Five RHA Soldiers Sacked (1 Viewer)

[Louis Badolato]

How true those last eight lines are. I am sure every ex serviceman feels a special bond with those men who shared a common experience. There has been some debate as to whether Shakespeare was ever in the army, so far there is no documentary proof, but his lines speak of an intimate knowledge of a soldiers life and feelings. I think there was a good chance he was.

My favorite author, the late George MacDonald Fraser, discusses this very subject in his autobiographical account of fighting as a scout sniper in the Black Cat Division, 14th Army. He loans his copy of Henry V to a sergeant who is a career soldier, and these very words convince the career sergeant that Shakespheare had to have served in the army at some point. Having never served, I wouldn't know from personal experience, but I will definitely take GMF and his Sergeant's word for it.