Tommy

????O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";

????But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,

????The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,

????O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

This excerpt comes from the poem 'Tommy' by Rudyard Kipling and is one of my favorites. Written in 1890, and from the point of view of a soldier it contrasts the treatment soldiers receive from the general public during peace and during war. To me, the spirit of the poem is as relevant today as it was all those years ago.

‘The wars are over, amours are on the wane, those who stood the thin red line, things will never be the same’.?- Joel Whittaker

Brave of me to add my own bit of poetry (especially into an article that leans so heavily on Kipling!) but it speaks to the many brave souls who perhaps went, or were pushed too far, in the service of their country. Many still need help, long after the guns went silent. Every year I get behind the charity?‘Bravehound’ and try to raise some coffers for them by doing something that requires courage. Bravehound provides companion dogs for UK veterans to overcome physical & emotional trauma. For anyone who has cared for dogs you'll already know that their love knows no bounds, and they only ask that you love them back. A good tonic - alongside the routine of feeding and walking these animals- for veterans with mental health conditions.

This year's charity effort is a distance cycle - some 100 miles - across the battered Landscape of Northern France to reach the Thiepval Memorial on the Somme in time for Remembrance. We have a small team, and are already nervous knowing what a grind this ride will be, our only hope is that the weather is kind. But, it takes courage to do good things sometimes and I don’t doubt that we’ll put in our best efforts. Please take a little time to follow this link and donate a few quid's to ‘Bravehound’, it would mean a lot to us.?

https://www.justgiving.com/page/joel-whittaker-1689337161080?utm_term=zmQ8m5ppx

I couldn’t leave this post without including the full ‘Tommy’ poem of course. Kipling wrote this after the Crimean Wars, his sympathies are clear but they became more acute post WW1. During this time (1914 - 1918) Kipling was a war correspondent, often in France, and an integral part of the British propaganda machine - responsible, amongst other things, in glamourizing this war. Yet his outlook on WW1 changed, not only due to what he must have witnessed firsthand in France but also due to the tragic loss of his son. His son, John wished to join the army but was short sighted and refused entry so Kipling used his contacts to get him into the Irish Guards where? - the now Second Lieutenant John Kipling - subsequently fought and died at the Battle of Loos in September, 1915.?

How many mothers and fathers wished their children good luck and farewell at that time, convinced that this was the right course of action for their kith and kin.?I wonder if Kipling felt any responsibility or guilt for that, especially as he would have felt the loss of his son so keenly. Perhaps the answer is reflected here, in a short poem Kipling did for the war graves commission, and after his son's death:

'If any question why we died, tell them, because our fathers lied'

Tommy

I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,

The publican 'e up an' sez, "We serve no red-coats here."

The girls be'ind the bar they laughed an' giggled fit to die,

I outs into the street again an' to myself sez I:

????O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";

????But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,

????The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,

????O it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play.

?

I went into a theater as sober as could be,

They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;

They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,

But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!

????For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, wait outside";

????But it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide,

????The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,

????O it's "Special train for Atkins" when the trooper's on the tide.

?

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep

Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;

An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit

Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.

????Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?"

????But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,

????The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,

????O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.

?

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,

But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;

An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,

Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;

????While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, fall be'ind",

????But it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind,

????There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,

????O it's "Please to walk in front, sir", when there's trouble in the wind.

?

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:

We'll wait for extra rations if you treat us rational.

Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face

The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.

????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;

????An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;

????An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool -- you bet that Tommy sees!