Can it be real??

[Andrew Tarr]

I would have thought that a soldier trying to conceal his identity would at least sign Thomas or T. Atkins.  Maybe he was genuine - in which case he might have signed J.Smith 

[larkspur]

There are 2 Tommy Atkins baptised between 1915-1930
Births Jun 1919 
Atkins    Tommy   
MMS- Brown   
Tynemouth   
10b   475
Births Dec 1924   
Atkins    Tommy   
 MMS-Wilcox   
Long Ashton   
 5c   774   

[Andrew Tarr]

But how many Thomas Atkins were there?

[siouxie366]

A huge thank you to one and all who replied to my post.  It was all very interesting.

I think I will check to make sure that he is of the same regiment as OH's father and see if he really is Tommy Atkins.  If they are of the same regiment it would be nice to know if he survived the D-Day landing, which - sadly - OH's father did not.  I know he won't be of "the line" so to speak, but it would just be interesting to see if I can find out.  I think we all like a bit of a "mystery" in our family trees!!

Thank you all so much

[Guyana]

As an addendum, I once shared a billet with a Sergeant Thomas Atkins, Royal Engineers. He was a real "old soldier", as  his Army No. had only six digits, whereas the rest of us had eight. Whether he served during the war I don't know, but he was certainly old enough.

[siouxie366]

Dear Guyana,

Thank you for your reply.  "Your" Thomas Atkins really must have been an old soldier according to his number!!  My OH, ex Coldstream Guards, often receives communications from or meets up with other CG members and he often bemoans the fact that their army numbers are vastly different from his.  I don't know if he thinks of himself as an 'old soldier' or that they are 'mere babies' by comparison!!
Siouxie

[jbml]

The use of "Tommy" to designate a British soldier continued unabated into WWII.

German tanks ran on Diesel ... whereas the Sherman tanks which the British acquired in their thousands under "Lease-lend" assistance ran on petrol. his gave them a rather distressing tendency to explode in flames when struck by anti-tank shells.

The Germans dubbed them "Tommy cookers".

The Tommies themselves called them "Ronsons".