Tommy Atkins, Tommy Atkins!
In Flanders fields you lie
Otto Brundt the Prussian lies nearby
Skylarks rise upon the morning breeze
To sing their songs of praise
Wild flowers bloom in no mans' land
Gently swaying to and fro
Tommy Atkins, Tommy Atkins!
They are waving there for you, for you.
 
[Ronnie Wotton dictated this poem to Peter Watson of Cox's Yard in Feb 2011. The following notes and poems about Tommy Atkins have been added by the editor, trawled from the web:
 
Tommy Atkins (often just Tommy) is a term for a soldier in the British Army particularly associated with World War I. It is known to have been used as far back as 1743. The Duke of Wellington was inspired by the bravery of Thomas Atkins 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.
 
Rudyard Kipling published Tommy as part of the Barrack-Room Ballads dedicated to 'T.A.' in 1892:
I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it's "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 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";
But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.
 
Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.
 
We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",
But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.
 
You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
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;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!
 
In 1893 the music hall song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter:
O, we take him from the city or the plough,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
And we drill him, and we dress him up so neat,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
We teach him to uphold his manly brow,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
And how to walk, and where to put his feet.
Ta-ran-ta-ran-ta-ra
It doesn't matter who he was before,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
Or what his parents favor'd for his name;
Ta-ran-ta-ra
Once he's pocketed the shilling,
And a uniform he's filling,
We'll call him Tommy Atkins, all the same.
O!
Tommy, Tommy Atkins,
You're a "good un," heart and hand;
You're a credit to your calling,
And to all your native land;
May your luck be never failing,
May your love be ever true!
God bless you, Tommy Atkins,
Here's your Country's love to you!
 
In time of peace he hears the bugle call
Ta-ran-ta-ra
And in Barracks, from "Revally" to "Lights Out!"
Ta-ran-ta-ra
If "Sentry go" and "Pipeclay" ever pall,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
There's always plenty more of work about.
Ta-ran-ta-ran-ta-ra
As happy as a school boy, and as gay;
Then back he goes to duty,
All for Country, Home and Beauty
And the noble sum of half a crown a day.
O!
Tommy, Tommy Atkins,
You're a good un, heart and hand;
You're a credit to your calling,
And to all your native land;
May your luck be never failing,
May your love be ever true!
God bless you, Tommy Atkins,
Here's your Country's love to you!
 
In wartime then, it's "Tommy to the Front!"
Ta-ran-ta-ra
And we ship him off, in "Troopers" to the fray,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
We sit at home while Tommy bears the brunt,
Ta-ran-ta-ra
A fighting for his country - and his pay.
Ta-ran-ta-ran-ta-ra
And whether he's on India's coral strand,
Or pouring out his blood in the Soudan,
To keep our flag a-flying,
He's a doing, and a dying,
Ev'ry inch of him a soldier and a man.
O!
Tommy, Tommy Atkins,
You're a "good un," heart and hand;
You're a credit to your calling,
And to all your native land;
May your luck be never failing,
May your love be ever true!
God bless you, Tommy Atkins,
Here's your Country's love to you!
 
Following British defeat by the Boers at the Battle of Magersfontein in December 1899, Private Smith of the Black Watch, wrote the following poem:
Such was the day for our regiment,
Dread the revenge we will take.
Dearly we paid for the blunder
A drawing-room General's mistake.
Why weren't we told of the trenches?
Why weren't we told of the wire?
Why were we marched up in column,
May Tommy Atkins enquire . . .'
 
Tommy Atkins was the example name used on army forms from 1815 onwards (according to some) at the command of the Duke of Wellington, inspired by the death of Thomas Atkins. The name's use on, for example, conscription sheets during The First World War often led teenagers who were underage to sign up as Tommy Atkins.