All of the above cogent commentary notwithstanding, has anyone thought about the possibility that Kipling's famous verses about the army and barracks life were, in fact, pretty much propaganda rather than anything to do with the reality of life in the Edwardian era regiments? The British press of the late Victorian/Edwardian era were pretty blatantly enlisted in the effort to glorify Empire and the soldiery, most of whom were (as usual) drawn from the populace that Kipling's readers would have crossed the street to avoid in real life. Just a thought....