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With 3 Coy, 5/60th Rifles

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Post  John Vickery Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:52 am

"I like to think he's far too attached to wearing green to allow himself to be poached by an officer of the Line." Though it couldn't be easy, taking care of yourself with one arm in a sling.
John Vickery
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:59 am

"I shouldn't think he would."

He paused again, taking another sip of his tea to fill the silence.

"Tell me, if you don't mind my asking, what made you choose Cotton for your batman? I understand he used to be a farm labourer."
Jonathan Padstowe
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Post  John Vickery Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:09 am

"He did. It's probably why he's so helpful. Over helpful at times." He sat back with his mug of tea. "It goes back to just before Sir John Moore sent the 60th back to Lisbon. His army was out-numbered, and he decided to issue orders to the effect that all able-bodied soldier-servants and batmen were to return to the ranks. And round about Christmas time, I found I needed someone. So I asked my senior Sergeant if he could recommend somebody, and he brought Cotton up."

He smiled. "I don't know what he thought he'd done, but he looked like a rabbit caught in the light of a poacher's lantern. Not the sort of person you'd think of taking into your service, but there was something about him. And my sergeant, one of the most exacting men I have yet met, told me that Cotton's kit was always clean and well-kept. Which was enough of a character to convince me."
John Vickery
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:15 am

"Hm."

Which made sense. Cotton struck him as the meticulous kind, and keeping equipment clean and servicible was central to the life of a farm hand.
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Post  John Vickery Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:21 am

He gestured ruefully at the books on his table. "It does have its drawbacks, of course. I have to keep my own books, as well as the Company books. Though I never thought I'd see the day when I valued an illiterate servant over a literate man."
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:35 am

Padstowe let his eyes wander over the ledgers openly now.

"Has he never thought to learn to read and write?"


Last edited by Jonathan Padstowe on Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:42 am; edited 1 time in total
Jonathan Padstowe
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Post  John Vickery Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:40 am

"I've never asked him. And he's never asked me about learning, either. I think he just needs to get the courage; I would be more than happy to teach him."

He noticed Padstowe looking at the books. "You'll be wondering about this one, then," he said, pulling out the Punishment Book and indicating a hand that was less confident and more childish than the other entries. "That's from Roper. He was president of a Company Court-Martial a few weeks ago. It's a Rifles thing; if it's not serious enough for a regimental court-martial, a man can choose to take what punishment I'll give out, or be tried by his peers."
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:46 am

Padstowe took the book and leafed through the pages, examining the entries.

"It must be a beneficial system," he said, examining the dates of the entires and raising an eyebrow. "Seeing how there seem to be far fewer entries in here than I would expect from a regular Company."


Last edited by Jonathan Padstowe on Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:55 am; edited 1 time in total
Jonathan Padstowe
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Post  John Vickery Tue Aug 05, 2008 10:53 am

"We find it works. If the men know you trust them, they'll prove that you can. And if they know what's expected of them, they'll be easier about it and more willing to give you what you ask of them. And my men know I won't ever ask anything of them I'm not prepared to do myself."

He sat forwards. "Did you know that Rifles officers are required to do the same training as their men, in the same squads? From the foot drill to loading and firing a rifle?"
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Tue Aug 05, 2008 9:41 pm

"Yes, Sharpe told me," Padstowe said. For some reason he really wished he had a sweet biscuit to dunk in his tea (A detestable habit despised by his mother but inherited from his father. Usually it was only reserved for home, but now and again it immerged into polite society). "And quite an admirable practice it is too - I believe it is a requirement in parts of the French army. Some the 'gentlemen' of the Line could benefit from such a scheme I am sure; sort the wheat from the chaff," the last he muttered bitterly.

It would certainly put an end to the young, and quite often old, fools who took up their commissions with no clue about soldiering except what tehy had gleaned from poems and books.
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 1:52 am

"I know Sharpe was raised from the ranks, and apparently performed quite a feat of soldiering to do so, but what sort of an officer is he? And what do his men think of him?"

He sat back, looking embarrassed. "I forgot; he is your friend. I should not have asked and I beg your pardon."
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:06 am

Padstowe considered for a while. It was really a question too far for a friend to answer, but what could he tell Vickery that he would not find out anyway.

"He's a practical officer," he said eventually. "He was in the ranks too long to be anything else. He cannot stand watching others go into battle when he can not - to which end he still carries a rifle. As to his men, I honestly do not know. He seems to get on well enough with them and his sergeant, Harper, sees to it that he keeps out of trouble. Well, the worst of the trouble I should say. Keeping Sharpe out of trouble altogether is an impossible task, but I daresay Harper has reduced the number of scars there would have been a few times."
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:20 am

So he had a sergeant on his side. That meant that he had some merit as an officer. And practical as well... Vickery had seen very little of Sharpe, and almost nothing of what he had seen showed what he was like as an officer, but he thought more and more that it was likely they could work together. If he could persuade the Lieutenant he didn't intend to treat Sharpe and his men as new recruits to his Company things would hopefully work even better.

"Is there anything I should do, or avoid doing, to help Sharpe settle in and work with me rather than against me?" It could not be easy for the man, having to deal with some of the snobs that made up the Mess.
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:26 am

"No," Padstowe said firmly. "Just treat him as you would any other competant Rifles officer; the worst you could do is to give him the impression that you're pussy-footing around or making exceptions for him or his men. That would rub him up the wrong way as much as being a complete and utter snob towards him."
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:45 am

Well, that was all right, then. He would find his own way and hope that the other man would meet him halfway. "I have never served with an officer commissioned from the ranks. And this Sharpe seems to be an extraordinary example of those officers, from what I've heard." And what Vickery had heard led him to believe those spreading the gossip were jealous of him.
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 2:47 am

"And what have you heard, captain?" Padstowe had answered more than his fair share of questions and he thought it time he had his turn as interrogator.
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:07 am

Vickery leaned back in his chair, thinking. "That he brought his men down from General Moore's retreat without losing one of them on the way, despite the worst winter for thirty years. That he got his commission by saving General Wellesley's life on the battlefield of Assaye. I even heard he'd been present at Trafalgar."

There was more uncomplimentary gossip, too, spoken in sneering voices by young fops who had never seen what a battlefield looked like, and had no notion of what it meant to be an officer in battle. They were too filled with their own self-importance to see when they were snubbed in their turn by Vickery and other officers who had experienced that horror, and had a faint idea of what it meant to be so suicidally brave that a commission was the only possible reward.
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:08 am

Padstowe gave a mirthless smile.

"But somehow I believe you've heard a little more than that?"
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:23 am

"It's amazing what you can hear in the Mess, Captain. And some of those speaking were plainly jealous of the man, despite his obvious poverty. There was talk of how men would follow him into Hell. I believe someone mentioned a place called... Gawilghur, I think the name was, where he took a company against a fortress and won."

The mere thought of it had Vickery shaking his head in admiration. "He knows how to fight and survive, and more than that. He knows how to lead men, which half those prinked-up dandies don't. And they know it, and they're jealous of him. Even if they won't admit it."
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:44 am

Gawilghur.

"There were quite a few more there than his own company, but yes, he did find the way in."

He took a mouthful of tea.

"But those 'prinked-up dandies' will come to their senses sooner of later. So far in this war we've fought a couple of battles then retreated; they'll see action soon, experience the realities of the march and those that don't come to their senses will either chuck it in or end up dead."
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:53 am

"Well, that's certainly true." War was no place to be if you were fastidious about how you looked and where you slept.

"I should think the first night in bivouac will put paid to the majority of them. Even if it's not raining. Campaign will soon sort the wheat from the chaff, and none of them are fit to hold a candle to a proper soldier. And they can see Sharpe's better than them as soon as he walks into the Mess; it's not every officer who can join the Rifles, after all."
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:37 am

"Quite."

The conversation had gone as far as business could take it, and unless it went into general conversation there was nothing more to talk about. Padstowe emptied his cup and reached for his hat.

"Thank you for the tea, captain; it was most beneficial."
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 5:44 am

"My pleasure, Captain. And you have given me much to think about." Padstowe seemed on the edge of leaving, and while Vickery wouldn't mind letting their conversation shift to generalities, he didn't wish to detain the man if he had other business to see to before the 2nd Division left Lisbon in the morning.
John Vickery
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Post  Jonathan Padstowe Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:35 am

Padstowe rose to go, his hat tucked under his good arm as he picked up his book. He was reluctant to leave, as it seemed like Vickery was good company and he regretted the lonely dinner of stew that would await him later on his table at home to be eaten over his paperwork.

"If I might ask," he said, pausing in the doorway. "Where is it you are from, captain? Cotton mentioned that you belonged to the gentry."
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Post  John Vickery Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:45 am

He was oddly disappointed as Padstowe rose to take his leave, but got to his own feet to show him out.

"Hampshire, from near Winchester," he said in answer to Padstowe's question, then paused. "Would you consider having dinner here when you have finished your business for the day? Cotton makes a decent stew, although he may hate me for inviting you; he hasn't yet grown confident in waiting at table."
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