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Aeron

2019-05-21T12:33:52Z

DictionaryWrites: Removed an unnecessary, vaguely nasty comment.

Aeron is a [[Dwarfs|dwarf]] who for most of their association held the same open working relationship to the [[Low King]] as [[Rufus Drumknott]] does to [[Vetinari]].
Aeron is now officially, as of {{RS}}, the Consort to the Low Monarch. Dwarfdom has, in the main, accepted this.

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[[Category:Discworld characters|Aeron]]
[[Category:Dwarf characters|Aeron]]

Tonker Halter

2019-04-25T11:32:26Z

DictionaryWrites: removed weird gal pal language about Lofty and Tonker.

{{Character Data
|title= Magda "Tonker" Halter
|photo=
|name= Magda Halter
|age= Late teens or early 20s
|race= human

|occupation= soldier, former inmate of the [[Girls' Working School]]
|appearance= big with short red hair

|residence= [[Borogravia]]

|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=
|marital status= in a relationship with [[Lofty Tewt]]

|books= {{MR}}
|cameos=
}}
"Tonker" Halter is one of the recruits from [[Monstrous Regiment]] who joined up with [[Polly Perks]]. Her real name is Magda.

"Tonker" is described as being big with red hair, which she wears cut very short. She is the last one Polly can identify as a girl and only after a tip from [[Maladict]].

Little is known of her life story. She came from the [[Girls' Working School]] in [[Munz]], where the mistreatment hardened her until she became a cynic with a barely-controlled temper. Polly's first impression is one of "nervousness that didn't quite conceal some bubbling anger". Tonker describes herself as having "no middle gears". While she is relatively talkative where [[Lofty Tewt]] and [[Wazzer Goom]] are concerned, she hardly gives any information about her own life, neither at the school nor before. She and Lofty are always found close together, leading Polly to believe that Lofty is "his" girl. Tonker also seems to be the only one able to get some sense out of her Lofty.

She and Lofty escaped from the School when a window in the basement was left unlocked, but Tonker has promised Lofty to go back in summer, when the building will burn better. Despite their relationship, which seems to be rather a dependency, especially on Lofty's side, the latter can frighten even Tonker when she gets her hand on a match...

After the treaty, she and Lofty disappeared, but shortly afterwards the Working School burned down and a bank was robbed by two slim hooded figures.

==Character Annotation==

It is possible that Tonker's real name, Magda, is a reference to the {{wp|Magdalene Asylum|Magdalene Laundries}}, which were at least as bleak as the Girls' Working School.

"Tonker" is a, er, dwarven word used in connection with [[Lancre|Lancre's]] decidedly masculine [[The Long Man|Long Man]] earthworks. In her search for an alias that sounded really manly, Magda may have overcompensated.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Halter,Tonker]]
[[Category:Human characters|Halter,Tonker]]

Lofty Tewt

2019-04-25T11:31:03Z

DictionaryWrites:

{{Character Data
|title= Tilda "Lofty" Tewt
|photo=Blank.jpg|
|name= Tilda Tewt
|age= late teens or early 20s
|race= human

|occupation= soldier, former inmate of the [[Girls' Working School]]
|appearance= slim, dark brown hair

|residence= [[Borogravia]]

|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children= at least one child, from a miller where she went on work hire
|marital status= in a relationship with [[Tonker Halter]]

|books= {{MR}}
|cameos=
}}
'''"Lofty" Tewt''' is one of the recruits who joined the [[Tenth Foot]] with [[Polly Perks]]. Her real name is Tilda.

She is short and slim with dark brown hair and the first one Polly can identify as a girl. This happens by sheer accident, when surprising her going to the toilet in the woods. The fact that she keeps sticking close to [[Tonker Halter]] leads Polly to believe, that she is "his" girl.

Lofty used to be in the [[Girls' Working School]] before escaping with Tonker. The continuous bad treatment there turned her into an arsonist. In the words of Tonker, every place she ever worked at burned down. One of them was a mill, where both the miller and his wife died in the explosion. (It is worth noting that the last two girls who worked at the mill did not come back alive). She had at least one child, very probably from the aforementioned miller, but this was taken away as soon as it was born and hushed up by the authorities at the School. This can only have fuelled the enormous anger that roils within her.

Lofty is very quiet, hardly ever saying more than monosyllables; only Tonker seems to be able to get any sense out of her. She also needs Tonker to steady her: without Tonker to help her, she would probably have lost what control she retains. She finds joy in fire, is always playing with matches, and can make explosive materials out of ''anything''.

Lofty and Tonker disappear after the truce, but shortly afterwards the Girls' Working School burns to the ground and two slim hooded figures rob a bank...

[[Category:Discworld characters|Tewt,Lofty]]
[[Category:Human characters|Tewt,Lofty]]

Lofty Tewt

2019-04-25T11:30:31Z

DictionaryWrites: Removed the weird gal pal language of "a close friend".

{{Character Data
|title= Tilda "Lofty" Tewt
|photo=Blank.jpg|
|name= Tilda Tewt
|age= late teens or early 20s
|race= human

|occupation= soldier, former inmate of the [[Girls' Working School]]
|appearance= slim, dark brown hair

|residence= [[Borogravia]]

|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children= at least one child, from a miller where she went on work hire
|marital status= single

|books= {{MR}}
|cameos=
}}
'''"Lofty" Tewt''' is one of the recruits who joined the [[Tenth Foot]] with [[Polly Perks]]. Her real name is Tilda.

She is short and slim with dark brown hair and the first one Polly can identify as a girl. This happens by sheer accident, when surprising her going to the toilet in the woods. The fact that she keeps sticking close to [[Tonker Halter]] leads Polly to believe, that she is "his" girl.

Lofty used to be in the [[Girls' Working School]] before escaping with Tonker. The continuous bad treatment there turned her into an arsonist. In the words of Tonker, every place she ever worked at burned down. One of them was a mill, where both the miller and his wife died in the explosion. (It is worth noting that the last two girls who worked at the mill did not come back alive). She had at least one child, very probably from the aforementioned miller, but this was taken away as soon as it was born and hushed up by the authorities at the School. This can only have fuelled the enormous anger that roils within her.

Lofty is very quiet, hardly ever saying more than monosyllables; only Tonker seems to be able to get any sense out of her. She also needs Tonker to steady her: without Tonker to help her, she would probably have lost what control she retains. She finds joy in fire, is always playing with matches, and can make explosive materials out of ''anything''.

Lofty and Tonker disappear after the truce, but shortly afterwards the Girls' Working School burns to the ground and two slim hooded figures rob a bank...

[[Category:Discworld characters|Tewt,Lofty]]
[[Category:Human characters|Tewt,Lofty]]

Jack Jackrum

2019-04-25T11:29:02Z

DictionaryWrites: Removed the misgendering, given that Jackrum literally chooses to present as a man as a grandfather.

{{Character Data
|title= Jack Jackrum
|photo=Blank.jpg|
|name= Sergeant-Major Jack Jackrum
|age= 60s
|race= Human
|occupation= Soldier
|appearance= Large, fat and red.
|residence= Barracks and battlefields
|death=
|parents=
|relatives=
|children=One son
|marital status= Widowed
|books= {{MR}}
|cameos=
}}

We first encounter Sergeant Jackrum as a veteran sergeant in the [[Borogravia|Borogravian]] Army. Despite pretending to be a dimwitted soldier in the presence of any officers, Jackrum is both intelligent and manipulative. The sergeant's exact age is unknown, just as most of the relevant service record has been lost owing to a series of baffling administrative errors, leaving only a legend.

As befits a veteran senior N.C.O., Jackrum acts as something of a father figure to the soldiers of the Detail. The legend surrounding this N.C.O. is known, either personally or by reputation, by practically every soldier in the Borogravian Army, and probably is familiar to the soldiers of the enemy armies too. Jackrum has, over the years, been the sergeant in command of (or under) a number of young soldiers who then rose up to the Army's high command, and thus wields considerable influence. It is stated on several occasions that Jackrum should actually have retired long ago, but the sergeant is always one step ahead of official discharge papers constantly in pursuit via the mail. If they ever catch up with Jackrum, he is inventive enough to find some excuse to get out of them. For instance, at one point in the book, the sergeant resigns his stripes so that an enemy soldier may be brutally assaulted without shattering military protocol and treaty, and is subsequently re-enlisted afterward.

His few precious possessions are a never-fully-consumed wad of chewing tobacco, and a neck-locket containing, presumably the iconograph of a loved one, the contents of which are jealously guarded and shown to nobody, although [[Polly Perks]] is privileged to be given a glimpse one day.

So far, he has only appeared in ''[[Monstrous Regiment]]''.

*To borrow an expression from some books on the same shelf, the explanation above is wrong in almost every particular, although it is quite a good lie. It is, unfortunately, hard to discuss Sgt. Jackrum or many other characters in ''Monstrous Regiment'' without '''MAJOR SPOILERS'''.

About three generations ago, in rural Borogravia (which is all the Borogravia there is), there was a big, stroppy farm girl who married a soldier named William. This was perfectly normal; almost all the young men were soldiers. This girl, however, was a little different. She soon tired of farm work and being separated from her new husband and formed a plan. She cut off her hair, acquired some trousers, and enlisted in the same regiment herself, now presenting as a man. The arrangement worked fairly smoothly for a time, and the union even produced a son who was sent to be raised by his great-grandmother, but soon after, William was killed.

The young Jackrum had already risen in the ranks, showing considerable military skill and leadership, and no one was offering widows' pensions, so he remained, and remained, until he was the most experienced and widely known NCO in the army. In the course of this long career, he discovered that he was not the only person sharing his situation. Indeed, some quite senior officers were operating without standard equipment, besides the many other once-farm girls who were usually inept but occasionally useful soldiers. He helped both the officers and men through their careers, from suggesting improvements to their disguise to saving their lives, and he remembered.

With old age advancing and theocratic militarism threatening to destroy Borogravia, Jack led a squad of "his little lads" to bring about a truce, calling in his markers (and using a little blackmail) to persuade the High Command and obtain some benefits for his "monstrous regiment". He retired with the assurance that [[Polly Perks]] would carry on her leadership of the rude equal-opportunity movement. When the novel ends, Jackrum has reunited with his long-lost son on the advice of Polly, and he introduced herself as his father rather than his mother, on the grounds that a fat old woman showing up claiming to be his mother would just be an inconvenience, but a distinguished sergeant-major claiming to be his father would be something to be proud of.

==Annotation==

Like Corporal [[Strappi]], Jackrum seems to be partially inspired from Erich Maria Remarque's ''All Quiet on the Western Front''. After coming out of training, the recruits are soon introduced to Stanislaus Katczinsky, also known as "Kat". Unlike their training officer Himmelstoss, Kat is a kind and sympathetic old man: he takes the recruits under his wing, teaches them all he knows, and goes out of his way to procure food and comfortable accommodations for them. Like Jackrum, his methods (like using a sharpened shovel as a weapon) are hardly official practice, but are effective and help keep the soldiers alive.

[[Category:Discworld characters|Jackrum, Jack]]
[[Category:Human characters|Jackrum, Jack]]
[[de:Jack Jackrum]]