R.W. Tommy “Tommy” Atkins
Corporal · #7907851 · HQ Patrol · MID
| Rank | Corporal |
|---|---|
| Service number | #7907851 |
| Patrol | HQ Patrol |
| Regiment | Royal Corps of Signals |
| Known as | “Tommy” |
| Honours | MID |
| POW / KIA | PoW — Dodecanese, 16 Nov 1943 |
What this roll records
HIS MENTION IN DESPATCHES, DATED. London Gazette, 22 June 1943, Supplement 36065, page 2857: “7907851 Lce.-Corpl. R. W. Atkins.” That supplement is the Mentioned in Despatches list for the Middle East covering 1 May to 22 October 1942, its preamble on page 2853. He was a LANCE-CORPORAL. His entry sits inside the Royal Corps of Signals section of the list, among Signalmen of that corps, although his own number is a 79-series Royal Armoured Corps number — evidence of attachment to Signals rather than of a transfer. Source: The London Gazette.
Mentioned in Despatches per W.B. Kennedy Shaw, "Long Range Desert Group" appendices. (listed "Atkins, Sgmn. R.", R.C.S.; sheet spelling Atkin).
Dodecanese operations, 1943: prisoner of war 16 Nov 1943. Source: Roll of British & Rhodesian PoW and KIA (Appendix V), compiled by Jim Patch, LRDG (UK) Association.
Deeper background (2026): his Mention in Despatches is corroborated in The London Gazette (supplement to issue 36065, p.2857), which lists “7907851 Lce.-Corpl. R. W. Atkins” of the Royal Corps of Signals — note the surname is spelled “Atkins” in the Gazette and in W. B. Kennedy Shaw's LRDG appendix. Source: The London Gazette, https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/36065/supplement/2857
Aegean/Dodecanese operations, 1943: listed as Corporal Atkins, service no. 7907851; taken prisoner of war, 16 Nov 1943. Source: Brendan O’Carroll, ‘The Long Range Desert Group in the Aegean’ (Appendix V, Roll of British & Rhodesian PoW and KIA).
The roll formerly carried this man twice, as “Atkin” and as “Atkins”. Both entries gave service number 7907851, and The London Gazette and W. B. Kennedy Shaw’s appendix both spell it Atkins, of the Royal Corps of Signals. The two records were merged in August 2026.
See him in the full roll →Where this comes from
- Missing info added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll.
- AKA added from the LRDG Preservation Society’s Troopers roll (missing information).
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