Capt the Hon. John Vickery: Character Updates

Canon/Original: Original
First Name(s): John Edward
Surname: Vickery
Nicknames:
Age: 24
Sex: Male
Place of Birth: Fallbrooke House, near Andover, Hampshire ~ Nearer Winchester than Andover, though not far from either.
Occupation: Officer, 5/60th Rifles
Family:
(Great-grandfather b. 1686, created 1st Viscount Saltash after the Battle of Ramillies 1706, d. 1745; grandfather b. 1715 - became 2nd Viscount Saltash in 1745, d. 1783. Fought at Dettingen.)
Father: James Vickery, third Viscount Saltash (b. 20th October 1756, acceded to title in 1783. Fought in America.))
Mother: Charlotte (b. 18th June 1759)
One older brother, Robert (b. 20th October 1782)
John (b. 3rd March 1785)
One younger sister, Emma (b 12th May 1790).
The Viscountcy was created after the Battle of Ramillies. The second Viscount inherited in 1745 and began remodelling the house in 1753 - totalling rebuilding it. Vickery's father inherited in 1782.
Family motto: Veritas et Concordia (truth and harmony)
Description: Vickery is 5'10", with mid-brown hair and grey eyes. He is 24, but has the confidence of a man older than that. He is slender, with the thin face common in Georgian gentry. He wears the green jacket of the 60th, although the silver lace has tarnished somewhat by now, despite Cotton's efforts to keep it looking smart. He walks and rides with an upright, confident bearing and looks alert.

He enjoys a glass of good wine and intelligent conversation after dinner. He rarely gets so drunk he has to be helped home - such an occurrence has only happened once since his promotion to Captain, after realising he had met a ghost (of Captain Jemmet, late of the 50th Foot). He enjoys a good segar or cheroot on occasion.

He has an eye for detail, and is quick-minded, alert and intelligent. He is confident and calm, able to make decisions and stick to them.

He is strict but fair with his men; he won't punish a whole group for one man's mistakes. He will not tolerate insolence or open disrespect, but expects his officers and NCOs to earn the men's respect. He respects those who earn it, whether they are superior or inferior to him, socially or in the Army's rank system, although he does expect his social inferiors to show proper deference. He looks out for those under his command and will back them against outsiders. For him, loyalty works both ways.

Strengths and Weaknesses:
~ He is confident in himself and his abilities.
~ He is a good artist.
~ He loyal to his men, and expects the same loyalty in return
~ He will do his best for his men - he believes loyalty should work both ways.
~ He has only recently been promoted, so he lacks experience in his rank
~ He is a gentleman, with the upbringing of a gentleman and is used to deference, and expects it from those lower down the social scale than him, which may come across as arrogance.
~ He will not tolerate familiarity from his social inferiors.

Background: Captain Vickery has been in the 5/60th for four years, but has only recently been promoted to Captain and given command of his own company. He is strict, but fair, confident in himself. He is a gentleman, the youngest of two sons, with a younger sister. His family are landed gentry from Hampshire. He went to school at Winchester. His uncle bought him an Ensigncy in the 45th Regiment when he was 17, and then his father purchased a Lieutenancy in the 69th, from where he transferred to the 5/60th in 1805, a few months before Trafalgar.

He trained with the 60th at their depot on the Isle of Wight, finding it strange that an officer should be expected to drill alongside the men. He understood the reasons for it, and grasped the drill quickly, moving on to learning to load and fire a rifle, something else he found strange and innovative. His three months it the training depot taught him the Rifles' usefulness and capabilities, giving him first-hand experience of life in the ranks at the same time, something he found it hard to adjust to at first, even though he did not live in the same room as the men. It has given him a deeper appreciation of life as a private soldier, which in turn means he respects them.

He is an adequate shot with a rifle, though by no means as skilled and keen-eyed as some of his men, finding that his talents lie in leading men and giving orders, rather than being in the line receiving them.

He saw action as a Lieutenant with the 60th at Rolica and Vimeiro in the summer of 1808, and has recently been promoted to Captain, a promotion that came by merit and not money, although his family is rich enough to purchase promotion for him. He is a good Rifles officer, intelligent, quick to grasp a situation and take advantage of it. He has found his niche in the Army and is keen to prove that the Rifles are worthy of their place in the Army.

Anything Else: PB: Gaspard Ulliel.

Other Updates: He has been wounded in action on the 1st June, sustaining a slash to the side and a concussion from a blow to the head.

He corresponds regularly with his sister, and rather less regularly with his mother.

His family knows the Blackwoods, meeting them recently. They also know of Captain Torrington's family by repute.

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