Tom (1990)
Thomas Edward "Tom" Fletcher [1]was one of the original main characters on Home and Away and was a mainstay of the show during its first two years. He first appeared in the pilot episode (January 1988) and was ever-present until his sudden death in April 1990 (Episode 526). He and his wife Pippa were the first foster parents on Home and Away, having started back in the late 1970s with Frank Morgan. It was because of Tom losing his job in The City that the Fletcher family relocated to Summer Bay and kicked everything off 😊
Tom was played by Roger Oakley.
Biography[]
| Thomas Edward Fletcher | |
|---|---|
Character Profile
| |
| Birthday: | 17 January 1948 - 26 April 1990 |
| Birthplace: | Sydney, NSW, Australia |
| Father: | Not mentioned |
| Mother: | Not mentioned |
| Siblings: | Not specified |
| Spouse: | Pippa Fletcher née King (1969-1990) |
| Children: | Christopher Fletcher (1988) |
| Occupation: | Road gang council worker, Macklin Group Manager (real estate development firm) |
| Played By: | Roger Oakley |
Backstory[]
Tom was born on 17th January 1948 in Sydney, Australia. His father walked out on his mother when Tom was just a baby. When Tom was just 2 years old, his mother put him into foster care. When Tom was 19 he joined the army and served in the Vietnam War. While there, he became good friends with fellow soldier Danny King. He saved Danny's life when their battalion came under attack, though Danny was left wheelchair bound from his injuries. Tom fell in love with Danny's younger sister Pippa and they married in 1969. Because of medical issues on Pippa's side, the Fletchers couldn't have children of their own. In time they decided to become foster parents instead. In the late 1970s they took in young Frank Morgan who was starting to run into problems with the law. His fostering was a success story for them and over the years they added more foster children to their family.
In 1988, the now 40 year old Tom was made redundant from his job. He struggled to find another job and to make matters worse; social services began to take an interest in this family with an unemployed father. Under threat of having their family split up, Tom and Pippa decided to do something radical. They sold up their home in The City and used the money to relocate to somewhere cheaper. This turned out to be a certain coastal town, the name of which is on the tip of my tongue... The Fletchers bought Summer Bay House and its adjacent Caravan Park from Alf Stewart and started a new life.
1988-1990[]
When the Fletchers moved to Summer Bay in 1988, the family consisted of Frank Morgan, Sally Keating, Steven Matheson, Carly Morris and Lynn Davenport. They soon went on to foster local tearaway Bobby Simpson.
Almost immediately, Tom clashed with neighbour Donald Fisher who was the Vice Principal of the local High School. In comparison to the much warmer, fairer man he evolved into, 1988 Donald was a mean-spirited troublemaker. Donald used his influence to blackball Tom and stop him from getting any jobs locally. Eventually Tom managed to get a job though not the nicest one in the world. He began working as a navvy on a council road gang and clashed with belligerent foreman Sam Barlow. Tom later replaced Sam and became the foreman. Some time later, Tom witnessed Sam accidentally shooting his wife Kerry dead. This was Home and Away's first death. Tom later got a job with the Macklin Corporation. This was a better job and required less asphalt.
An other-worldly Tom appears to Sally in 2008
In September 1988 Tom became a father for the first time when Pippa gave birth to baby Christopher. This was an unexpected pregnancy for the couple and it carried a lot of risk for Pippa. Happily she made it through the pregnancy and labour. He and Pippa later adopted their foster daughter Sally, though not before her aunt and uncle tried to turn her head. They also fostered Brian "Dodge" Forbes (briefly) and Sophie Simpson. Dodge was a notable failure for the Fletchers because instead of leaving Summer Bay for better things, he departed for prison.
In 1990 Tom and Pippa's marriage suffered a lot of strain when he was led to believe she was having an affair with shark hunter Zac Burgess (she wasn't). Under pressure, Tom became overloaded with work and was hospitalised for several weeks with heart trouble. Sadly, he died suddenly in April 1990 aged just 43. He suffered either a heart attack or a stroke at the wheel of his car and died almost straight away. Bobby and Steven were passengers at the time and only suffered minor injuries in the crash. Pippa was devastated but later met and married Michael Ross.
18 years later, Sally saw a vision of him when she was stabbed and was lingering between life and death in hospital. In a special one-off episode, he appeared to her in a dreamlike, unfurnished Summer Bay house and offered her a choice. She could either walk upstairs in the house and reunite with the people she'd loved and lost: Michael, Ailsa, Bobby and Flynn. Or she could choose life and return to her old life. After deliberating upon it, Sally decided to choose life. Before disappearing, Tom asked her to tell Pippa that he loved her more than ever.
Memorable info[]
Birthdate: 17 January, 1948
Died: 26th April 1990 (aged 42)
Full name: Thomas Edward Fletcher
First Line "How difficult?" (to Mr Jarvis)
Last Line "Oh, the olden days! Do us a favour! Oh, let's see, in the olden days I think we used to call it a French kiss." (to Steven, Bobby and Sophie)
In 1991, Pippa and Sally made visits to Tom's grave. Oddly, his headstone had recorded his name as "Thomas Robert Fletcher" and his date of birth as 6 March 1947.
Tom used to fancy Marilyn Monroe.
Family[]
Siblings At least 1 brother
Spouse Pippa King (1969-1990)
Children Christopher Fletcher (1986), Sally Fletcher (1979)
Grandchildren Pippa Saunders (2002)