Pheasant Pluckers

The informal nickname for the Duke of Eorle's First Heavy Infantry Regiment.

The memory of having served in the Pluckers in an earlier war brings a swell of pride to Fred Colon's chest. He patiently explained to Angua von Überwald that the name derives from a time when the ration cart was late arriving, the Regiment was in game-hunting country, and the only things to forage for and eat were the pheasants being raised as targets. This inspired the Regimental song, which Colon remembered was really hard to sing...

The Pheasant Pluckers march again, at least in Fred Colon's rose-tinted memory, in Jingo. Where Angua von Überwald serves to remind him that people rose-tint their memories in a futile attempt to avoid the thorns that come as standard with roses.

Annotation

At least one verse of the regimental song is extant on Roundworld, made popular by actor and comedian Bill Maynard. It runs:-

I’m not the pheasant plucker, I’m the pheasant plucker’s mate,

But I’m forever plucking pheasants ’cause the pheasant plucker’s late.

I’m not the pheasant plucker, I’m the pheasant plucker’s son,

And I’m only plucking pheasants till the pheasant pluckers come.

However, Sergeant Angua's amusement upon hearing the regimental nickname isn't satisfactorily explained through the above. Matters become clearer when one notices that "Pheasant Pluckers" makes for an excellent spoonerism...