The name Tommy for any soldier in the British Army is particularly associated with World War I. The French and the British Commonwealth armies used the name "Tommy" for the British. "Tommy" is derived from the name Tommy Atkins which had been used as a generic name for a soldier for many years (and had been used as an example name on British Army registration forms). The precise origin is the subject of some debate, but it is known to have been used as early as 1743. Rudyard Kipling published the poem Tommy (part of the Barrack Room Ballads) in 1892 and in 1893 the music hall song Private Tommy Atkins was published with words by Henry Hamilton and music by S. Potter. In 1898 William McGonagall wrote Lines In Praise of Tommy Atkins.
The paybooks issued to all British soldiers of World War I used the name "Tommy Atkins" to illustrate how they should be filled in.
Tommy
British soldiers were nicknamed "Tommies"- see the poem by Rudyard Kipling. 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;
Tommy, Paddy, and Jock
Tommy Lobsters!
'Fritz' was the nickname for all German soldiers in WW1. The Bristish were called 'Tommy's' I believe.
British soldiers, I'd assume? --- Depends on who this was according to. Meaning they'd be called different things according to different countries and in different time periods. Answer: The generic name given to British soldiers is "Tommy" from Tommy Atkins. It is often suggested that this is the name often shown on specimen forms used by the British army but the true origin is not known. Kipling used the name in his poem "Tommy" (see link)
Tommy was the fictional main character in the Who's rock opera, "Tommy." He was deaf, dumb and blind (and played a mean pinball) A Tommy was also the name given to British soldiers
British soldiers were nicknamed "Tommies"- see the poem by Rudyard Kipling. 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;
If you mean the Tommy's it was nick name for british World War One Soldiers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Atkins
Depends on the era. In the 1700's Redcoats and "lobsterbacks" were two of the most popular and common. In WW1 they were called Tommies after Thomas Atkins (the specimen soldier) Today they are called SquaddiesTommies or Tommy Atkins - a slang for a British soldier in the First World War.Another nickname, especially in earlier times, was redcoats.A third ( derogatory) nickname was that of "lobsters".
well a nurse was a nurse and a Tommy was a Tommy A Tommy was a British soldier. The origins of the nickname Tommy are a lost in the mists of time. Tommy Atkins was a term used for British soldiers as early as 1745 although in 1815 the name Tommy Atkins was used in a war office publication to show how a soldier's pay book should be filled out. Nurse was not a nickname, unlike Tommy.
It is short for Tommy Atkins, a name example used by the British Army on an example form on how to fill out forms for new recruits during World War I. The term has fallen out of use and the common term used today is a "squaddie".