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Journey's End, Sherriff presents us with two sides of the coin -…

- - - - Second Lieutenant Raleigh can be considered a fusion of soldiers who Sherriff knew. Raleigh is young, enthusiastic and naive about the realities of war, not unlike many young officers of the period and indeed Sherriff himself. The closest comparison perhaps is with Second Lieutenant Richard Webb.
        Just like the characters of Raleigh and Stanhope who are portrayed as childhood friends, Webb and Sherriff were close friends and used to go on camping trips together in their youth before the war. Just like Raleigh in the play, Webb did not survive the war. He died in October 1916 and is buried in CWGC Etaples Military Cemetery.
        
        Sherriff would have met thousands of soldiers during his time with the Army and many individuals and events influenced Journey’s End, however it seems that it is Captain Archibald Henry Douglass who had the greatest impact. When Sherriff first met Douglass he was drying a sock over a candle flame, a scene given to Captain Hardy in Journey’s End. Douglass was known to his comrades in the battalion as ‘Father’, rather than ‘Uncle’, as he was the son of a clergymen, a background given to Stanhope in Journey’s End. Sherriff wrote of Douglass: “… a tall, dark man … one of the finest men I have ever known. He was a man of few words. He hated affectation and he hated vulgarity... He was also about the coolest man I ever saw in the trenches.”
        
        In this we can see the clam and dependable character of Osborne. Douglass was with the 9th East Surreys in March 1918, and was wounded during the German attack. He was sent back to the United Kingdom where he died on 8 April 1918. He is buried in Hanwell (City of Westminster) Cemetery.
- - - - Raleigh is initially presented as boyish, exuberant and eager to please. His youth, nativity and enthusiasm seems to prove Osborne’s theory that “a youngster straight from school” is “the kind that do best” - having youth and energy and not yet being worn out by the horrors of the battlefield. This is proved when he grows excited as they are ordered to take part in a dangerous German raid.
        
        Raleigh quickly begins to realise the realities of war after Osborne dies in the German raid. Sherriff uses Raleigh’s character to show what war did to eager young men. He uses his character to show us how young men believing in the kind of glorious war put forward by recruitment propaganda, were granted frightful experiences that prove otherwise. For this, he is considered a dynamic character in the play - as his views and mannerisms change drastically during the play. Quite like Mrs. de Winter, he matures and begins to comprehend his situation more overnight as a result of a startling circumstance.
        
        Jimmy Raleigh's death at the end of the play is one of the most poignant twists in the play as it shows the audience how harsh and cruel the realities of War was and how it does not care for how innocent or young a soldier is. Sheriff also uses Raleigh’s demise to show how spirited young men with so much potential were wasted in war.
  - - - Nevertheless, Osborne and other men in his company viewed him still as a great commander. This is shown when Osborne defends him against Hardy's sneering opinion and the way Stanhope assertively and calmy deals with Hibbert. Even with his own problems he was still able to manage his team in times of crisis. Furthermore, when faced with the Colonel's insensitivity towards the deaths faced by C Company, we can see that - unlike his superiors - he is compassionate enough to feel for his lost comrades. In the closing scenes of the play, we can see Stanford's compassion as he comforts the dying Raleigh (who he had placed on Osborne's bed - which is significant given the close relationship between Osborne and Stanford).
        
        Sherriff presents Stanhope not as a perfect being but as a man with weakness and this endears him to the audience, restoring him as a hero.
  - - - Osborne is Stanhope's second-in-command and despite Stanhope many flaws, remains indisputably loyal to him. When Hardy critises Stanhope at the start of the play, Osborne refuses to critique him. This is because he recognises Stanhope’s flaws, Osborne understands him as well. Osborne's respected position in the company is shown in how everyone addresses him as 'Uncle'.
        
        Furthermore, in the opening scene, when Hardy and Osborne are conversing we find that Osborne contrasts favorably against Hardy. We find that his humor and mannerisms are much less rude and instantly, as the audience, we like him. He is also quite humble. This is shown when we find out he used to play rugby for England when he mentions it in passing and asks Raleigh not to talk about it to the other men.
        
        Given Osborne's age in the play he would not have recruited but would have had to volunteer. This would have increased a 1928 audience's respect for him as he chose to give up his life for his country. Even despite his growing fear, he does his duty bravely and unquestionably to the very end. Much like Jimmy's death in the play, Sheriff may have used Osborne's death to show the audience that war is unpredictable and will take you no matter how old or good you may be.
        
        It can be said that Osborne is perhaps one of the few static characters in the play - remaining constant and comforting till the very end.