Jack Firebrace, Birdsong.

Along with Stephen Wraysford, Jack Firebrace is the other protagonist in this novel. Jack Firebrace is a miner and represents the common man in the war. Often the lower classes had the most valuable experience suited for the war, like the miners but it was the upper classes that had higher ranks. Firebrace was one of these and was highly regarded in his battalion as a valuable man, despite this he was given dangerous missions that would traumatise the strongest of characters (sent to the front and ordered to dig towards the enemy) Through Firebrace I think the reader begins to realise the hardship placed upon the men in the war. This is in contrast to Wraysford who is of higher rank and class to Firebrace and his war experiences are totally different.
In being a lower class he showed the way they were treated and made comments on the social conditions experienced by ordinary people at the time and even admits that the irregularly given and sometimes contaminated army food was better than he could afford at home. Firebrace is a family man and also gives an insight to what soldiers leave behind, not only does he have to suffer with his own plights but he regularly gets letters from his distressed wife concerning his ill son. The letters show that he is at dramatic counterpoint to Wraysford and their stories start intertwining.
To me Wraysford is quite a cold character and Firebrace is his opposite creating empathy from the reader when he is struggling to cope with the bombardment of war life and the ordeal of the separation with his grieving wife.