Tommie Hunter

Thomasina 'Tommie' Darcy Hunter (born 17th February 1921 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a main character in A Wolf In The Flames. She is the second child and only daughter of Cal Hunter and Stella Darcy. Tommie is the sister of John, Charlie and Henry.

Early Life (1921-1938)
Tommie was born on 17th February 1921 in Edinburgh, Scotland to Cal and Stella Hunter. Tommie was brought up and raised in Edinburgh with her family until she was fifteen. Her younger brother, Henry and mother, Stella were killed in a fire, so Tommie, her brothers, John and Charlie along with her father, Cal then re-located to Gravesend in Kent where Cal was brought up.

After moving to Gravesend, Tommie gets work as a gardener at an all-boys institute and becomes very close to her father's best friend, Rohan Fletcher, a teacher at the Grimley Institute For Boys.

Life in the Women's Land Army (June 1939-November 1940)
In early June 1939, the Second Women's Land Army was formed and recruitment got underway. The minimum age was 17 but by this time, Tommie had already turned 18. Tommie signed up and was subsequently given an interview and medical test. She enrolled soon after.

In July 1939, Tommie is sent to Shackleton Farm, a farm on the outskirts of Gravesend belonging to the Shackleton family. Tommie cares for the horses, milk the cows and delivers the milk to local houses by pony and trap. She also helps the eldest son, George with harvesting the wheat and planting potatoes in the fields. Over the course of the summer, Tommie and George become extremely close friends.

In October 1939, George is conscripted and is forced to go and fight in the army.

The Blitz (13th/14th November 1940)
...

Aftermath of the War (1945)
On 2nd September, the war officially ends.

Physical Appearance
Tommie is described as having very pale skin and quite a medium frame, but she is very strong for her size. She is said to have shoulder-length dark blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

Tommie is often seen wearing brown dungarees with a leather belt, a collared shirt and wellington boots. She is also often seen in her Land Army uniform (see right) when walking out consisting of a green V-necked long-sleeved ribbed jumper which was worn over a fawn aertex shirt, with the WLA tie for formal wear. On her head, she would wear a brown felt porkpie-style hat. Tommie would also wear laced brown brogue shoes, baggy brown corduroy breeches and knee length fawn socks. On occasions, Tommie would wear a navy blue nautical sailors dress (see left). It is a mid-length dress with a traditional white sailors collar with navy stripe trims and quarter length sleeves designed with the same pattern. The dress is buttoned down to the waist and has a navy belt.

Personality and Traits
Tommie is a very strong, selfless, hard-working, headstrong and courageous individual who is quite the tomboy. She has a fire in her belly and isn't afraid to say what she thinks. Tommie doesn't mind getting dirty doing work and doesn't care what people think about her boy-like habits such as hunting and mucking out stables. Growing up, the vast majority of Tommie's closest friends were boys and so she grew up around their hobbies. She has a very thick skin and is very tough and she isn't afraid to swear in front of people.

Tommie always puts the people she cares about before herself which leaves her almost forgetting to think about herself. She keeps much of her emotions to herself, which sometimes leaves her in a very bad state. The sheer memories of what happened to her mother and brother has left her emotionally scarred, and the distance between her drunkard father leaves her feeling more alone than ever.

Tommie is a quite over-protective character at times, especially when in the company of her family or friends. At times, it seems that Tommie sees Stefan as a close resemblance to her deceased brother, perhaps explaining why she is so over-protective of him.

Cal Hunter
Tommie's relationship with her father has varied somewhat over the course of her life. Growing up, Tommie was extremely close to her father and they would do everything together. Tommie was always a bit of a tomboy, much to her mothers' disapproval, but Cal always told Tommie to be who she wants to be and not to change for anyone - a piece of advice she keeps close. After Stella and Henry's deaths, Cal, John, Tommie and Charlie moved to Gravesend where they started a completely new life together.

Being from Gravesend, Cal wanted to move somewhere familiar, but John, Tommie and Charlie didn't know anybody and struggled to fit in. Cal began drinking heavily after the disaster that killed his wife and son, and eventually ends up gravely ill. By this point, it's 1938 where we first meet Tommie in the novel, working as a land girl to provide for her family. Cal can't work because of his drinking problems, so Tommie and her elder brother, John work day and night to look after their father and Charlie. Cal becomes a very angered man who occasionally results to violence if he doesn't hear what he wants to hear, but the truth is, Cal is an extremely broken man who is in desperate need of help. Tommie is very overprotective of her father as she understands why he is struggling, but she is desperate for him to be there for her, but more specifically her younger brother, Charlie. Tommie feels more alone than she ever has, but her father is drinking himself into an early grave and she can't face any more pain of losing someone she loves.

Stella Darcy
Tommie never particularly had a close relationship with her mother, Stella. She was very much a traditionalist whereas Tommie never particularly took to tradition. Stella always wanted a daughter to brought up the way 'that they should be', wearing dresses and fluttering their eyelashes at young men, but Tommie did not take to this. Stella wanted Tommie to leave this 'tomboy' phase as soon as possible, but Cal didn't agree. He always believed that Tommie should be who she wants to be. Tommie's constant rebellion against the norm did not impress Stella at all and led them to have a very rocky relationship consisting of barely speaking and if they did, it would be arguing.

John Hunter
Tommie's best friend growing up, John and his sister have a very close relationship. They understand each other and trust each other with their lives. They both watch each other's backs and have a good laugh together.

Charlie Hunter
Charlie is a very shy boy who struggles a lot socialising and with his school work but Tommie goes out of her way to help him. Charlie confides in Tommie a lot and trusts her fully. Tommie taught him how to ride a horse and how to use a rifle for when they go hunting together and as their father drifted away, Tommie and Charlie got closer. Charlie looks up to Tommie very much as a mother figure.

Henry Hunter
Although Tommie only knew Henry for six years, she adored him. Tommie adored his mischievousness but most of all his laugh. She would help take care of him at home and would read to him at night.

Rohan Fletcher
After moving to London for university, Tommie 's father, Cal became close friends with one of the teaching students, Rohan. Growing up, Tommie drifts away from her father, but becomes closer to Rohan. In December 1938, Tommie finds a diary that once belonged to her mother, Stella. In the diary, Stella wrote about the birth of her twin sons, Charlie and Henry, and how they were 'so like their father''. Tommie found this odd as her father, Cal, is blond haired and blue eyed. She discovers that Henry and Charlie' s real father is Rohan.

Etymology

 * The name Thomasina is derived from the male form, Thomas which means twins.
 * The surname Hunter is of Scottish origins.
 * Tommie's birthday is 17th February which is Marc Marquez' birthday, the authors favourite MotoGP rider.