Soldier Soldier


Soldier Soldier is a British television drama series. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name - "Soldier, soldier won't you marry me, with your musket, fife and drum?" - an instrumental version of which was used as its theme music.
Created by Lucy Gannon, produced by Central Television and broadcast on the ITV network, it ran for a total of seven series and 82 episodes from 10 June 1991 to 9 December 1997. It featured the daily lives of a group of soldiers in 'B' Company, 1st Battalion The King's Fusiliers, a fictional British Army infantry regiment loosely based on the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Set in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War, it is a dramatisation of army life in the early to mid-1990s, when the British Army was undergoing significant change. This is perhaps best demonstrated during the third series, around 1994, when a significant number of real regiments were forced into amalgamations with one another due to downsizing of the army. Within the world of Soldier Soldier, the King's Fusiliers are forced to amalgamate with the Cumbrian Regiment, another fictional regiment, becoming the King's Own Fusiliers. At the time Soldier Soldier was broadcast, the fatality rate was low, with most casualties due to training accidents and suicides. The military as a whole was assigned to performing more peacekeeping missions than actually doing any fighting. As a consequence, the show served well to portray the army, despite the domestic problems that could occur, in a fairly good light.
Although many well known and not so well known actors appeared in Soldier Soldier over the period it was broadcast, perhaps the best known are Robson Green and Jerome Flynn, who portrayed Fusilier Dave Tucker and Sergeant Paddy Garvey respectively. It was their performance of "Unchained Melody" in an episode of the 4th series that propelled them to stardom, giving them several number one songs and a best selling album. At the end of the fifth series in 1995, both actors left the show. After a decline in viewing figures 1997 saw the decision to end the drama after seven series.
TV presenter Chris Kelly wrote and produced some episodes of the series.

Regular cast

Military personnel

Officers

Series 1

1991. Following a six-month tour in Northern Ireland, the King's Fusiliers return to duty at their Midlands headquarters.
  1. "All the King's Men"
  2. "Fun and Games"
  3. "Dirty Work"
  4. "Fighting Spirit"
  5. "Battlefields"
  6. "Loyal to the Corps"
  7. "Flying Colours"

    Series 2

Series 2, 1992, was set in Hong Kong, apart from the first two episodes.
  1. "A Man's Life"
  2. "Something Old, Something New"
  3. "A Touch of the Sun"
  4. "Lifelines"
  5. "Saving Face"
  6. "Lost and Found"
  7. "The Last Post"

    Series 3

Series 3, 1993 was set in New Zealand & Germany.
  1. "Shifting Sands"
  2. "Live Fire"
  3. "Base Details"
  4. "Fall Out"
  5. "Disintegration"
  6. "Hide and Seek"
  7. "Trouble and Strife"
  8. "Hard Knocks"
  9. "Camouflage"
  10. "Staying Together"
  11. "Dutch Courage"
  12. "Stand by Me"
  13. "Leaving"

    Series 4

Series 4, 1994, saw the Fusiliers move to Cyprus.
  1. "Stormy Weather"
  2. "Away Games"
  3. "Damage"
  4. "Second Sight"
  5. "Over the Top"
  6. "Proud Man"
  7. "Further Education"
  8. "Baby Love"
  9. "Band of Gold"
  10. "Going Back"
  11. "Poles Apart"
  12. "Bombshell"
  13. "Changing the Guard"

    Series 5

Series 5, 1995 was set in Australia, UK & South Africa.
  1. "For Better, For Worse"
  2. "Second Chances"
  3. "Love Not Money"
  4. "Bushed"
  5. "Far Away"
  6. "Ill Wind"
  7. "Sweet Revenge"
  8. "The Army Game"
  9. "Love and War"
  10. "Leaving"
  11. "Hard Lessons"
  12. "Stick Together"
  13. "Under the Sun"
  14. "Baptism of Fire"
  15. "Twist of Fate"

    Series 6

  16. "River Deep"
  17. "Divided Loyalties"
  18. "All for One"
  19. "Walking on Air"
  20. "Under the Gooseberry Bush"
  21. "Flash Point"
  22. "Money For Nothing"
  23. "Dear Joe"
  24. "Asking for it?"
  25. "Delayed Action"
  26. "Beast"
  27. "Fall for Love"
  28. "War Path"
  29. "Deliver us from Evil"
  30. "Hell and High Water"

    Series 7

  31. "Divided We Fall"
  32. "Things Can Only Get Better!"
  33. "Line of Departure"
  34. "Under Fire"
  35. "Friends and Lovers"
  36. "How Was it for You?"
  37. "The Road to Damascus"
  38. "Out"
  39. "Fit to Explode"
  40. "Chain of Command"
  41. "Sounds of War"
  42. "No Pain, No Gain!"

    Regiment

The King's Own Fusiliers, originally the King's Fusiliers, is the infantry regiment portrayed in the series. Like all fusilier regiments, both the "King's" and the "King's Own" wear a hackle in its head-dress; this is coloured dark blue over white. During the third series of Soldier Soldier, which took place during the Options for Change military reforms, the King's Fusiliers was forced to amalgamate with another regiment, "The Cumbrians ". During negotiations with the commanding officer of the other regiment to be merged, attempts were made by the Cumbrians to keep the new regiment as an ordinary infantry regiment, rather than a fusilier regiment. However, research by the regimental commander of the King's Fusiliers found that, during the Cumbrians service in the Crimea, the Cumbrians had worn the hackle and served as fusiliers for 6 months in honour of the fusiliers that had served alongside them. As a result, the new regiment was named the "King's Own Fusiliers".
The cap badge of the King's Own Fusiliers features the lion surmounting the crown, which is the recognised symbol of the British Army, within the band of the Order of the Garter. Surmounting the garter band is the traditional flame that indicates a fusilier regiment..

Role

As an ordinary infantry battalion, the King's Fusiliers/King's Own Fusiliers was in the arms plot rotation, and thus participated in a number of different roles:
During its time in Windsor, in addition to other duties, the King's Own Fusiliers provided the guard at Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London and Windsor Castle.

Recruiting area

As the King's Fusiliers / King's Own Fusiliers has no geographical location in its name, it can only be speculated what recruiting area it represents. In early episodes, the senior officers discuss the possibility of being amalgamated with other regiments from the Midlands. During Series 1, the possibility of merging or disbanding regiments is discussed, and at that point, the Cumbrians and the Rutlands are expected to be amalgamated. During the final episode of series 2, the regiment's commanding officer announces orders for the King's Fusiliers to form a new 'Midlands Regiment' along with the Cumbrians and the Rutlands.
Other anecdotal references in the series also point to the regiment's location being in the Midlands include the use of a midland's commercial radio station being played by various characters and local telephone area code on signage and vehicles. However, given that the series was made in the Midlands by the 'Central Films' division of Central Television, these local references can be expected.

Commanding officers