The East Anglian Bombardiers And Grenadiers

By Stephen Jennison-Smith

The East Anglian Bombardiers And Grenadiers, we first met them in Sid and Arthur's Steampunk Adventure. Now they are in a story of their own, with a few new or newish characters. Can they regain the code book before the Hoo (who?) use it to take over the world of Thera?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Stephen Jennison-Smith
• Release date: Dec 22, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311511737

Stephen Jennison-Smith

I wrote 'The Crying Pennant' 20 years ago. With the advent of the Kindle I was able to republish it myself and have written the other 6 books in what has become known as The Arth Series. You will find samples and anthologies here. I have also written a steampunk series and some Christian fantasy.

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Smashwords Edition, License Notes

Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favourite authorised retailer. Thank you for your support.

Copyright S.Jennison-Smith © 2014

Also by the same Author:

(The Theran Chronicles)

The Sun Thief

The Victoria Conspiracy

Attack on Thera

The Tawa (short story)

Sid and Arthur's Steampunk Adventure (crossover)

(The Arth Series)

The Crying Pennant

The Sitting Duck

Up and Away

Ground Hog War

The Detective One

Romancing the Drone

A DaVinci Co-Ed

The Time Backwater: The Time War

Factory of Androids

War in the Precincts

(The Books of Kendra)

Kendra

The 24

The Tower

(Academic)

The Lies we Teach Our Kids

The East Anglian Bombardiers and Grenadiers

CHAPTER ONE

The colonel sat at his desk facing the door. A fire crackled in the grate and pictures of his loved ones adorned the mantelpiece. He was writing a report to be sent to head office but was thinking about a reprimand he had to give to one of the men under his command.

There came a knock at the door and he replied to it, Enter!

As the door opened his colour sergeant shouted, Left, right, left, right!

The boots of the private rang out in unison to the sergeant’s staccato of commands.

Marching in then stopping on command the soldier saluted his officer.

Private Plattington reporting for reprimand Sir, explained the NCO from beyond the doorway.

Thank you Sergeant, replied the colonel.

The door was then closed to give the colonel and private privacy.

Colonel Pendragon carried looking at his report, leaving Plattington to stand there still at attention. Is that enough attention Plattington?

Pardon Sir?

Maybe if you had paid greater attention to me before you would not be standing to attention in front of me now. he pushed the report away from himself and looked with a withering gaze at the private.

The private looked to the ground in shame.

I wanted to give you your first stripe.

The whip Sir?

No man, your corporal’s stripe. You could have led your own platoon. It could have been called ‘Plattington’s Platoon’, which would have been quite funny. He thought quite quietly to himself, If we had a platypus mascot then we could house it with him and it would be called Plattington’s Platoon Platypus.

Sorry Sir?

It’s no good saying sorry now, you’ve done the deed. Colonel Pendragon mused for a little while, What was it again that I’m supposed to be punishing you for? He leant over the desk to look at his notes.

Annoying chatter Sir, replied Plattington.

Annoying chatter? I get that all the time off the colour sergeant. Tapping his billy stick on the table he tried to remember, Who made that stupid rule up?

You Sir, it’s not in the TEABAG manual.

Oh, well. It seems a bit silly now doesn’t it. I must have been particularly annoyed at somebody chattering.

It was Chatteris Sir, he chatters all the time.

So who reported you then?

Chatteris Sir, he said he couldn’t get a word in edgeways.

How ironic, Chatteris reporting you for chattering annoyingly. As he walked to one side of the desk he made a decision, It’s not a bad enough offence to lose a stripe over. I’m still going to promote you to bombardier, which is also what a corporal is called in the artillery. Er, and you have to look after the new regimental mascot, a platypus... Pendragon threw a stripe across the table.

Plattington grabbed it, smiled and saluted.

Dismissed, also smiled the colonel as he tapped his forehead in acknowledgement. Scubbins! he then bellowed.

The colour sergeant entered and stood to attention, Sir.

I’ve promoted Plattington and given him a platypus.

So that’ll be Peter Plattington’s Platoon platypus then?

He’s called Peter is he?

Yes Sir, it’s better than being called Pat. Pat Plattington’s... he began.

That’s all Colour Sergeant.

Scubbins smiled, clicked his heels and turned to leave.

Looking out of the window the colonel thought about his story so far. He was a clone, another clone, of King Arthur. Produced at the Tulox clone factory on Reema V. What did that make now? he whispered and then began to add them up on his fingers. There was good old battle chieftain Arthur, the original. Then there was the Arthur of the Arth series (he was a clone of him.) Art came next, from the Sci Fi dimension. (Sci Fi sounds a