"Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

MNBob · Post by **MNBob** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:39 pm

I'm currently reading

The Americans are "Yanks" and the Brits are "Tommies". Where does the latter nickname come from?

NEO_CrAz3n · Post by **NEO_CrAz3n** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:58 pm

The Brits call their soldiers "Tommies" kinda like how we refer to the government as Uncle Sam. It's generic I think like John Doe.

MNBob · Post by **MNBob** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:03 pm

I found this:
British soldiers have long been know as Tommies because when pay books were 1st issued in 1812 during the Peninsula campaign, soldiers were shown an example pay book in the name shown below:

Private Thomas (Tommy) Atkins of the Grenadiers. Hence a "tommy".

NEO_CrAz3n · Post by **NEO_CrAz3n** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 10:07 pm

Heh, he was a Grenadier. I saw a few weeks ago on Discovery that Uncle Sam was modeled after a guy that supplied the US army with meat.

blayzer13 · Post by **blayzer13** » Mon Dec 24, 2007 12:26 pm

nice lil pair of facts =)

N3O Age Of Empires and Starcraft 2 Clan

"Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

"Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Re: "Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Re: "Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Re: "Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Re: "Tommies". where does the nickname come from?