"The Various Routines of Military Life, as Endured From Day to Day by Tommy Atkins....."

Tin Soldiers, 1885 @  Victoria and Albert Museum. London.    These are tin soldiers manufactured and  sold after the battle of El Teb in the Sudan in 1884.  From an exhibition at the museum in 2013 called War Games, which explored the how worlds of warfare and childhood intersected and influenced each other since 1800. From the Newsweek article written by Andrew Romano and published 5/29/2013. 

A British soldier was often referred to as "Tommy Atkins" or "Thomas Atkins".

Page 9

 (the last few lines from page 8) "...Here let me say that as soon as we embark on ship our rations & pay increase.  Whilse (whilst?) on (beginning of page 9) home stations the regulation food allowed for soldiers is 1 lbs of bread & 3/4 lbs of beef (& bone of course) but on foreign service the ration is increased to 1 1/4 lbs of bread & 1 lbs of meat either fresh or canned...of course it is not always that we can get bread, so we are obliged to substitute ship biscuits for bread. It will be impossible for me in the space of time allowed for me reading this paper to deal anything like as fully as I would like to with the various routines of military life, as endured from day to day by Tommy Atkins nor is it the purpose I have in view at present but I find it necessary to (refer?) somewhat as I go on in order to make the necessary connections by way of uniting the whole subject. We will just go below for a little while & see what things are like there. The Rewa is not a vessel adapted to carrying troops so having received her charter from the Admiralty she has been hastily fitted up for the purpose.  But don't let me lead you away with the belief that we are occupying the whole of the vessel...

Page 10

...nay for we are only part of her cargo & therefore we have the fore holde of the ship (the front or the forward part of the hold of a ship) at our disposal so that we have to (utilize?) this space as best possible so you will notice a wood grating attached temporally to the underside of the beams of the deck, to these gratings you will observe a vast number of iron hooks screwed in... these are arranged to take the lashings of the hammocks which are slung up by night for the men who are allotted one of those commodotys (sic)  of a sailors life.  There are a great number of these hammocks but as the ceiling space is so limited every man cannot have a hammock, so that nearly half of the men have to sleep on deck beds immediately under the men who are in the hammocks. I will allow my listeners to judge the pleasure that is attendant with this kind of life, but in order to give a little idea of it I will mention one or two incidents that you may witness for yourselves...

Page 11

..If you have the fortune (or otherwise) to go to bed in a man of war or troopship.  Thomas is not a bad sort of fellow taking him all around, but for some cause or other the youngsters are having a bit of fun with him so he gets a little rusty with them & if course that dont always do among soldiers, the motto is to be merry & take all things in good part, so on account of his crotchetness the youngsters decide that they will serve Thomas out tonight. The time arrives for lashing up hammocks so Thomas... to make quite sure he will avail himself of a couple of hooks...lashes his hammock early & having completed his task goes on deck just to watch the progress of the vessels & to have a chat before turning in for the night. The youngsters in the mean time avail themselves of the opportunity of his absence and tie a slip knot at the foot end of Thomas' hammock...the arrangement not occupying much time...

Page 12

...or causing the least suspicion...so presently Thomas comes below and prepares to turn in for the night...he is soon in & gets to eights (rights?) and eventually gets off into a sound sleep. Presently a consternation is caused at the sudden collapse of Thomas's hammock & lo the occupant is landed on the deck amongst his companions...who as you may imagine are very wroth (angry/incensed) at the sudden manner by which they are aroused & you may be sure Thomas comes in for no small share of indignation...but as you may suppose no (one?) knew how it occurred (Querie?) ....I cannot dwell further upon the inner life of Tommy Atkins but we will proceed up the gangway & on deck & you will notice that we are a good way down the Thames & evening is coming on. It is very pleasant for it is a beautiful evening & the ship is gliding along nicely, a few of us assemble ourselves on the poop & enjoy our first night at sea with some singing & conversation and as night draws on we eagerly scan the coast line for the lights...

Page 13

...which are distinctly discernable at southend on sea & other villages on this part of the coast and alltogether the first evening at sea passes of very nicely & bed time arrives & all becomes fairly quiet and whilst we are peacefully slumbering our good ship having passed out of the Thames puts on a little extra speed & in the silent hours passes Dover Eastbourne and the Kentish coast Sussex and by morning we are not far from the Isle of Wight....."

The path of the Rewa as it traveled down the Thames, around the Kent Coastline, and past the Isle of Wight through the English Channel. Google Maps

Crews hammocks; National Museum of the Royal Navy Hartlepool, England

 Poop:  Charles was referring to the poop deck or the deck that forms the roof of the cabin built in the rear or aft of a ship.  The poop deck provides an elevated position ideal for observation. Wikipedia: Poop Deck

 The term "Tommy Atkins" was used to refer to a common soldier in the British Army, possibly as far back as 1745. The following origin story occurred in 1794. 

The British Tommy, Tommy Atkins

by Ben Johnson

It is 1794 in Flanders, at the height of the Battle of Boxtel. The Duke of Wellington is with his first command, the 33rd Regiment of Foot, who have been bloodily engaged in hand-to-hand fighting, when he comes across a soldier lying mortally wounded in the mud. It is Private Thomas Atkins. “It’s all right, sir, all in a day’s work,” the brave soldier says just before he dies.

It is now 1815 and the ‘Iron Duke’ is 46 years old. He has been approached by the War Office for a suggestion for a name that could be used to personify the brave British soldier, to be used as an example name in a publication to show how a ‘Soldier’s Pocket Book’ should be filled out. Thinking back to the Battle of Boxtel, The Duke suggests ‘Private Thomas Atkins’.

This is just one explanation* for the origin of the term ‘Tommy Atkins’, now used to refer to a common soldier in the British army.

The term was used quite widely, and indeed rather contemptuously, in the mid 19th century. Rudyard Kipling sums this up in his poem ‘Tommy’, one of his Barrack-Room Ballards (1892) in which Kipling contrasts the mean way in which the soldier was treated in peace time, with the way he was praised as soon as he was needed to defend or fight for his country. His poem “Tommy”, written from the soldier’s point of view, raised the public’s awareness of the need for a change of attitude towards the common soldier.

 Kipling helped to change the public’s attitude towards the common soldier in the late Victorian era. Nowadays the term ‘Tommy’ is more often associated with the soldiers of World War I and is used with affection and respect for their bravery and heroism, much as Wellington had in mind when he suggested the name back in 1815. Harry Patch, who died aged 111 in 2009, was known as the “Last Tommy” because he was the last surviving British soldier who fought in World War I.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-British-Tommy-Tommy-Atkins/