Dear Bernard, I’m sorry if you’ve answered this question before (which you probably have), but I sometimes get confused with the rankings of the British Army and the numbers of men they would have commanded. What would a lieutenant, a captain and a major have commanded, for example? Did this remain the same after the Napoleonic wars, say up to the World Wars? Sharpe is a nuisance for constantly rising rank, as it’s sometimes hard to place his new standing in the scheme of things! I do hope we get another adventure from him before too long, though. Thanks and all the best, Paul Reid, Co Cork.