Borland, Tom - S/Sgt
Written by the editorial staff at the MD44 press office!
So nobody writes these and its all left down to me...
So where do I start with Tom... Tom joined the group after being binned from another group for basically having tattoos. Thier loss.. and certainly our gain! For Tom burst into Miss Drop 44 with lots of character, humor and enthusiasm, although he did bring Tai with him who has since been almost dorment in the group and we've only met him once. Tom started out as a PFC in the LMG section and soon took on board extra duties in the group; he took on the task of running the groups Instragram 'thing' and has done amazingly well with it. He was then asked if he would like to be the S/Sgt in 1st Platoon HQ, to which he accepted. 2023 has been a fantastic year for Tom in the group, not only for all hes put into it, but he also won the 'most improved 2023 member' award that we awarded at the Capel Show. A small bunch of random goodies were presented to him as a well done.
So what about Tom as a person... well to say he has a rather interesting sense of humor would be far too simple... I would describe his humor as unique, see the above for a glimpse. When he isn't doing Bruce Crompton impressions (also did it while standing next to Bruce) he can be found doing other impressions... that consisting of things like USAAF crew, RAF, US Tanker (yes... Tanker), Infantry... his other life is spent as a 'TED'. To which when I spoke to Harry he said "I don't really understand that at all"... me either Harry! Tom is another member of the group who can play a guitar... or maybe he just holds it in photos?
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So I asked the members what they had to say about Tom... apparently hes a shitter during winter... oh GRITTER! Tom was one of the 'Miss Drop Whurzles 3', no its not a terrorist group, although they possibly should have been arrested for noise pollution. Tom, Harry and Marcus all sang some weird some about farm maschinery at a karaoke at the Capel Show and they all got really into it... and so did everyone in the beer tent! The place went bonkers!!! Tom also certainly lives up a member of a drinking group with a re-enacting problem.
Tom was described today as a loveably rogue; not sure if I should be upset by that as it was 'my' Fluffy that said it! Although I'm sure Max would agree, he has 'used' Tom as a hot waterbottle and often mentions how Tom kept him warm! Needlessly, I didn't ask for more details. Since Harry went to the 'dark side' he left Max on his own and now Tom and Max are just as unseperable as Harry and Max once were. The most consistant things people mentioned about Tom was -
1, Dancing
2, Drinking
3, Karaoke
Although my favourite comment was one made by George and its so true
..."always offers to do the things nobody else wants to do"
"Oh god!! Funny, just an all over great bloke"
"All round decent guy with an awesome sense of humour."
"...has a fetish for collecting rusty things!"
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"Tom. Keen sense of humour, but is always committed to giving a very high standard of impression. Possesses an ability to put smiles on faces, no matter the conditions. Never far from his cuddly bear! (Max). No stranger to living history. Superb team player, in that he will quietly take on tasks as they arise, without hesitation or complaint. He understands the big picture and is extremely reliable.
Liked and valued by the whole group. A great asset.
Show me someone who doesn’t like Tom and I will show you an imbecile!"
I was reminded of something Tom does which we think is great. He has a British Brodie helmet that he takes to shows and when he meets veterans he always asks them if they would mind signing it. Certainly a unique item of militaria.
Birthday – 17th September (Market Garden)
In infraction book – no
Why? – n/a (but I will expect this to be filled out one day)
Smokes - yes