WW2 Q: What is a "Tommy" or "Tommie"???

[Xavier]

The spelling varies, but what exactly is the origin of calling British Allied Troops “Tommies” during WW2? A friend of mine has a German girlfriend and she still calls him that whenever we all meet. Where did the expression come from?

NOTE: If you watched the film U-571, it is also used there in the opening sequences when the German naval captain exclaims (after coming under heavy bombardment by the allies) “The Tommies are crapping all over us!!!”

The origins. The extent of it’s usage in the general German public. Was it strictly a military term?

[Gary_T]

A Tommy is a British soldier. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/lj/warslj/army_04.shtml

[Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker]

Probably short for “Tommy Atkins,” which meant “British soldier.”

Here’s Kipling’s poem on “Tommy.”
http://www.faxmentis.nsw.edu.au/kipling.html

[Larry_Mudd]

The nickname’s origins are in recruitment materials that used “Thomas Atkins” as a sort of “John Doe.”

See also: Tommyknocker.

[Zebra]

Did the Tommys ever use Tommy Guns?

[everton]

*Originally posted by Zebra *
**Did the Tommys ever use Tommy Guns? **

Yes, but the common name is purely coincidental:

The Thompson sub-machine gun was first placed on the market in 1921, and was designed by a retired American General, John T Thompson. The American bootleggers of the 1920s were quick to appreciate the tactical value of a large volume of fire for short range combat. The USA fighting services also recognised it for a new weapon in special roles such as night raids and fighting in close country. Germany and Russia had several types in service by 1939, having experimented in the Spanish Civil War, but the British Army with its great fighting traditions, turned a conservative eye on this new weapon and none were in the Service in September 1939. When a demand came from the fighting troops in 1940, large numbers of the expensive American sub-machine guns had to be purchased in a hurry.