Post by Nicholas Ealing on Apr 29, 2009 17:54:31 GMT
Nicholas Ealing entered the military garage cautiously. The smell of petrol lingered heavily in the air, rife with a constant stream of swearing from the many engineers who fought a losing battle against the many vehicles beyond compare. It was amazing how battered the trucks, half-tracks and tanks alike.
The Lieutenant was not there to help out the workers; a casual glance would reveal that. His uniform was immaculate, his buttons gleaming, his cap adjusted perfectly on his head; he was obviously something of a stranger to manual work. He was there to meet up with a newcomer to the division, a corporal by the name of Shirley.
The man had left the British 49th Division dishonourably, with half of his family apparently in tow. He knew nothing about him; the commanders of his previous division hadn't drafted over his file yet and Nicholas was interested to get to know the Junior NCO.
It wasn't that he was particularly interested in getting to know his subordinates but anything - anything - to distract him from...from...well, he didn't want to think about it.
Besides, he supposed meeting the man would be beneficial to the division overall. From what he had gathered from the staff of the corporal's past division, he had a less-than-impressive battle history.
As the Lieutenant moved through the garage, the engineers - many of whom covered head to toe in oil - snapped to a salute. Nicholas saluted in return.
"I don't suppose you know where to find a Corporal Benjamin Shirley, do you?" he asked, as the men wriggled uncomfortably in his eyeline. The engineers merely shrugged.
The Lieutenant was not there to help out the workers; a casual glance would reveal that. His uniform was immaculate, his buttons gleaming, his cap adjusted perfectly on his head; he was obviously something of a stranger to manual work. He was there to meet up with a newcomer to the division, a corporal by the name of Shirley.
The man had left the British 49th Division dishonourably, with half of his family apparently in tow. He knew nothing about him; the commanders of his previous division hadn't drafted over his file yet and Nicholas was interested to get to know the Junior NCO.
It wasn't that he was particularly interested in getting to know his subordinates but anything - anything - to distract him from...from...well, he didn't want to think about it.
Besides, he supposed meeting the man would be beneficial to the division overall. From what he had gathered from the staff of the corporal's past division, he had a less-than-impressive battle history.
As the Lieutenant moved through the garage, the engineers - many of whom covered head to toe in oil - snapped to a salute. Nicholas saluted in return.
"I don't suppose you know where to find a Corporal Benjamin Shirley, do you?" he asked, as the men wriggled uncomfortably in his eyeline. The engineers merely shrugged.