Character guide

David Cromlech

major

Also known as Cromlech, young Cromlech, poor old David

Cromlech is the narrator's alter ego: a temporary officer whose cleverness, absentmindedness, and refusal to be 'seen but not heard' make him an oddity among his fellow Fusiliers. He is brave under fire but tactless off duty, forever putting backs up with opinions no one asked for. His running argument with the war—and with the men who fight it—drives the memoir's central question of what a thinking soldier owes to a senseless conflict.

Aunt Evelyn

supporting

Also known as Poor Aunt Evelyn, Evelyn

Aunt Evelyn belongs to the civilian world the wounded narrator can no longer fully share, and her visit to his London hospital is one of the memoir's tenderest scenes. Her unspoken assumption that he has 'done enough' collides with his conviction that only the front line can give his life meaning. She matters because she embodies the loving, uncomprehending home front he must gently refuse.

Barton

supporting

Also known as old man Barton, God Barton, poor old Barton, Old man Barton, old Barton, shortsighted Barton

Barton is the officer who organizes the raid on the German wire and hopes to win a D.S.O. for his executive ability. When the narrator learns that Birdie Mansfield, not he, will lead the raiding party, his jealousy and thwarted ambition flare into a private crisis. Barton's raid is the hinge on which the narrator's hunger for a Military Cross—and his reckoning with fear—turns.

Mr. Markington

supporting

Also known as Markington

Markington is the editor the narrator approaches with a half-formed scheme to tell the public what the war is really like. A lifelong dissenter wearied by public folly, he receives the young officer's outspoken letter with reticent friendliness and takes his horrifying information on trust. He matters because he represents the possibility—and the limits—of speaking truth to the home front.

Durley

supporting

Also known as old Julian, Julian, Julian Durley

Durley is the narrator's tent-mate and a survivor of the attack at Guillemont, where his battalion 'did all that was expected of it' and was destroyed. He tells the story simply, with unconscious gestures, and his visit to the wounded young Fernby in hospital haunts the narrator. He matters as the memoir's moral witness: the man who has seen the nightmare and can still speak of it plainly.

The Colonel

supporting

Also known as The Colonel

The Colonel appears at the Base and in the battalion as a symbol of the peacetime Regular Army, glaring at subalterns in trench-boots and complaining that young Cromlech reads Shakespeare instead of using soap. He is not a villain so much as a system: the man who decides who belongs and who does not. He matters because his disapproval shapes the narrator's sense of himself as an outsider in his own regiment.

Thornton Tyrrell

supporting

Also known as Tyrrell

Tyrrell moves through the narrator's wartime world as a fellow officer whose convictions run deeper than mess-table grumbling. He presses Sherston to write a protest he can circulate, offering encouragement that feels both bracing and unnerving, and his faith in independent thinking becomes a mirror in which the narrator measures his own courage. Without Tyrrell's prodding, the book's central moral crisis might never have found its voice.

Dottrell

supporting

Also known as Joe, old Joe, Joe Dottrell

Dottrell belongs to the narrator's unit, one of the ordinary soldiers whose patience and good temper survive the mud and monotony of Corps Rest. His presence sharpens the narrator's sense that the War's real cost is paid by men who never asked to be heroes, and that any protest must answer to them. He matters because he keeps the abstract argument tethered to flesh and blood.

Colonel Kinjack

supporting

Also known as Kinjack, a Kinjack I 'd never met before

Kinjack presides over the narrator's corner of the war with the confidence of a man who has never doubted his orders. Where Tyrrell questions and Dottrell endures, Kinjack represents the institutional weight that makes dissent feel like betrayal. His presence in the early arc forces the narrator to weigh personal conviction against the loyalties and hierarchies that have shaped him.

Young Ormand

supporting

Also known as Ormand, Young Ormand

Ormand joins the Second Battalion alongside the narrator and quickly becomes part of the small circle whose jokes and records briefly drown out the guns. His cheerfulness is genuine but not uncomplicated, and the teasing he endures over 'Lots of Loving' hints at the irritations and affections that hold a platoon together. He matters because he is the war's human texture, not its statistics.

Birdie Mansfield

supporting

Also known as Mansfield, poor Birdie, Birdie, Even Birdie Mansfield

Mansfield belongs to the narrator's earlier battalion, part of the tight group whose jokes and habits are recalled in the quieter passages of rest and hospital. He is the kind of comrade whose absence is felt long before it is named, and the narrator's memory of him sharpens the ache of survival. He matters because he is the human face of the losses that give the narrator's protest its urgency.

The Doctor

supporting

Also known as The Doctor, The doctor

The Doctor appears at the edges of the narrator's hospital and convalescent world, one of the authorities whose judgement determines what a wounded officer is fit for. He is neither villain nor saviour, just a functionary of a system that measures men in categories of usefulness. His presence matters because it reminds the narrator, and the reader, that even recovery is administered by the War.

Kendle

minor

Also known as young Kendle, Lance - Corporal Kendle

A soldier in the narrator's unit, mentioned in various episodes.

The Germans

supporting

Also known as Germans, The Germans, God the Germans

In the hospital ward and at the front, the Germans exist as both a military fact and a social test: officers joke about throwing bombs at them as a substitute for foxhunting, while the narrator nurses a secret antagonism to any slight against the German Army. That contradiction — hating the war yet respecting the adversary — exposes the gap between civilian cheerfulness and trench reality. The Germans matter because they are the mirror in which the book's soldiers reveal what they have become.

Captain Huxtable

minor

An officer, possibly in a staff or command role.

Mick O'Brien

minor

Also known as O'Brien

A soldier with a distinct Irish identity in the narrator's unit.

Ralph Wilmot

minor

Also known as Wilmot

A fellow officer, part of the narrator's social and military life.

Flook

minor

Also known as Poor Flook, good old Flook, Somehow Flook

A soldier in the narrator's company, known for his loyalty.

Mr. Farrell

minor

Also known as Dear old Mr. Farrell

An older acquaintance, possibly a family friend or local figure.

Captain Leake

minor

Also known as Leake

An officer, possibly in a training or staff role.

Rees

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

Mr. Parkins

minor

Also known as Parkins

An acquaintance, possibly in a civilian or administrative role.

Lady Asterisk

minor

A society figure, part of the narrator's home social circle.

Young Allgood

minor

Also known as Allgood

A young officer in the narrator's unit.

Young Fernby

minor

Also known as Fernby, Little Fernby, gallant young Fernby, dark - haired little Fernby

A young officer, noted for his appearance and character.

Patterson

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

The Manchesters

minor

Also known as Manchesters

A regiment mentioned in the war context.

The Medical Officer

minor

Medical officer, distinct from the doctor, in a specific scene.

Major-General Whincop

minor

Also known as General Whincop, Whincop

A divisional commander, mentioned in the war narrative.

Moffat

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

Lord Asterisk

minor

Also known as sceptical old Lord Asterisk, old Lord Asterisk

A society figure, part of the narrator's home circle.

A Captain in the Next Chair

minor

An unnamed captain, present in a specific scene.

My Servant

minor

Also known as My servant

The narrator's personal servant, a recurring minor figure.

Jenkins

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

Dunning

minor

Also known as Lt . Dunning, irrelevant Dunning

A lieutenant, noted as irrelevant in a specific context.

Officers

minor

Also known as Officers

Generic group of officers, often in a collective scene.

Fewnings

minor

A family or group mentioned in the narrative.

Protheroe

minor

Also known as Miss Protheroe

A woman, possibly a family acquaintance or romantic interest.

Popsy

minor

A nickname for a person, possibly a child or pet.

Shirley

minor

A person mentioned, possibly a soldier or acquaintance.

2nd Lt. Sherston

minor

Also known as Sherston

A second lieutenant, possibly the narrator's alias or a separate character.

Holman

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

Richard Cobden

minor

Also known as Cobden, Richard

A historical figure, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

The Quartermaster

minor

Also known as The old Quartermaster

The quartermaster, responsible for supplies.

Sergeant Miles

minor

Also known as Miles

A sergeant in the narrator's unit.

Stephen Colwood

minor

Also known as Stephen

A person, possibly a friend or relative of the narrator.

Colonel Easby

minor

Also known as poor Colonel Easby, The Colonel

A colonel, mentioned in a specific incident.

The Generals

minor

Generic group of generals, often in a collective scene.

Bill Eaves

minor

A person, possibly a soldier or acquaintance.

White

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

The Irish

minor

Also known as The Royal Irish, the Royal Irish

A regiment, mentioned in the war context.

Old Colonel Hesmon

minor

Also known as Colonel Hesmon, Hesmon

An old colonel, mentioned in the narrative.

Dick Tiltwood

minor

A person, possibly a friend or relative.

Edmunds

minor

Also known as Poor Edmunds

A person, possibly a soldier, noted as poor.

Major Macartney

minor

A major, mentioned in the narrative.

Sergeant Baldock

minor

Also known as Baldock

A sergeant in the narrator's unit.

Rousseau

minor

Also known as Jean Jacques Rousseau

A historical philosopher, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

The Flintshire Fusiliers

minor

Also known as Fusiliers, The Flintshire Fusiliers

A regiment, mentioned in the war context.

Adjutant

minor

The adjutant, a staff officer.

The Captain

minor

Also known as The Captain

A generic captain, often in a specific scene or role.

Strangford

minor

An officer or soldier mentioned in passing.

Johnson

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

An Urbane Artillery General

minor

A general officer, noted for his demeanor.

The Cameronian Officers

minor

Also known as The Cameronian officers

Officers of the Cameronian regiment, mentioned collectively.

The Boches

minor

Also known as the poor old Boches

A colloquial term for the Germans, used in the narrative.

Allenby

minor

Also known as General Allenby

A historical general, mentioned in the war context.

Captain Macnair

minor

Also known as young Captain Macnair, Macnair

A young captain, part of the narrator's military circle.

Two Officers

minor

Also known as Two officers

Two unnamed officers, present in a specific scene.

Perrin

minor

Also known as Whereupon Perrin

A person mentioned, possibly in a specific incident.

Captain Munro

minor

A captain, mentioned in the narrative.

The Officers

minor

Generic group of officers, often in a collective scene.

A Genial Doctor

minor

A doctor, noted for his pleasant demeanor.

Major Robson

minor

Also known as Robson

A major, mentioned in the narrative.

Bates

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

The General

minor

A specific general, mentioned in the narrative.

The Other Officers There

minor

Other officers present in a specific scene.

Corporal O'Brien

minor

Also known as O'Brien

A corporal, possibly the same as Mick O'Brien.

An Officer

minor

An unnamed officer, present in a specific scene.

Harris

minor

Also known as young Harris

A young soldier or officer.

Anthony Trollope

minor

Also known as Trollope

A historical author, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

Squire Maundle

minor

A squire, possibly a local landowner.

Butley

minor

A place or person, mentioned in the narrative.

Kangar

minor

A person or place, mentioned in the narrative.

Master George

minor

Also known as Mr. Lloyd George, George

A person, possibly a political figure or acquaintance.

Woolman

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

Dicky

minor

A nickname for a person, possibly a soldier.

Arthur

minor

A person, possibly a friend or relative.

Young Holt

minor

Also known as Holt

A young officer or soldier.

A Gunner (Forward Observation Officer)

minor

A gunner serving as forward observation officer.

Strangers

minor

Generic strangers, present in a specific scene.

Young Brock

minor

A young person, possibly a soldier.

Dixon

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

The Old Batt

minor

Also known as Batt, the Batt, The Batt

A nickname for a person, possibly an officer.

Milton

minor

Also known as John Milton

A historical author, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

The Cams

minor

A group, possibly a regiment or family.

The French

minor

The French people or army, mentioned in the war context.

Mametz

minor

Also known as Mametz Wood

A place, site of a battle.

Brigade

minor

A military unit, mentioned in the narrative.

Worgan

minor

A soldier or officer mentioned in the narrative.

Asbestos Bill

minor

Also known as Asbestos Bill "

A nickname for a person, possibly a soldier.

Haig

minor

Also known as Field - Marshal Haig

A historical general, mentioned in the war context.

Robinson Crusoe

minor

Also known as Crusoe

A literary character, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

The British

minor

Also known as the British

The British people or army, mentioned in the war context.

Mr. Blank

minor

An unnamed person, used as a placeholder.

Orderly Room

minor

A place, the administrative office of a unit.

Battalion

minor

Also known as the Battalion

The military unit, mentioned as a collective.

The Cameronians

minor

Also known as Cameronians

A regiment, mentioned in the war context.

Hardy

minor

Also known as Thomas Hardy

A historical author, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

Lamb

minor

A historical author, mentioned in a discussion or allusion.

Winchell

minor

Also known as young Winchell

A young person, possibly a soldier.