"nicknames for soldiers" Topic

I was reading that the origin of 'doughboys' for US soldiers in WW1 was perhaps because they had soft webbing rather than hard leather harnesses like their allies.
I know of many other nicknames, many obvious but many others are a mystery to me. Poilu? Enfant? for Frenchmen. Tommy Atkins for British etc.
Would anyone like to share their knowledge of nicknames for soldiers and their origin/meaning?
I should add derogatory or racist terms need not be included.

Goughboys was a comment on the relativrly LARGER size of the US GI's.

My sergeant explained to me once that a pongo is a dirty, smelly creature that digs holes in the ground for no apparent reason.

link

"I should add derogatory or racist terms need not be included."

Well I won't bother listing the nicknames for other soldiers used by British squaddies then…

:-)

Barrie
TimeCast

There is a regiment in the British Army, can't remember which, that has the nickname 'Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard'. IIRC they got this nickname because a certain regiment of the French Army, in the 18th century, boasted that its lineage was so long and distinguished that it went back to the time of Jesus Christ. The Brits, with their usual sense of humour, responded that if they had been around at the time the poor chap would never have been crucified!

Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard – I am pretty certain that is the Royal Scots (1st Regt of Foot).

My memory is not what it use to be though.

Kev.

It is Col Spider, and the response they made was to the French Régiment Picardy.

Its like the Australians who the Germans called the Rats of Tobruk as an insult. The Aussie commander took it as a complement as the rats in the city were sleek, shiny coated and well fed…

I thought doughboys came from the fact that their buttons (circa 1860) looked like some sort of bread roll.

Tommy Atkins came from a sample ID document later imortalised by Kipling

I like the British army personal nicknames based on surnames

Miller was always called "Dusty"
Smith was usually called "Smudger" or "Shagger"
White was usually called "Chalky" or "Blanco"

great idea for skirmish games when naming characters.

I think we had something on this a while back. Enfants is literally children, Mes enfants=my children. Poilu was a term applied by the Germans to the more hirsute French, not particulary liked by them.
As Barry pointed out, virtually all nicknames applied by British servicemen to foreign troops, other branches or different units are either racist or insulting. I speak as a former 'crab'.

Adding to Koyli's suggestions.
Dusty was also applied to Rhodes and most Wilson's were 'Tug'

Members of the German Wehrmacht occasionally refered to themselves as Landsers.
US infantry sometimes gets refered to as being Earth Pigs. Members of the armor community are sometimes refered to as DAT's (Dumb A.. Tanker).

When my Dad was in the navy in WW2, he got the nickname Bluey. He had red hair.

The word 'infantry' has the same root as 'enfant' of course. Maybe the origin of the use of enfant as a nickname for soldiers.

About one in three Australians can be nicknamed Bluey.

Redcoat

Grunts

My favourite personal nicknames came about at Pegasus Bridge where confusion reigned when Paratroooper Todd, nickname Sweeney, and Glider Infantryman Sweeney, nicknamed Todd…

Squaddies tend to be a bit predictable in their naming etc.

"Johnny Reb" for Confederate soldiers
"Billy Yank" For Union soldiers

Robert

heh. My recollection of the "Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard" story, learned during much reading about Scottish regimental history, is that the Royal Scot responsible for starting all this profanely boasted that if THEY'D been in Palestine at the time of Christ, He never would have escaped from the tomb (cause they'd have been more diligent than Roman soldiers); hence "Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard" was mockingly applied to the Royal Scots by other British soldiers when word of the exchange got around.

Pongoes – "Where the Army goes, the pong goes."

The RAF are widely termed 'Crabs' or 'Crabfats', as the substance used to treat pubic lice ('Crabs'), 'Blue Unction' or 'Crabfat' was RAF blue-grey in colour.

Devil Dogs for the US Marines

The "whitecoats" for the pre-WW1 Austrians as called by both the French and the Prussians. (Maybe by Austrian allies for that matter, too!)

Jeez, when you leave out all the derogatory ones, it is poor pickings indeed.

In the eighties in Germany, we referred to our German allies as "rads," which I understood to be short for "conrads."

In the US Army, armor soldiers are called treadheads and artillerists are called cannon-cockers or gun-bunnies.

Jim

Here is some Aussie nicknames:

Australian Soldier = DIGGER
Artillery Gunner = Gunbunny or Trailape
Tanker = Bucket Head or Turret Head
Infantry = Grunet (or Dumb Grunt)
Signaler = Chooks
RAEME = The Brotherhood, The Mafia, The Trade Union.
Catering Corps = Fitters and Turners, Bait layers.
Logistic Types = Pogos or simply "Poges"
NAVY = Pussers
RAAF = WOFTAMS (Waste Of F@*KING Time and Money), Raffies.

The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was often referred to as Rob All My Comrades – harsh

The Army Service Corps (ASC) in WW1 was refered to as Ally Soper's Cavalry (a music hall act -vaudaville for those without a classical English education)

My platoon sergeant in basic training was called 'Sgt Downs'. This earned him the delightfully politically incorrect nickname of 'Sindy' – as in 'Downs Syndrome'.

If derogatory or racist nicknames are to be excluded, I don't think this will grow to much of a list. Despite the modern obsession with political correctness, soldiers are still not known for their 'right-on' attitudes – thank goodness.

One of my favourites was the nickname of the RNAS – the Royal Navy Air Service. Their mess antics lead their acronym being changed to 'Rather Naughty After Sundown'.

Royal Signals were always known to us as 'Scaley Backs' – apparently due to their skin suffering due to carrying radios about.

Royal Artillery were often called 'Long Range Snipers' for obvious reasons.

Americans were always 'septics' – as in septic tanks.

So, while we're on the subject, can anyone explain to me the origin of, "Johnny Turk" in WWI? How did anybody settle on Johnny as a good nickname for Turks. Would not "Mustapha Turk" or "Mad Murad Turk" or "Fez-boy Turk" (No offense intended dear Editor) been more appropriate. Why Johnny? No one has ever been able to give me an adequate explanation. I suspect the Newfoundlanders or Australians had something to do with it but I have no proof!
Rod Robertson.

Rod Robertson

I think 'Johnny' seems to have been used in reference to foreigners in general… 'Johnny Foreigner'.

Some others:

The Boers were referred to by the Tommies as 'Brother Boer' while the Boers called the Brits the 'khakis' or the 'verdomde rooineks' (damned red-necks).

The best one ever, in my opinion, is 'Fuzzy Wuzzy'.