"Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

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MNBob
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"Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Post by MNBob »

I'm currently reading
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The Americans are "Yanks" and the Brits are "Tommies". Where does the latter nickname come from?
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NEO_CrAz3n
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Re: "Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Post by NEO_CrAz3n »

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

Post by MNBob »

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

Post by NEO_CrAz3n »

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.
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blayzer13
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Re: "Tommies". where does the nickname come from?

Post by blayzer13 »

nice lil pair of facts =)
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