In The First Casualty, Kingsley is a top police detective. Kingsley was sentenced to and Shannon strolled along the Promenade. Shannon turned jail for objecting to go to war, during World War I. His reason for not going to war was because, " 'It offends [his] sense of logic. It offends [his] sense of scale'" (Page 22). The English government fakes Kingsley's death and gives him a new identity. Then they send Kinsley to France to find the truth behind the murder. Caption Shannon is the man that takes Kingsley to France. Caption Shannon has served in the army for quite some time and knows a lot about the war. Caption Shannon is very handsome and he has a surface charm, "Together he many female heads" (Page 139). Kingsley and Shannon have very different personalities although they share a couple of qualities in common. .
Kingsley shows bravery while stopping Shannon from raping an innocent teenage girl. He also stands up to Shannon, Kingsley said, " 'Unhand that girl this instant,'" (Page 173) showing he wasn't afraid of him. Kingsley shows his bravery more than once during the story. For example when Kingsley went up the ladder into the trenches in order to obtain information despite his objection to the war, twice. Caption Shannon is shown in the book as a "cocky, showy bastard but not a man to be underestimated." (Page 139) Shannon shows lack for respect for women, he just uses them just for sex. " 'Any girl. Any time. Without fail. Do not falter.'" (Page 156) Shannon and Kingsley don't get along well. Kingsley disagrees with him in multiple occasions. Kingsley thought that " 'a gentleman who holds the Kings commission might have behaved with more decorum.'" Shannon don't only shows lack of respect to women but also the soldiers who have shell shock, like Hopkins. .
Kingsley and Shannon have very different views on the war.