Yep he is. Background as follows.
Jim Boyle
Gentleman Jim is from the mean streets of London, greatest city there is.
His mother died young and he never knew who his father was. Jim was self educated on the streets, barely literate and numerate, testimony to his incredible intelligence and uncanny memory for details. A boy able to educate himself from stolen books.
Jim learned quickly how to look after himself. Hit hard, hit first is his unwritten motto. He grew big and yet not too mean, Jim has a heart. As a young man he was already over 6’ with muscles to match and a brain behind those light grey eyes, which made him stand out from all the other street toughs.
He was working the illegal boxing circuit, earning coin and a reputation for fast fists and a cool head. It was then he was noticed by Henry Finch, small time petty crook with a stash of £5 notes and ambition to make a lot more.
Henry wanted in on the banking business and needed a man to watch his back and make sure his customers paid on time, every time. Jim fitted the bill, capable, cool and with intelligence, a rare combination on these streets.
So Jim went into the street banking business and for over 2 years he worked for Henry. Collecting payment when due but Jim didn’t like it. Henry knew it and paid Jim well for his services making it very hard for Jim to walk away and then came the best thing that ever happened for Jim, the Great War.
Jim was one of the first to volunteer much to Henry’s dismay but Jim had the perfect, patriotic excuse he needed to escape his life. Some men are born to soldier and the army fitted him like a Saville Row suit.
They taught him knives, guns, motorbikes, grenades and gas masks. More than that they gave him belonging a camaraderie of brotherhood under fire. Jim became a Sargent which was no surprise to any man who fought with him. Of course they had to follow officers who were mostly average, some were great and a few were downright dangerous. It was one of these dangerous ones that almost got Jim killed.
The officer was young and filled up on boys own heroics. Seemed to have no care for the safety of his men. He ordered a bayonet charge against a machine gun emplacement. Jim couldn’t think of anything more stupid but couldn’t say it out loud. Jim tried to offer a sane approach to the problem at hand but this kid wasn’t listening. Before another order could be spoken Jim charged the machine gun with grenades and blew it up but not before being shot several times and finally falling in no mans land.
The officer was outraged and left no doubt to his men that the Sargent had better be dead or he would have him up on charges. This was the last stupid thing he ever said. War is both messy and confusing and it could never be confirmed or denied if the Hun or his own men shot him first. The men then rescued Jim, losing 2 of their own in the process and got him to a field hospital.
When Jim came to, the first face he saw was Letty. Jim had never seen anything so beautiful, it was love at first sight. As he recovered he discovered a kindred spirit in Letty, a young woman, capable, smart and understanding lacking any judgement of him or his background.
Of course Jim is madly in love and Letty thinks of him as a best friend, a brother but not a lover. Still Jim will take what he can get. He’s happy simply to be in her life.