Badgered Men, The

This novel is a piece of military fiction describing the recruitment, training and experience of war for the typical Victorian cavalryman of the period. The characters in the novel are in many ways less important than the sheer amount of historical detail that has been captured by Donald Featherstone. The novel describes the life of a new recruit, Private Tom Camberley. He joins the Queen’s 16th Lancers prior to the First Sikh War 1845-6. This particular recruit has a past and this singles him out for the unwelcome attention of the Regimental Sergeant Major.

The first half of the book is about recruitment and training; the wiles of the recruiting sergeant, enlistment, the barracks, the day to day routine, the catering, learning to ride and the rough justice of the barracks rooms.

The second half of the book continues the story with an account of the campaign leading to the 1846 Battle of Aliwal in the First Sikh War. The description of the soldier’s perspective of the campaign is in some ways timeless and many veterans would empathize with the experiences reported in the novel.

This book is not Flashman, Sharpe or even Hornblower. It contains less characterization and much more period detail. It opens a window on a piece of military history.