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  • The Origin of Tommy Atkins

    calendar Dec 3, 2025 · 12 min read · Newspapers Tommy Atkins Wikipedia John Laffin 1743 1949 1900s 1800s 1700s Soldier Magazine Daily Telegraph File and Folder Lucknow Duke of Wellington Soldier's small book Army Admin Royal Artillery Kipling 1850 1837 Kings Regulations 1829 John William Fortescue Charles Matthew Clode Lord Henry Hardinge War Office Secretary for War Harold Dillon Robert Holden MacKenzie Military Historical Society  ·
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    The Origin of Tommy Atkins

    Part of my PhD research involves scanning through some 70,000 newspaper articles that contain the phrase 'Tommy Atkins' between 1896 and 1926 to identify articles relevant to my thesis. I have written software to aid in this, as well as utilising a stream deck (a Godsend!) — and I even have a pedal underneath my desk …


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  • Blighty Mystery File No.1

    calendar Aug 12, 2023 · 5 min read · Blighty A Budget Humour from Home Soldier Cartoons Trench Journals Line of Fire Royal Artillery France Sangfroid Army Service Corps War Weariness Royal Fusiliers S Coy Pioneers Gas Alarm 1916  ·
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    Blighty Mystery File No.1

    This is the first 'Mystery File' relating to the soldier-cartoonists who had their contributions published in Blighty but, at this moment in time, the trail has gone cold as I have been unable to find any further information about them — though I am not ready to give up. First, getting published in Blighty brought more …


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Robert St John Smith

Leeds, UK.
PhD researcher at Exeter studying the avatar of Tommy Atkins, 1896-1926. MA in Britain and The First World War.
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Featured Posts

  • The Origin of Tommy Atkins
  • Trench Journals: The Red Feather, Journal of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry. An Introduction
  • TTKAS: The Heroine of Loos
  • Things They Knew and Saw: An Introduction
  • Soldier-cartoonist: Corporal Harry Cotton, Meteorological Office, 4th Army HQ
  • Bairnsfather’s ‘Old Bill, the influence on Tommy Atkins, and the Better ‘Ole Video Game
  • The Wipers Times Exposé: A Picture of Dorothy Violet Hall emerges
  • Ephemera: Winnie Mary Knight’s Autograph Book: A Glimpse of Bromley in the First World War

Recent Posts

  • The Origin of Tommy Atkins
  • Trench Journals: The Red Feather, Journal of the 6th (Service) Battalion, Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry. An Introduction
  • TTKAS: The Heroine of Loos
  • TTKAS: Soldiers’ Alphabets – is this the earliest example?
  • Things They Knew and Saw: An Introduction
  • The Blighty Bust!: ‘The Bridge Across the Stream’ by Ivor Novello & J.E. MacManus
  • Soldier-cartoonist: Corporal Harry Cotton, Meteorological Office, 4th Army HQ
  • Reference: The Meteorological Office and The First World War

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FWW ARTICLES 18 SOLDIER-CARTOONISTS 12 EPHEMERA 5 SHORT ARTICLES 3 REFERENCES 2 GENERAL 1

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BUDDING BAIRNSFATHERS 12 ARE YOU IN THIS 6 THE WIPERS TIMES EXPOSÉ 6 THINGS THEY KNEW AND SAW 3 FWW DATA 1 THE BLIGHTY BUST! 1 TRENCH JOURNALS 1

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BLIGHTY A BUDGET HUMOUR FROM HOME 13 SOLDIER CARTOONS 13 TRENCH JOURNALS 9 PROPAGANDA 7 WESTERN FRONT 7 SHERWOOD FORESTERS 6 THE WIPERS TIMES 6 YPRES 6 1800S 5 1900S 5 1917 5 NOTTINGHAM 5 1916 4 ARMY SERVICE CORPS 4
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J. COUZENS1 SARAH FOX1 SARAH STONE1 SCHOOL-CHUMS1 SCOTLAND3 SCOTTISH MILITARY RESEARCH GROUP1 SCOUTS1 SCRAPBOOKING1 SEATONS1 SECOND BATTLE OF JORDAN1 SECRETARY FOR WAR1 SENLECQUES1 SERGEANT GEORGE TURNER1 SERGEANT TURNER1 SERGEANT TYLER1 SERGEANTS DINNER2 SEX AND SOLDIERING1 SHEFFIELD2 SHELL SCANDAL1 SHERWOOD FORESTERS6 SHIPSTONES BREWERY3 SHORTLANDS1 SHUNET NIMRIN HILLS1 SIGNALLER1 SINT-JACOBSSTRAAT1 SOLDIER ALPHABETS2 SOLDIER CARTOONISTS1 SOLDIER CARTOONS13 SOLDIER MAGAZINE1 SOLDIER POETS1 SOLDIER SONGS3 SOLDIER'S SMALL BOOK1 SOLDIERS CARTOONS1 SOMME2 SOMMERSET LIGHT INFANTRY1 SONGS3 SOUTHWARK1 SPHERE1 SPRING OFFENSIVE1 SS EMDEN1 ST OMER1 ST. ELOI2 ST. OMER1 STAN LAUREL1 STANLEY MELBORNE MOHR1 STANLEY MELBOURNE MOHR1 STANLEY WOODS1 STATISTICS OF THE MILITARY EFFORT1 STILL BIRTHS1 STILLBIRTHS1 STOCKHOLM1 SUMMERDOWN CAMP1 SUNDAY SCHOOL1 T.E.LAWRENCE1 T.S. LESLIE ALLEN1 TABLE TENNIS1 TATLER4 TENANTED FARMS1 TERRAMESNIL1 TERRITORIAL ARMY1 THE 7TH LONDON REGIMENT1 THE AVESNES ADVERTISER1 THE BANKERS DRAFT1 THE BETTER TIMES1 THE BRYCE REPORT1 THE BUFFS1 THE COLLEGE OF PHYSCIANS1 THE LADY'S MONTHLY1 THE MUDHOOK1 THE OUT-OF-WORK-DONATION1 THE OUTPOST1 THE POW-WOW1 THE PRINCE OF WALES OWN1 THE RED FEATHER1 THE REGIMENT1 THE SOCIETY OF APOTHECARIES1 THE SPRIG1 THE TIMES1 THE WIPERS TIMES6 THE WIPERS TIMES FILM1 THE WIPERS TIMES PLAY1 THINGS THEY KNEW AND SAW1 THINGS WE WANT TO KNOW1 THOMAS EMMANUEL WARD2 THOMAS MOORE EMMANUEL WARD1 THOMAS OSWELL BURY1 TITBITS1 TOMMY ATKINS2 TOXAEMIA1 TRENCH JOURNALS1 TRENCH CULTURE3 TRENCH JOURNAL1 TRENCH JOURNAL EDITORS2 TRENCH JOURNALS9 TUBERCULOSIS1 TURNER & CAEPENEEL MAP1 UNCONFIRMED CARTOONS1 UPPER HATTON1 VAD1 VALENTINE & SONS1 VENERABLE ORDER OF SAINT JOHN1 VERENA HOLMES1 VICTORIAN ERA2 VIDEO GAME1 VIGIL1 VILLERS CARBONNEL1 VIOLET BLYTH PRATT1 VIOLET'S CHRONICLE OF FASHION3 VIOLET'S CHRONICLES OF FASHION1 VOLUNTARY MATERNITY HOSPITALS UK1 WAAC1 WALES2 WAR ILLUSTRATED1 WAR OFFICE1 WAR PROPAGANDA BUREAU1 WAR WEARINESS2 WATCOMBE CIRCUS1 WELLINGTON HOUSE1 WELSH GUARDS1 WELSH REGIMENT1 WEST KENT YEOMANRY1 WEST YORKSHIRE REGIMENT1 WESTERN FRONT7 WIKIPEDIA1 WILDING JONES1 WILLIAM BUDD1 WILLIAM FARR1 WILLIAM HALL TIMBER1 WILLIAM MORRIS1 WINSTON CHURCHILL1 WIPERS PRINTERS2 WIPERS STAFF3 WIPERS TIMES CONTRIBUTORS2 WOMEN IN WAR1 WOMEN'S HEALTH1 WORKHOUSE1 WORM'S EYE VIEW1 WREXHAM1 YPRES6 YPRES RAMPARTS2 YPRES TIMES1 ZEPPELINS1
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