Tom Croydon

Blue Heelers character


image_size = 230
name = Thomas 'Tom' Arthur Croydon
gender = Male
nicknames = Boss
rank = Sergeant ->
Senior Sergeant
first_ep_name = A Women's Place
first_ep_no = 1 (Pilot)
first_ep_date = 18/1/1994
last_ep_name = One Day More
last_ep_no = 510
last_ep_date = 4/6/2006
eps = 510
reason = Season Finale
actor = John Wood
parents =
siblings =
spouse = Nell Croydon (dec.)
Grace Curtis (dec.)
romances =
children = Anna Croydon (daughter, with Nell)
Susan Croydon (daughter, with Nell)
Nelson Curtis (stepson, via Grace)
Daniel Curtis (stepson, via Grace)
grandchildren = Samuel 'Sam' Thomas Croydon (via Anna)
Daisy Allcroft (via Anna)
grandparents =
aunts/uncles =
nieces/nephews =
cousins = |

Thomas Arthur Croydon (more simply known as Tom Croydon) is a fictional character in the long running Australian television police drama Blue Heelers. He is one of two characters to appear in all thirteen seasons, 1994 to 2006, and is an original character. We see him in the first few seasons as the Sergeant of Mt. Thomas Police Station, who later is promoted to Senior Sergeant.

He has been married twice; first, to Nell (who died in the second-last episode of the first season). She was mentioned in nearly every episode, yet we only see her left eye and her hand in the episode in which she died. Tom and Nell had two daughters, Susan and Anna; Anna by whom Tom has two grandchildren - Samuel Thomas Croydon (more known as "Sam") and Daisy Alcroft.

His second wife was the local reverend of the Mt. Thomas Anglican Parish, Reverend Grace Curtis. He married her in the ninth season. Upon marrying her, he took on the role of becoming a stepfather to Grace's two sons, Nelson and Curtis. Grace died in in the eleventh season after being raped and murdered by town-terror Troy Baxter (who later died in unknown circumstances). Her death occurred in the episode in which the original station was bombed, killing Jo Parrish and Clancy Freeman, although we don't find out that she is dead until the next episode. His stepsons moved from Mt. Thomas to live with their grandparents after Daniel was accused of raping a local girl.

Tom later reconnects with his youngest daughter, Anna, (with whom he had had minimal contact since the birth of her son) when while visiting Mt. Thomas, her car (with daughter Daisy inside) is stolen. When Daisy is found, all seems to go well, until she is kidnapped for different reasons along with her brother, and buried alive. Once recovered, Anna blames the happenings on Tom and they become estranged.

In the final season, (season thirteen), we see Tom, who has since "changed" since the bombing (becoming a cold, hard-hearted man) form an almost father-daughter relationship with fellow colleague, Senior Detective Amy Fox. We see him experience immense pain and having to take many medications before Amy finally convinces him to go to see the doctor. His pain ends up being the result of prostate cancer. He secretly goes to Melbourne (only letting Amy know) to have surgery, but his "adopted" daughter, Constable Kelly O'Rourke (Tom and his family were family friends of the O'Rourkes and became Kelly's father figure after her own policeman father was shot and killed when she was ten), finds out and visits him one night. Kelly, upon arrival back to Mt. Thomas, accidentally leaks the information to Tom's superior and enemy, Inspector Russell Falcon-Price, of Tom having prostate cancer. Falcon-Price then takes this as an opportunity to try and get rid of Tom from Mt. Thomas once and for all (a task which he has been trying to do for many years). Tom also has to go in for chemotherapy, this which happens in the series finale.

After a numerous series of events, the station is closed down in the finale, and all seems doomed. But before long the station is re-opened, and Tom finally decides (after much convincing from Amy and Kelly) to go to the Croydon Family Reunion his daughter Susan has been trying to invite him too. Here, we see that he makes amends with his daughters.