Hello, Bernard, after finally completing your Sharpe books which was enjoyable I have found something that interested me. You say that the British Army were a group of criminals generally, so if that was the case did they murder each other? And did the British Officers really get fragged on the battle field? How did the British Officers treat the rankings? I understand that senior NCOs were generally respected despite being lower class?

Final thing after Sharpe’s Siege, I noticed Colonel Elphinstone on how you portrayed him as somebody Sharpe respected and trusted. I take it he was a good colonel but the worst general ever? The afghan retreat comes to mind where his all army got massacred… Perhaps you could do a novel on it? Would be very intriguing coming from you, twisting facts with fiction and stuff… Perhaps an old Sharpe character can be a main character, such as Weller? Sorry for the bombardment with questions but its very interesting to me, and I can’t find much information on how the British Army treat each other on the internet!

Michael