‘ “How is the dear young boy? Drinking like a fish as usual?” ’
‘ “He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got.” ’
Osborne even comes up with excuses for reasons as to why Stanhope drinks so much:
‘ “Other men come over here and go home again ill, and young Stanhope goes on sticking it’
Hardy goes on to talk about how Osborne should be the Captain of that company, and Osborne keeps defending Stanhope: talking about how much longer he’s been out there and even says that he might command the whole battalion.
The conversation between Hardy and Osborne shows how their opinions on Stanhope differ. Osborne respects him, because he is of a higher rank, and because he works with him as a friend. Hardy doesn’t work with Stanhope and so he only hears about him from other people, so he knows that he has a reputation for drinking very heavily.
During the rest of the play, see that Stanhope does drink a lot. Stanhope had been in the war since he left school, and he had been commanding his company for a year. He had missed his last leave; possibly because he didn’t see himself fit to see his father or fiancé. Stanhope tells Hibbert how he is feeling neuralgic so, he could be drinking to try and numb the pain. Stanhope often insists on having a drink with people who go into the dugout so it is possible that it is partly to do with him trying to be sociable.
Stanhope is ashamed that he drinks. We can see this from the fact that tries to hide thee fact that he drinks from Raleigh, a new officer in his company. He hides it from Raleigh because he is getting engaged to his sister.
This suggests that Stanhope does not drink intentionally, but simply to calm his nerves. This would mean that Osborne’s opinion of Stanhope is correct rather than Hardy’s. However, we do not know the full reasons surrounding Stanhope’s drinking habits, neither do we know whether he survives the German attack at the end of the play. There is therefore, a sense of mystery about Stanhope and everything he does.