Charles "Checker" Tomkins (8 January 1918 – 2003) was a Canadian Métis

code talker A code talker was a person employed by the military during wartime to use a little-known language as a means of secret communication. The term is most often used for United States service members during the World Wars who used their knowledge ...

. Born in Grouard, Alberta, Tomkins was a fluent speaker of the

Cree language Cree ( ; also known as Cree–Montagnais language, Montagnais–Naskapi language, Naskapi) is a dialect continuum of Algonquian languages spoken by approximately 86,475 people across Canada in 2021, from the Northwest Territories to Alberta to ...

. Shortly after marrying Lena Anderson, he enlisted in the armed forces and was shipped overseas during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He helped develop a Cree-language code to report aircraft sightings. After the war he re-enlisted and served in a number of different regiments for 25 years, eventually being promoted to corporal. For his wartime service he was awarded the Defence Medal, the 1939–1945 Star, the France and Germany Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, and the War Medal 1939–1945. He was also the subject of a short documentary produced by directed by Cowboy Smithx.

References

External links

Cree Code Talkers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomkins, Checker 1918 births 2003 deaths Canadian military personnel of World War II