The village of Odiham in Hampshire is closely associated with Britain’s Royal Air Force, as the base at RAF Odiham is the home of the iconic Chinook helicopter. The nearby town of Aldershot is considered the home of the British Army, for whom the nickname “Tommy” became synonymous over the 19th and 20th centuries. But the eponymous Tommy was born in Odiham. According to records, Thomas Atkins began serving in the British Army on August 31, 1815, as a private in the No. 6 Company of the 1st Battalion in Foot…
