The Thing-Ummy Bob is a 1942 song which was written by Gordon Thompson

Gordon Thompson

Gordon Thompson was a songwriter who co-wrote the song "The Thing-Ummy Bob" with David Heneker....

 and David Heneker

David Heneker

David Heneker was a writer and composer of British popular music and musicals, best known for creating the music and lyrics for Half a Sixpence.-Life and career:...

 which celebrates the production line worker of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 making components for complex weapons to win the war. Its chorus is

A thingumabob or thingummy is an extended form of the word thing

Physical body

In physics, a physical body or physical object is a collection of masses, taken to be one...

which the Oxford English Dictionary

Oxford English Dictionary

The Oxford English Dictionary , published by the Oxford University Press, is the self-styled premier dictionary of the English language. Two fully bound print editions of the OED have been published under its current name, in 1928 and 1989. The first edition was published in twelve volumes , and...

 records being used as far back as 1751.

The song was popularised by performers Arthur Askey

Arthur Askey

Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...

 and Gracie Fields

Gracie Fields

Dame Gracie Fields, DBE , was an English-born, later Italian-based actress, singer and comedienne and star of both cinema and music hall.-Early life:...

.