The Soldier
A dramatisation of army life in the early to mid-1990s, when the British Army was undergoing significant change.
The Soldier is a British television drama series. 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 'A' Company, 1st Battalion The King's Fusiliers, a fictional British Army infantry regiment loosely based on the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. The title comes from a traditional song of the same name, "Soldier, Soldier, Won't You Marry Me?", an instrumental version of which is used as its theme music.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Military drama
- Runtime
- 50 minutes
- Network
- ITV
- Company
- Central Independent Television
- First aired
- 10 June 1991
- Last aired
- 9 December 1997
- Language
- English
- Country
- United Kingdom
Lore & Background
Set in the immediate aftermath of the Cold War, the show portrays army life during a period of significant change. This is best demonstrated during the third series, around 1994, when real regiments were forced into amalgamations due to downsizing. In the show, the King's Fusiliers are forced to amalgamate with the Cumbrian Regiment, becoming the King's Own Fusiliers. At the time of broadcast, the fatality rate was low, with most casualties due to training accidents and suicides. The military was assigned to performing more peacekeeping missions than fighting. As a consequence, the show served to portray the army, despite domestic problems, in a fairly good light.
Reader's Guide
The King's Own Fusiliers, originally the King's Fusiliers, is the infantry regiment portrayed. Like all fusilier regiments, both wear a hackle coloured dark blue over white. During the third series, set during the Options for Change military reforms, the King's Fusiliers amalgamated with "The Cumbrians (Duke of Rutland's Own)", mimicking the real-life amalgamation of the King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster) and the Border Regiment in 1959 to form the King's Own Royal Border Regiment.
During negotiations, attempts were made by the Cumbrians to keep the new regiment as ordinary infantry, losing the hackle. However, research by Lt Col Osbourne found that during the Cumbrians' service in the Crimea, they had worn the hackle and served as fusiliers for six months. As a result, the new regiment was named "The King's Own Fusiliers". The cap badge features the lion surmounting the crown within the circlet of the Order of the Garter, surmounted by the traditional flame of a fusilier regiment.
Did You Know?
- Robson Green and Jerome Flynn's performance of 'Unchained Melody' in series 4 gave them several number one songs and a best-selling album.
- TV presenter Chris Kelly wrote and produced some episodes of the series.
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