Ankh-Morpork City Watch members
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The primary members of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch are (see the linked articles for full details of the characters):
[edit] Commander Sir Samuel Vimes
[edit] Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson
[edit] Sergeant Angua von Überwald
[edit] Sergeant Detritus
[edit] Sergeant Fred Colon
[edit] Corporal Nobby Nobbs
[edit] Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom
Sergeant Cheery Littlebottom is a forensic alchemist for the City Watch and one of the first dwarfs to be openly female, changing her name to Cheri. Her name translates in Dwarfish as Sh'rt'azs ('shortarse'). Her family lives in Überwald, except for her late brother Snorey who died in a gas explosion somewhere under Borogravia. She is introduced in Feet of Clay and appears in all subsequent Watch novels, most notably The Fifth Elephant. A webcomic features her (The Adventures of Cheery Littlebottom). Cheery was promoted to Sergeant shortly prior to Thud!.
[edit] Constable Reginald Shoe
Reginald Shoe (usually Reg Shoe) is a zombie, and a Constable in the Night Watch. He was introduced in Reaper Man and joined the Watch in Jingo. He died in the Ankh-Morpork Revolution that took place during now-Commander Vimes' first days on the Watch force, some thirty years before the present. (Details in Night Watch.) Reg died from several crossbow bolts to the chest, although it took him some time to realise this. Afterwards he became strongly interested in his own "Dead Rights" movement, spending the years between then and now on creating his "Fresh Start Club", preaching to the cemeteries of the city on how maltreated dead people are, and taking a job as an undertaker merely so that he can leave flyers for the Fresh Start Club on the inside of the coffins.
Reg was hired on to the force by Carrot Ironfoundersson, on the basis that if the authorities maltreated the dead, they needed some more expertise. Since then, the number of complaints doubled - all against Mr. Shoe, who claims it is all because of a lack of understanding of the demands of policing in a multi-vital society. While he spends most of his time outside it, Reg has a grave in the Small Gods cemetery next to the other important casualties in the revolution.
[edit] Constable Visit-the-Infidel-with-Explanatory-Pamphlets
Visit-the-Infidel-with-Explanatory-Pamphlets (sometimes referred to as Visit-the-Ungodly-with-Explanatory-Pamphlets) is a Constable of the City Watch. He is generally just called 'Constable Visit', or occasionally, for unspecified reasons, 'Washpot'. He first appeared in Feet of Clay. He is referred to by Pratchett as follows: "There's one in every station, and Constable Visit was enough for two"
He is an Omnian of a gentle but determined proselytising nature. He can clear a large crowd in seconds, just by talking to them about religion and threatening them with pamphlets (principally "Unadorned Facts" and "Battle Call" - whose names bear a curious resemblance to the real-world publications "Plain Truth" and "War Cry"). In off-duty moments he goes door to door with his fellow Omnian, Smite-the-Unbeliever-with-Cunning-Arguments. His name is, apparently, shorter in Omnian. Samuel Vimes says he is a good copper, his highest form of personal praise. Entire pubs have been known to draw the curtains, turn off the lights and lie on the floor whimpering at news of his coming down the street.
[edit] Lance-Constable Salacia "Sally" von Humpeding
Lance-Constable Salacia "Sally" von Humpeding is a Lance-Constable in the City Watch and the first vampire to join up. Originally from Überwald, she travelled to Ankh-Morpork to join the city watch there. This coincided with the request by Lord Vetinari and the Ankh-Morpork Mission of the Überwald League of Temperance to Commander Sir Samuel Vimes to accept a vampire constable.
"Sally" was greeted with some suspicion by Commander Vimes and deep dislike by Sergeant Angua, who as an Überwaldian werewolf felt that bad blood was involved. Her abilities as a vampire become of great use to the Watch, and she even manages to reach an understanding with Sergeant Angua. "Sally" von Humpeding is introduced in Thud!.
[edit] Lance-Constable A.E. Pessimal
A.E. Pessimal was first a government inspector assigned (in Thud!) to inspect the Watch and judge whether the Watch gave fair value for the civic funds it used. He is described as a neat little man, with very shiny shoes, and has no friends and no sense of humor. He does not have a first name, as others would understand; he was 'initialled' at birth rather than named. He was in a position to seriously inconvenience Vimes with difficult questions such as "Why is C.W.St.J. 'Nobby' Nobbs in the Watch? Are you aware you employ a petty criminal?"
Eventually, Vimes decided to shake the man up, and swore him in as a Special Constable for the duration of an impending street fight of roughly a thousand trolls and dwarfs. Vimes thought he could scare the man while showing him what it was like to be a copper. Instead, A.E. took his position seriously, to the point of bare-handedly attacking a troll who took a swing at Vimes.
A short while later, A.E. came to Vimes' office and was offered the position of Lance-Constable and adjutant, with an estimate that he could be a Sergeant in a year. Vimes' reason for taking A.E. on was A.E.'s patience and intelligence; Vimes needed someone who could look through paperwork and understand what was being said. As a condition of his employment, A.E. was told that he would go on patrol twice a week, so he would be able to learn what's important.
A.E. could be based on Lieutenant-General Arthur Ernest Percival, or A.E. Percival, who commanded the forces of the British Commonwealth during the Battle of Malaya and the subsequent Battle of Singapore.
[edit] Constable Dorfl
A golem, Dorfl joined the Watch during the events of Feet of Clay, at which time he was set free by Captain Carrot, sustained considerable damage fighting the golem king, and was rebuilt to a considerable degree, granting him a voice (which is considered blasphemous for golems to possess). Dorfl quickly became the Disc's first ceramic atheist, to the displeasure of at least one god, and has been issued an official chit to label him "alive" to avoid interference in this state of affairs. He will believe in any god whose existence can be proved by rational argument. A thunderbolt to the head is deemed wholly unconvincing (in Dorfl's own words, "I Don't Call That Much Of An Argument.") He is the apparent founder of the Golem Trust, although this is never conclusively stated. Dorfl speaks 'With The Beginning Of Every Word Being Capitalized', and like most golems he is quite literal in his choice of words. Some of his lines take a considerable amount of inspiration from RoboCop, such as his description of his own duties: "To Serve The Public Trust, Protect The Innocent And Seriously Prod Buttock".
[edit] Constable Igor
Igor is an Igor who was considered "too modern" for Überwald by his family, and went with Samuel Vimes to Ankh-Morpork. He specialises in genetic experiments ("bio-artificing"), which, on the Discworld, involves really small stitches. His creations include a pet rabbit called Eerie, a particularly suitable name as he grows spare human ears on it. Another early experiment was breeding noses, which act as independent lifeforms until sewn on. He also experimented with swimming potatoes in the hopes of breeding Fish & Chips.
He has a speech impediment (for an Igor, anyway) in that he sometimes forgets to lisp. Vimes employs him because of his surgery methods, which Vimes considered to be considerably more advanced than most of Ankh-Morpork's doctors, in that most of his patients survive, and he doesn't use hot tar.
[edit] Constable Downspout
Constable Downspout, who first appears in Feet of Clay, is a surveillance expert for the Watch. Being a gargoyle, he is capable of remaining motionless in one spot and watching for days at a time, a "world champion at not moving" as Vimes once put it. He has no use for money and instead receives his salary in pigeons, which he considers quite tasty.
[edit] Corporal Buggy Swires
A gnome. Introduced in Jingo (possibly in The Light Fantastic; there was a gnome identified only as Swires), Buggy possesses the hard-nosed, bellicose personality typical of his species, proving able to shout down uncooperative witnesses despite being only six inches tall. He has since established himself as the sole member of the Watch's Airborne Section through his ability to tame various species of bird (most recently a buzzard) to act as aerial reconnaissance. He may be of the same race as (though probably of a different tribe than) the Nac Mac Feegle. He appears to have the same strength as a normally sized human, compressed into a gnome's body; as a result, being headbutted by Buggy is like 'being hit with a steam-powered toffee hammer.'
