"It would be my rank" -- and one he clung to desperately, it seems -- "in the South Essex regiment."

And what he's told no one in the whole bleeding town is that he as good as commanded the 1st Batallion. Not officially -- no, certainly not. But until recently, there'd been a shortage of men to put above the Major. And things worked so smoothly with him in place.

"His Britannic Majesty's army, though I don't expect you to know it."

For if he didn't know what a 'major' was...