Charley’s War: Stripography and Timeline – 1982

Argentina invades the Falklands Argentina loses the following war and has to withdraw its troops after two months, Leonid Breznjev dies, Yuri Andropov takes over ,The first artificial heart transplant takes place, the receipent lives 112 days.

2nd January 1982 (August 1917)
Wilf trained by Oiley to take place of one of his deserters. Old Bill gets his stripes back. Strip is a more managable length now, three full pages when black and white, two and a half when there is colour cover, or colour centre pages, still takes Joe Colquhoun five full working days to complete.

9th January 1982 (August 1917)
Charley dreams he is caught on the wire. SIWs to be in first wave. Charley stops man from waving legs above parapet in order to be wounded in the feet. He blows his brains out. (Colour cover)

16th January 1982 (August 1917)
Over the top, 3rd Ypres. Charley caught on wire, but rescued by Sadders, blow up dugouts. Real defences in second line (blockhouses and mantraps) platoon Captain killed.

23rd January 1982 (August 1917)
Blockhouses attacked and surrender, only for Germans to change their minds and open fire. No quarter given. Colour Cover Terrible use of mantraps is graphically shown.

30th January 1982 (August 1917)
4 days of rain turns battlefield into quagmire. Sadders, Little Ernie & Charley seek out `better hole’ only to be beaten to one by Earwig. Earwig’s shellhole is soaked in mustard gas, and he gets a Blighty wound. (colour centre pages)

6th February 1982 (August 1917)
German counterattacks beaten off by aid of counterbarrage. Charley finds Wilf face down in mud beside his battered lewis gun. Colour Cover.

13th February 1982 (August 1917)
Takes Wilf to first aid post. Falls in shellhole whilst avoiding Battle Police and becomes stuck fast in liquid mud. Colour Cover

20th February 1982 (August 1917)
Shellhole with Black Angus, sinking slowly. Rescued by passing Scots Angus realises that Charley has kept him alive through anger. Colour Cover Charley is given field punishment for having a speck of mud on his rifle sight is the epilogue

27th February 1982 (August 1917)
Arrive at Etaples training camp and meet the Ferret, an Army Instructor (Canary) in the Bullring

6th March 1982 (August 1917)
Harsh training the Ferret picks on Charley and Sadders during bayonet practice on the beach.

13th March 1982 (August 1917)
Charley becomes first marksman goes to see Wilf at hospital but he has been discharged and joined the RFC

20th March 1982(August 1917)
Flame thrower and gas training, boy soldier shoots a Canary, after being bullied by the Canary in charge. Ferret accuses platoon of attempted mutiny when he hears the news and pulls his revolver on them.

27th March 1982(August 1917)
Captain Mackenzie (blue in disguise) diffuses the situation, Charley escapes into town, but a train bears down on him as he crosses the tracks. (colour cover)

3rd April 1982 (August 1917)
Charley meets the sandbaggers (army deserters), led by the bowler hatted Gunboat. Fights Gunboat and bumps into Weeper who is living in disguise with a Frenchwoman. Sandbangers incidently are named after their chice of weapon Rocks wrapped up by sandbags used as a cosh.

10th April 1982 (August 1917)
Heads back to camp, volunteered for `special duties’ by the Ferret

17th April 1982 (August 1917) `Special duties’ are the firing squad. 1st Americans killed in the war during an air raid (colour cover)

24th April 1982 (August 1917)
Young soldier executed. Charley chopping frozen meat. Gunboat and co arrive to pilfer supplies. Gunboat threatens Charley with a cleaver, but Mackenzie intercedes again. It is Blue in disguise.

1st May 1982 (August 1917)
Weeper is caught. Charley goes for a swim. A popular, Scottish corporal, Wood, is shot by an MP and mortally wounded, and the real life events of the mutiny at Etaples is told with Charley inserted into the events.

8th May 1982 (September 1917)
The Mutiny begins. The Ferret catches Charley swimming, but a mob of Scots, Australians and New Zealanders give him a hiding. The senior officers are thrown into the river.

15th May 1982 (September 1917)
Charley and platoon of loyal soldiers are sent to guard a bridge into town. The mob want to pass so that they can pursue the MP, Reeve, into town and lynch him. An ugly stand off ensues. see the the scripts section

22nd May 1982 (September 1917)
The platoon lieutenant avoids a blood bath and lets the soldiers pass. Reeve is found under a bed. Next day, the troops refuse to take part in drill in the Bull Ring and a sit down strike takes place.

29th May 1982 (September 1917)
Old Bill berates the men, but they will not fall in, so he joins them. The men’s grievances are heard. Charley and Blue storm the stockade and Weeper and other prisoners are freed. great colour cover.

5th June 1982 (September 1917)
Mutiny continues. Cavalry refuse to come to officers’ help and the mutineers’ demands are met.

12th June 1982 (September 1917)
Blue tells Charley about the French Mutiny after the disastrous Nivelle Offensive, and its bloody suppression. Weeper is rumbled as an ex prisoner, and takes a blow to the head from an entrenching tool.

19th June 1982 (September 1917) Charley takes Weeper to Sanctuary (the deserters’ hideout). Gunboat has been captured and is leading the Special Branch man and MPs to the cave. Charley is accused of leading the police on to them.

26th June 1982 (September 1917)
Weeper is fatally stabbed by Gunboat. Blue spots the mark of the irons on Gunboat’s wrists and knifes him. The deserters escape and the Bullring is closed down. Charley returns to the front.

3rd July 1982 (October 1917)
Passchendaele Jonesy, a member of the firing squad is bothered by his conscience and kills himself by standing on the parapet during a barrage. Charley becomes a Strecher Bearer to salve his conscience.

10th July 1982 (October 1917)
Charley meets Lieutenant Corporal ‘Dad’ Coles, Ecky (who has a habit of looting from the dead) and Jack (the son of an arms baron, who wants to repair some of the damage done by his father’s shells).

17th July 1982 (October 1917)
First carry, through the quagmire. The casualty dies.

24th July 1982 Joe Colquhoun has a heart attack and recovers in hospital Rerun of 1st episode

31st July 1982
Rerun of episode 2 – Joe Colquhoun ill.

7th August 1982
Rerun of episode 3 – Joe Colquhoun ill.

14th August 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

21st August 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

28th August 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

4th September 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

11th September 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

18th September 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

25th September 1982
NO CHARLEY’S WAR Joe Colquhoun ill.

2nd October 1983 (October 1917)
Charley and co run out of morphine. Charley catches Ecky swapping tablets for souvenirs and beats him up.

9th October 1982 (October 1917)
Into battle, Charley has his work cut out. Meet Dr No again. Charley saves colonel’s life through giving blood.

16th October 1982 (October 1917)
Charley rescues East Lancashire soldier on the wire and is given FF5,000. Smith 70’s machine gun gives off steam and he is hit by fire shell.

23rd October 1982(October 1917)
Charley pushes Smith Seventy into water filled shell hole to avoid fire shells. Young Albert finally gets to fire the Vickers. Great amusing scene where Albert pulls the triggers and laugh manically creaming ‘at last’ Accused of stealing from the dead.

30th October 1982 (October 1917)
A German prisoner, Kat, vouches for Charley. Kat and Charley’s `wheelbarrow’ technique of carrying the wounded. Gas attack and Kat has no mask, and they fight for Charley’s gas helmet.

6th November 1982 (October 1917)
Kat takes shelter from gas in a pillbox and is unharmed, but the Germans take the trench, shooting the British out of hand. Charley can survive but only if he licks Kat’s boots first.

13th November 1982 (October 1917)
Kat humiliates Charley, and stuffs a grenade down his battle tunic. It is a dud, and an enraged Charley picks up a rifle and bayonets Kat.

20th November 1982 (October 1917)
Charley gives one of the first blood transfusions and two shell shock cases help Charley understand Dr No.

27th November 1982 (October 1917)
Douglas Haig appears in this issue and inspects the wounded – not the bad cases though in case they might upset him…

4th December 1982 (October 1917)
Charley meets American surgeon. Fails test and is thrown out of SBs. Old Bill and Smith Seventy in hospital.

11th December 1982 (October 1917)
Plane is downed in No Man’s Land and Charley goes to rescue of the observer.

18th December 1982 (October 1917)
The final carry: Charley and Jack go in aid of the observer, Fred Green. Jack, Dad Coles and Ecky killed by shell and Charley has to carry Fred by himself.

25th December 1982, Charley’s last carry he tries to get three Germans to help him, they scarper when they hear they will have to go to Hellfire
Corner. Charley finds a wheelbarrow to wheel Fred. They then get hit by a shell.


Charley’s War created by Pat Mills and Joe Colquhoun

CHARLEY’S WAR ™ REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, COPYRIGHT ©  REBELLION PUBLISHING LTD, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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