling's "Tommy" was not treated with enough respect.

"Success to Tommy Atkins, he's a very brave man,
And to deny it there's few people can;
And to face his foreign foes he's never afraid,
Therefore he's not a beggar, as Rudyard Kipling has said."

(You were warned he was a bad poet!)

Answer: Mango

The "Tommy Atkins" mango is a brightly coloured sweet variety of the fruit. They are smaller than other kinds of mango, and were first cultivated in Florida in the 1920s.
Mangos are very good for you, being fat free and high in vitamins A and C.

Answer: The war is over

The phrase has now passed into "clichedom" and is usually said in a totally over-the-top Germanic type accent, played for parody or amusement.
The only place I can find a definite reference to it being said on film was in an episode of the 1980s UK television show "Auf Wiedersehen Pet", when it was said by Oz, played by Jimmy Nail, who later went on to appear in "Evita" alongside Madonna.