Gunner Nigel "Parky" Parkin is the youngest member of the concert party and has tried everything to become part of them, including being a ventriloquist, comedian, and singer, although he is very clumsy and never does anything right. The Sergeant Major wrongly believes that Parkin is his son (Williams had a relationship with Parkin's mother Edith in Colchester), which is why he treats him much better than he treats the others, and keeps telling him he has "a fine pair of shoulders"; however, Parkin is not Williams' son but when the rest of the concert party discover what the Sgt Major believes Parkin is welcomed into the party, as the Sgt Major would want to stop it being sent into battle as long as Parkin is a member. They change Parkin's blood group on his medical file to that of Williams so that the Sergeant Major will have 'proof' that Parkin is his son. Consequently, Williams becomes very selective about Parkin's achievement – praising him when he does something right and ignoring when Parkin makes huge blunders. An example of such a situation comes when Parkin is appointed as Battery clerk – since he has no exploitable talent for the concert party – and, having misunderstood an order from the Sergeant-Major, proceeds to have the Officer's Mess demolished. (Sergeant-Major Williams had told him to "remove the mess by the Officer's lines", referring to a pile of old beds that were to be discarded, and he destroyed the officer's mess. Then Colonel Reynolds tells him to order 200 tent pegs and he orders 200 tents.) Parkin was born on 2 October 1924, making him 21 years old.
Advertisement