War for the next three years and beyond. Exceptionally brave, loyal to his comrades and quick to defend those who are suffering bullying or injustice, Bourne makes friends and enemies in equal numbers. His fundamental decency and conscientious sense of duty are sometimes at odds with his anger at the many injustices of military life and his growing disillusionment over the conduct of the war. Sergeant 'Ole Bill' Tozer The veteran Platoon-Sgt, Ole Bill is one of the very few who makes it all the way through the war with Bourne, more or less in one piece. An old pre-war Regular soldier, he was one of the BEF's 'Old Contemptibles' who fought at Mons in August 1914. Burly, loud, fond of a drink and seemingly indestructable, Bill's roaring voice and courage help Charley and his fellows out of trouble time and time again. Ginger Jones Charley's best pal on the Somme in 1916. Never a natural-born soldier and always the first to complain, Ginger makes up for his lack of enthusiasm with his sense of humour and cunning. Despite himself, he survives numerous tight-spots alongside Charley in 1916. Lieutenant Thomas Charley's first platoon commander and easily the best officer he serves under during the war. Public-schooled but enlightened, brave but never blood-thirsty, Thomas is a decent man who represents the best of his class. Lieutenant (later Captain) D'Arcy Snell A vicious, pompous and war-loving officer, Snell treats the war as a marvellous sport and his men as expendable examples of the lower classes who must be kept in their place. Snell becomes Charley's platoon commander after the death of Thomas and he remains Charley's ultimate nemesis. Lonely A traumatised veteran who was the sole survivor of his platoon when it was wiped out in 1915 due to a recklessly cruel act by Lt Snell. Wracked by guilt, he confides in Charley the truth of what happened. Blue A British deserter from the French Foreign Legion, Blue fled to England after surviving the hellish Battle of Verdun in 1916 in which most of his fellow Legionaries were slaughtered. Charley reluctantly helps Blue to avoid capture whilst in Britain and later encounters him again during the infamous Etaples Mutiny in 1917. Despite his misgivings over Blue's desertion, Charley cannot help but feel a kinship with him due to their common resentment of the military hierarchy and Charley's realisation that, with less fortunate