Last night, February 3rd 2011, saw 100 students and fellows all sharing the name of Tom, gather together in a record-breaking charity event in Sidney Sussex dining hall.

The event was conceived by Thomas Davenport, a finalist at Sidney Sussex, who described it as "undoubtedly the most significant same name dining event Cambridge has seen since George V took his son out to lunch at Browns in 1919", and organised together with a committee of five students at the same college.  For £20, Cambridge students with the name “Tom, Thomas, Tommy (or another legitimate variation)” were able to attend a black-tie, three-course formal dinner, including drinks provided by their sponsor Big Tom tomato juice.  All the proceeds went towards Tommy’s, an organisation founded at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London to provide care for mothers and babies who experience trouble in pregnancy and childbirth.

Also present was guest of honour Sir Tom Blundell, a fellow also at Sidney Sussex College and President of the Biochemical Society, who said he thought that the event was a “great idea”.  He opened the dinner by addressing the assembled Toms with a speech, during which he related that he had spent an evening googling famous Toms in preparation.  Later, as guests enjoyed their puddings, popular comedy act Totally Tom performed a sketch, having waived their usual fee, making up the number of Toms to exactly one hundred.

In total, the event raised over £1000 for charity, including one anonymous donation of £500.  Committee member Tom McNeill told Varsity that, "Having dinner with 99 strangers was a daunting prospect, but I'm pleased to say that by the end of the meal everyone was on first name terms".  The 'Tommittee' hopes that Tom's Formal Hall will spark similiar events across the country.

As the official media partner of the event, Varsity was present throughout interviewing Toms and capturing footage of the evening.  A short film will be produced and released by VarsiTV in the near future.