Birthplace: Liverpool, England
Birthday: April 27th, 1898 (22)

Affiliations:
Eliza Fields – Vera’s Aunt, her mother’s sister, that is rather rich, and distant from the family. She has several estates across England, while Vera is her favorite niece, she hasn’t seen the woman since she last lived in Liverpool. She isn’t all that certain if Eliza is alive or dead at this point either.
Edward Fields - Vera's Uncle, Eliza's husband. Much like Aunt Eliza, she is unaware if either of them are still alive due to the fact that she hasn't spoken to them since her mother passed.
Millie Addley - Vera's mother, deceased.
Samuel Addley – Asides from Eliza, Samuel, or Sam for short, is her only living relative to date; her brother. Samuel is a henchman for the Jolly Roughers.
Mr. James Harrison – Owner of Harrison’s Trinkets & Charms, he has employed Vera since she was 16. He is a kind elderly man, and a widower.

Role: Thief
Occupation: Associate of the Rougher's

Skills

• Communication – Whether Vera is trying to get her point across, or simply catering to customer’s needs, she is the best at what she does.
• Singing – Ah yes, she has a voice of an angel, she does. She’ll sing you a lullaby to sleep, or keep herself busy with humming.
• Dancing – As is accustomed to a woman in the beginning of the 1920s, she knows how to dance, either a jig, or a slow waltz.
• Lock-Picking – Not that she’s started off as a thief in her early years, but she learned from a very young age how to unlock the cabinet where her mother hid the sweets. After moving to the East End at an early age, Vera practiced her skill more, but never put it to its full potential.
• Book-Keeping – Much like a secretary, Vera has kept the books neat and orderly for Mr. Harrison since she was 16. She has a knack for numbers, making it easier for her to calculate if there has been a slip-up in the book, or in the drawer after closing.

Assets

• Trust Fund from her Uncle Edward, Eliza’s deceased husband, she hasn’t bothered to cash in the funds, as she believes she doesn’t need it. It equates to roughly around 40,000 in cash.
• Smith & Wesson Model 10, .38 caliber Revolver
• Jewelry – Given as a present to her from her mother, shortly before her passing. Vera owns a gold diamond ring, a pearl necklace, and a pair of pearl earrings. She wouldn’t dare pawn them off, not even if meant that she could find a better place to live. She doesn’t wear any of them out in public, as she worries that she will be ridiculed, or drawn unnecessary attention.

Personality:

Vera Lilith Addley, the name alone evokes a sense of awe, and certainly when one finally meets the lady, they are in surprise to see such a beautiful woman, as one would presume her to be of noble standing. Rather, as soon as she opens her mouth to speak, her accent betrays her every time. In the city of London, it is easy to identify accents, whether someone is from Birmingham, Greenwich, or as in Vera’s case, from Liverpool. In this time, Liverpool is a booming city, one that competes with London in all areas, however, many will be mistaken for her accent, that she is actually not well-off. This gives Vera an apprehensive nature, one that puts her on edge, a feeling of working with black powder and dynamite. She is beautiful, yet deadly.

She has an astonishing singing voice, yet when she isn’t singing, Vera’s voice is rather soft, like that of a whisper. When she’s angry, she’ll raise her voice, shout, and break things, yet it’s why she keeps her voice soft, so that people are forced to listen to her. Repeating herself more than once isn’t something she likes to do. While her voice is low to garnish attention, she prefers not to be the center of attention in of itself, as it makes her squirm with uncertainty; with so many eyes watching, what is she supposed to say? If anything, Vera is most comfortable tucked away in the corner of a room, sipping on a cuppa’ tea, with a book in front of her.

While she may come off as one that is a snob, acquainted with wealth, and the way she carries herself through the course of her day, head held high and a smooth gait, Vera actually understands the meaning of hard-work, and would rather earn her money, than be handed a sack full of cash. That is the main reason as to why she hasn’t bothered cashing in on the trust fund that her Uncle Edward bestowed upon her, it’s easy money.

All around, Vera is a sweet woman that cares deeply for her brother, were anything to happen to him, she would be devastated. With a wise head on her shoulders, as her head is full of today’s current events, she is always in the know. As Sam would say, ”my sister, would never hurt anyone. Unless o’ course, only if she meant to.”

Weaknesses/Flaws/Secrets:
Opium Smoker – While she doesn’t frequent the opium dens often, Vera keeps a small supply of opium on hand for when the nights are long. She’s been smoking for the past three years, and would be considered an addict. She is rather ashamed of her habit, and keeps it a secret.

Murderer – One night while walking home from the Tawdry Countess, a man attacked her, and pulled her into the dark alley. He held a gun to her head as he tried to rape her. What the poor man didn’t know, was that Vera was armed as well. Since he held the gun to her temple, he didn’t bother restraining her arms, assuming that she wouldn’t counteract him, well… that’s how the poor sonuvabitch died. She reached for her own gun, and with one switch cock of the gun, she pulled the trigger, killing him with a bullet through the heart. She ran all the way back home, and never told a soul. Samuel came the day after, telling her that one of their men had been shot, and left for dead in the alley just a block away from the Tawdry. He questioned if she had seen anything that night on her way home from work, but she denied seeing anything. She suspects he knows, because he’s taken her to the outskirts of town to practice her aim.

Animals – Mainly cats. Vera has a tender heart for all animals, large or small, scaly or slimey, feathered or furred. She’s found herself in trouble countless times, as she’s taken home many a stray animal, and even to this day, Mr. Harrison has to plead for her to return said dog or cat to the outside world.

Fear of Disease – When she was a little girl, her mother fell ill with dysentery, leaving Sam and her alone in the world. Ever since, she does her best to keep herself clean, and avoids the presence of people that are sick, as she fears falling ill herself, and then leaving Samuel with no one else in the world.

Self-Harming – Vera doesn’t mean to harm herself… It happens more when she is under the influence of opium, than when her head is clear. She keeps a switchblade on her nightstand, and if a man were lucky enough to pull up her skirts, they would discover scars that line the inside of her thighs, some fresh, some faded silver.

Realist – Probably a cause from the opium use, Vera is a rather realistic woman, though when she thinks darkly, and her thoughts promise what she foresaw, she’s rather pleased with her thinking. She’s tries to refrain from being a debby-downer, except for the fact that life in the slums is rather pessimistic as is.

Appearance:

Standing at 5 feet 6 inches, Vera Jane Addley, is a mousey woman, with delicate features. With a long slender nose, and a smooth brow, her dark brunette hair and thick brows draw attention to a pair of light blue eyes. Her skin is pallid due to working indoors, and her lips are typically left unpainted during the day. However, were one to find her at the bar after hours, they would see her lips the color of blood, with the occasional mascara or black eyeshadow brushed across the lids of her eyes, and her hair pinned atop her ahead in the latest fashion. While Vera earns a meek living, she is thrifty in her choice of clothes. She earns 4 pounds a week from the work she does as Mr. Harrison’s ledger, and an extra 2 pounds for her work as a barmaid; this allows her some small expense to invest in a small closetful of clothes, majorily hand-me downs from second-hand shops, or cheaply tailored pieces.

She prefers to wear her hair down during the day, in loose curls, and pinned up for work at night. Vera forgoes any pieces of jewelry, as she sees it as nonsensical. Her skirts are knee-length, in solitary colors, as patterns turn her away. She wears sheer, black stockings under her skirts, and atypical mary-jane’s on her feet. For her blouses, she owns innumerable amounts of white, button-down tops. Were it not for her natural good-looks, Vera would be seen as a plain-jane in the community.

History:

Born in Liverpool, England to a widowed mother, and only brother, the first few years of her life were pleasant, as any mother could hope in England at that time. Millie, her mother, had lost her husband, Vera’s father, three months prior to her daughter’s birth, in a shipyard accident, when a steel beam slipped from the rigging, and crushed him. With a hungry 2-year-old son, Samuel, and a newborn child to care for, Millie accepted the invitation from her sister, Eliza, to live with her and her husband for the time being. Within the walls of the expansive manor, Millie could breathe a sigh of relief that she needn’t worry about a roof over her children’s head. Vera remembers very little of Eliza and Edward, save for the times when Sam and her would play hide-and-seek amongst the many, seemingly endless rooms. She remembers the scent of her aunt’s perfume, one that smelled of lavender and jasmine. Another memory that she fondly recalls, is the massive garden with its own boxwood maze. At the time, it felt like a never-ending forest, as the hedges towered over the tiny Vera. By the time she reached her sixth birthday, in 1904, Millie packed their bags and moved them off to London, to better support her children with a job as a secretary for a lawyer. She was an independent woman of sorts, and didn’t wish to rely on her sister’s good charity to look after her children. Life was good for the time-being, as the children had clothes on their backs, and food in their mouths. She enrolled them in school, and while she worked, they attended school. It was hard to keep Samuel out of fights with the other boys, for they picked on him for his accent, teased him for being a rich boy in the wrong part of town. What they didn’t know, was that Vera stood behind her brother, small as she was, and would often jump into the beatings they wailed on her brother. She bit, she scratched, and kicked them all where the sun doesn’t shine. Of course, Sam and Vera would receive a good switch across their hands or bottoms for misbehaving, the other boys received their punishment as well.

Living in the East-End, they were soon forced to move due to the steady influx of migrants to the area, there were plenty of jobs, and many people were in need of work, everyone from all walks of life came; the Spanish, Chinese, Italians, Turks, Greeks, and so forth. They moved to the South End of London, in Southwark where Millie kept her job as a secretary for the Bowman & Liegeman Law Firm. She rose early at the crack of dawn, to catch the early train to Greenwich, and stayed well after dark, she kept the law firm well organized in the matters of their documents.

When 1914 arrived, all of Europe was in turmoil, the Archduke of Austria, Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungary throne, was assassinated in his car by a man named Gavrilo Princip. . The Great War had started, and the call for men went up. Samuel, being 18 at the time, enlisted before the draft papers ensnared him. For the first year of the war, Millie succumbed to tuberculosis, fortunately, whatever the cause, Vera never contracted the deadly disease. She was distraught, and wrote to Sam frequently, often writing letters to him on a weekly basis. The decline of her mother’s health had traumatized her, never, did she ever wish to fall ill, she kept after her well-being and practiced a life full of proper sanitation, she avoided suspicious foul-smelling meats from the market, and boiled her water twice. After her passing, Vera found a job in perfect timing with Mr. Harrison, a jeweler that opened a shop down the block from where her mother rented their flat. As she worked for him as his ledger, he allowed her to rent the attic room above the shop. A year later, she found work to make ends meet at the Tawdry Countess, a sleazy pub filled with gang members of the Jolly Roughers, not that she minded, they tipped her well enough, and were too drunk to make passes at her.

It was 1918 when Samuel returned, on account of medical problems. Vera knew he was a different man, now 22, when he returned, she could see it by the emptiness in his gaze, the way he talked, the way he walked, as if he were on edge. Most of the women whose men went off to war were calling it "shell-shocked", as the sound of artillery shells falling around the men in trenches traumatized them. She could tell by the way he wrote his letters during his time away in the war, and now that he had come home, she could see the underlying mental problems as well that afflicted her brother. He stayed with her above Mr. Harrison’s before he joined the Jolly Roughers as an Associate, he peddled drugs, acted as a look-out for the higher-ups, and targeted marks like the foolishly rich that had wandered into the wrong end of town. While she looked down upon his choice for a career, Vera only worried if he would make it home at night. The upside to working at the Tawdry Countess, is that she had the chance to see her brother at night, albeit, drunk, but she saw him nonetheless. One night while walking home from the Tawdry Countess, a man attacked her, and pulled her into the darkened alley. He held a gun to her head as he tried to rape her. What the poor man didn’t know, was that Vera was armed as well. Since he held the gun to her temple, he didn’t bother restraining her arms, assuming that she wouldn’t counteract him, well… that’s how the poor sonuvabitch died. She reached for her own gun, and with one swift cock of the gun, she pulled the trigger, killing him with a bullet straight through the heart. She ran all the way back home, and never told a soul. Samuel came the day after, telling her that one of their men had been shot, and left for dead in the alley just a block away from the Tawdry. He questioned if she had seen anything that night on her way home from work, but she denied seeing anything out of the ordinary. She suspects he knows, because he’s taken her to the outskirts of town to practice her aim.

After the attack, Vera started using opium, as she suffered vivid nightmares, and to lull herself to sleep, she found the blackish-brown tar-like substance soothing. She keeps her pipe next to her nightstand, and a stash under her pillow. She doesn’t use much of it, save for at night. Within minutes, she’s fast asleep.

Now 22, Vera continues her work at Mr. Harrison’s and at the Tawdry Countess, in the weeks before, family members of the Jolly Roughers were being rounded up by the coppers in an attempt to deter the notorious gang. She watches over her shoulder when she leaves work at night, afraid that she’ll see a paddy wagon waiting around the next corner she turns. On special occasions, she’s been asked to accompany some of the men from the Rougher’s to special events, such as a date to a horse-race, and of course, she’s never said no, it helps to draw attention away from the dapper dressed gentlemen with ladies on their arms. Even more so, she’s been asked to go with some of the street-rats to help distract their marks while they pick-pocket them. She has a nagging notion that they’ll ask her someday soon to join them.

Nickname(s): Paddy, Mick, Sharps
Gender: Male
Birthplace: Cork, Ireland
Birthday: January 14, 1898
Affiliations:


Role: Street-Rat. Acts as enforcer and marksman.
Occupation: Brick Layer for Samuel & Sons Construction Company

Skills:


Assets:


Personality:
Quiet, methodical and something of a wallflower, Shay is a man who is adept at escaping notice or interest due to his lack of words for strangers or initiative in most conversations. Being widely discriminated against due to his nationality, Shay has learned to simply keep his mouth shut and speak when spoken to. Since actions speak louder than words, Shay has a reputation for being a quiet professional who gets things done, and is willing to do just about anything that’s needed of him. He feels the only way he’s ever going to be truly accepted by anyone other than Clint and Grant Wallis, as well as Eli Lindsay, whom procured an American imported Winchester Model 1895 lever action rifle for Shay.

For those Shay does call friend, his is fiercely loyal and is more than willing to kill and fight on their behalf, and he already has. He is often trusted to look after relatives, and other people of interest, and he extends the same devotion to these charges as they are often relations to the people he cares for. Shay is often credited as being dependable, and he cares deeply about doing a good job, going about his duties with the greatly diminished Jolly Roughers with the same pride and dedication as the South Irish Horse.

Shay comes most alive when he plays his fiddle, feeling it is as much a source of who he is as his ability behind the action of a rifle. It is one of the few times he feels admired by strangers, and though he’s reluctant to admit it, the thing he craves most is not wealth or power, but acceptance and love. The Tawdy Countess is one of the few places he feels he can be himself, and he is often most outgoing there, enjoying games of darts and with drink, people are far more accepting of him.

Shay is very likely dependent on drink and smoking, although that is not uncommon for many men of his age, especially those trying to leave the horrors of war behind them. However, many who do not know him, and many who do, would not see the signs of a troubled young man who struggles with his place in the world, his faith, and the haunting memories of two years of war, but rather a quiet, unassuming man who is all too quiet to disappear from notice, the very essence of a professional criminal.

Weaknesses/Flaws/Secrets:


Appearance:


A handsome man standing at 5’10” and carrying a well-toned body of a soldier, Shay has medium-length black hair, cut short at the sides and brushed back with product atop his head, which coupled with his short shorn beard, gives him a rugged and practical appearance. His fingers are often stained from cigarette and revolver smoke, and he carried piercing blue eyes that are both sallow and haunted. His ears are small and tight; his lobes flush with his neck and cartledge with no hanging flesh to speak of. His nose is straight and narrow, and his eyebrows symmetrical with the rest of his face, save for a small bald patch that bisects his right eyebrow.

Shay’s manner of dress is practical, preferring muted colours like browns and greys with simple button down shirts and a well-worn black peacoat he’d been wearing since before he enlisted in the army. He still wears his army issue boots, although they are largely concealed by his pant legs, and suspenders hug his frame. In the colder months, he wears a grey scarf, tied loosely around his neck, and that conceals his features.

History:
Born in Cork, Ireland, Shay Alden grew up unaware of his family’s roots and history past his parents’ obviously English accents. By all accounts, Shay was a passible student and a well behaved child, although he often endured bullying on account of his English heritage. Taunted for being Protestant in a predominantly Catholic country where anti-English sentiment was growing at a fevered pitch, Shay had few real friends growing up, and he grew to be a fighter out of necessity; and his father’s teachings.

While John Alden never spoke of his family ties or why the family moved from London to Cork, it became clear to Shay at a young age that there was more to his father than being a simple carpenter. His father was powerful, quick to anger, and any attempt to pry information about London often ended up with Shay enduring a severe backhand. While John was a fierce and bitter individual, he was always quick to apologize and tried to at least make amends to his son. While they had a strained relationship, it wasn’t without love, and John Alden did try to do right by Shay and his wife, Maggie, who bore Shay a sister two weeks after his birthday on January 28, 1901.

Maggie Alden was everything John was not; affectionate, kind, and concerned about her children’s lives to a fault. It was hard for her to adapt to Ireland, and it broke her heart each time she saw Stay stumble home with a black eye or split lip. While the family was fairly poor and making ends meet, she still managed to find money for decent meals and new clothing, as well as a handful of gifts for birthdays and Christmas time. Shay felt safe coming home because of his mother, and even into her elder years, he tried to keep her in his life, even if just by correspondence.

Shay’s best friend and confidant growing up was his sister, Lizzy, who he fiercely protected from bullying herself as she endured much of the same prejudice he had. A smart girl, and one that was clearly going to grow up to be a beautiful woman, Lizzy nevertheless maintained a cheerful optimism and warm disposition. Her and Shay would race through the streets near the canal that bisected the city, as well as spend a considerable amount of time by the waterfront, Lizzy often reading or writing stories in her well-worn journals, and Shay practicing his fiddle, one of the few highlights of his upbringing that his father had passed onto him that also endeared him to the locals somewhat. What he felt like a foreigner in his own country a lot of the time, it was music that made him Irish.

It was music that endeared people to invite him to play in pubs, even though he was far too young to drink, and it was in one of these clubs that his fiddle had endeared him to Old Man Conklin, who offered Shay a job working at the docks when he hit his teens. The spring following his 13th birthday, Shay started work unloading and loading ships, the tiring and heavy work making him physically powerful and paying enough that he had aspirations of a better life, perhaps even travelling and earning a living through music and entertainment. It was from that decision that Shay began to put money aside to go to the theater, which he managed to go twice a month, and he became enraptured with plays and acting.

He was close to graduating secondary school when the great war broke out, and at 16 years old, he watched the mood of Cork change considerably. Many of the men went off to enlist, and much of the industry seemed to stop. The docks grew quiet, the plays stopped, and for Shay, it felt like the earth was standing still. It seemed that everyone had something to give to this war, to serve King George V and the British Empire against the Kaiser’s marauding armies. The idea of adventure gripped Shay, but he was turned away from the recruitment office for being too young. Shay also noticed his father seemed to shy away from the public eye, and the war; it was at this time that Shay begun to think of his father as a coward and a pathetic man who turned his back on his country, as well as the family Shay never knew.

One day in the month of October 1915, Shay discovered a letter in the postage addressed to his father from a rather unfamiliar name; Clinton Wallis. Resentful enough at his father, Shay opened the letter and was shocked at what he discovered; this Clinton Wallis was his cousin, and he was telling “Uncle Johnny” that his mother had passed away from tuberculosis and he needed to come home to help run the family, a gang called the “Jolly Roughers”, now that his father Adam had grown ill as well.

Confronting his father about this and demanding answers about his family, Shay and John fought, a skirmish that had broken several pieces of furniture and picture frames, prompting Shay to flee his home and return to the recruiters. Now the war had gone on for over a year, the recruiter did not ask too many questions when Shay assured him he was 18 years of age. When Shay returned home next, he was holding his enlistment papers for the South Irish Horse and he would be leaving in the morning to the barracks. His mother, devastated, begged him not to go, although Lizzy was more understanding and gave Shay one of her finished stories to keep him comforted in the months to come. He did not speak to his father, nor make eye contact. To Shay, John Alden was less than a man.

After only 4 weeks of grueling training later, Shay was shipped off to Flanders, France, and the horrors of the Great War. It was during the Battle of the Somme where Shay would experience the greatest, and most horrific, trial of his life, having endured the desperation of trench warfare, the terrifying constant shelling and wave attacks of screaming German soldiers, and most devastatingly, the introduction of chemical gas attacks that caused many of his comrades to succumb to death in gruesome and utterly incomprehensible deaths. It was impossible not to be afraid of the very air they breathed. Writing home to his mother and sister, Shay assured them he was fine, and left out details of what life in the trenches was like, and what it was costing. He did not want them worrying about him, and the troops were forbidden to write about the realities of war, as the potential demoralization of the people at home could sabotage the war effort.

One of Shay’s natural gifts, as it turned out, was precision with a rifle. Earning top marks in his class during boot camp in marksmanship, Shay proved himself during the battle, having demonstrated an air of cool under fire and what seemed like a supernatural ability to always hit his target. Ten rounds at a time through his SMLE, ten Germans dropped. When asked about this by the officer who had observed him, Shay didn’t think anything of it; dozens of meters practically filled the sights, it was impossible to miss, he said. It didn’t take long after his unit was recalled to the reserve trenches for downtime that Shay was called off and sent to train as a sniper to hone his marksmanship skills; and his ability to avoid the keen eyes of other snipers. Receiving only a couple weeks of extra training, Shay enjoyed another week of rest before being sent back to the front, only this time, his war was comfortably behind the trenches and no longer joining in the wasteful charges that defined the war.

By the time the war had ended, Shay was credited with a handful of citations, and was credited for the deaths of a dozen machine-gunners, 2 enemy snipers, and 42 confirmed kills of Central Power soldiers of other ranks. The war had taken a grievous toll on Shay, and he had become somewhat dependant on drink to cope with the horrors he had endured; he refused to smoke until well after the war because of the well-ingrained fear that cigarette embers would draw enemy sniper fire his way. He’d seen it happen far too many times; in fact, many of the men he’d killed had simply been smoking. It was only after the war had ended that he’d accepted his first cigarette, something he found greatly calmed his nerves and steadied his hands.

Shay returned home early 1919, and he had purchased his weapons from the war, feeling a kinship with them for having protected him from 2 years of intense warfare. It was now that he’d realized how unstable the situation at home had become; anti-English sentiment reached a turning point in 1916 when rebels rose up against the British rule, and the public backlash against the execution of the rebel leaders by British authorities was ferocious. Ireland was now murmuring of independence, and it seemed Britain’s hold over the country was slipping, its resolve weakened after such a costly war. Reuniting with his mother and sister, Shay still resented his father, who had managed to avoid conscription up until the last year of the war when the war office managed to catch up with him. Shay decided that he needed to find his family in London, the one his father had abandoned, because he sure as hell didn’t feel like Ireland wanted him. After trying to convince his mother and sister to come to London with him and failing, Shay booked passage to England, which did not cost him a penny thanks to the ferry’s support of returning veterans, and with the letter that had burst the bubble on his heritage in hand, Shay found his way to London to track down the Jolly Roughers.

Within a week of hard searching, Shay had found himself at the Tawdy Countess seated across from Clinton Wallis, who was reading the words he had written years before. Through the haze of cigarette smoke, the middle son of Adam Wallis regarded the Irishman with his father’s eyes with appreciation.

“I asked for your father and got my cousin instead. Welcome to the family, Shay.”

Birthplace: Liverpool, England
Birthday: October 24th, 1896 (24)

Affiliations:
Eliza Fields – Samuel’s Aunt, his mother’s sister, that is rather rich, and distant from the family. She has several estates across England, he hasn’t seen the woman since he last lived in Liverpool. He isn’t all that certain if Eliza is alive or dead at this point either.
Edward Fields - Samuel's Uncle, Eliza's husband.
Millie Addley - Samuel's mother, deceased.
Vera Addley – Asides from Eliza, Vera is his only living relative, making her all the while more precious to him. She works for Mr. James Harrison, owner of the Harrison’s Trinkets & Charms, and she works at the Tawdry Countess at night.
War Veteran of the 142nd (6th London) Brigade

Role: Soldier

Occupation: Hired Muscle for the Jolly Roughers/Full-Time Gang Member

Skills

• Guns – As accustomed with the knowledge that came when serving in the Great War, Sam has knowledge of how to load, aim, and fire with rifles and pistols. Particularly the British Bulldog Pistol, and the Mk III*.
• Hand-To-Hand Combat – With time spent serving in trenches, Sam has learned how to fight hand-to-hand, which has come in handy being with the Roughers.
• Explosives – While in the war, Sam acquainted himself with how grenades operated, and learned how to make all sorts of explosives, it doesn’t take him long to put a bomb together, that’s for certain, this is one of the reasons why the Roughers took him on.
• Hot Wiring – Since cars came about, Sam has had a knack for hot-wiring them, and often times getting himself in trouble for joy-riding.
• High Pain Tolerance – When he was wounded, countless times on the battle fields in the Western Front, Sam has developed a high pain tolerance. Most of the time he doesn’t know he’s wounded until he actually sees blood.
• Boxing – Ever since he came home, Sam has gotten into the underground fighting scene, where bets are illegally placed, away from the scrutiny of the public eye. His fists are quick, and he has knowledge on how to drop a man with a single punch.

Assets

• Webley Mk III*
• Ulster Bulldog Revolver
• Webley Mk VI Revolver
• A rented room above the Tawdry.
• Flat-Guard Switch Blade

Personality:
A morose, quiet and callous person is Samuel Benjamin Addley. He has little concern for his well-being, though he is over-protective of his sister who demands that he keep himself alive. Were it not for her, Sam would have little care for how he lived, what he ate, or anything else of importance. The aftermath of the Great War left him scarred, and while he mourns the loss of a French woman he lost contact with during the war, Sam finds relative comfort in the arms of the local prostitutes.

What he does care about, is the survival and success of the gang. He’s accumulated large sums of money, and one day, maybe one day, he’ll buy himself a nice estate out in the countryside where the air is fresh. He does anything that the Wallis’ ask him without hesitation, for the three brothers have proven themselves commendable in their actions. Even when the plans go wrong, which is a factor with being involved in gang activity, the Wallis’ make sure their fellow gang members are well compensated, either with money, women, or liquor, of which there is always plenty. To Sam, working as a Rougher, is like being an infantryman in the war all over again.

Weaknesses/Flaws/Secrets:

Callous – Sam is a cold, calculating individual, he displays little emotion, save for when it comes to his sister, she is his only family left in the world, but to everyone else, they are lucky to hear him crack a joke, or catch a glimpse of a smile.

Lost Lover – No one knows what Sam went through during the Great War, but most importantly, not even Vera knows this secret that he keeps suppressed. In France, when travelling from Loos to Auchy-les-Mines, the brigade stopped at a small town, where few civilians remained. Of those that remained, a beautiful blonde woman, by the name of Amelie Gauthier, won his heart during the short stay. They wrote often to one another during the course of the war, but he never heard from her again after he returned home to London. He carries a locket, on a gold chain around his neck with a picture she gave him, something to remember her by. Amelie is presumed dead.

Paranoid – As a result of the war, Sam finds it hard to trust anyone he doesn’t know. He often glances over his shoulder with the sensation that he’s being watched, or followed.

Ladies of the Night – To forget the pain of Amelie, ironically, Sam frequents the prostitutes in Southwark, though he keeps this a secret as best he can, as while it provides some comfort, he is ashamed of spending his money for comfort on a broken heart.

Tobacco Smoker – Sam rolls his own cigarettes with freshly purchased tobacco, the problem is he smokes one too many during a day, sometimes numbering well over eight.

Appearance:
Clean-cut, and clean-shaven, Sam maintains an orderly appearance, and takes great care of his body, as he doesn’t like to look like a rag-tag fellow. Occasionally, he’ll sport a thin blond moustache, but other than that, he forgoes facial hair. Like any other of man associated with the Roughers, he wears the traditional styles as a dapper, with a flat or peaked cap, and a well pressed suit, where a pocket watch chain can be seen dangling. He prides himself on looking the part of a sharp-dressed gentleman, although, he has no one to impress with his dashing looks.

With his sandy blond hair, steel-grey eyes, Sam is a stocky fellow that stands at 5’9, weighing around 165lbs, every inch of his body still maintains the muscle obtained from the war. On his right bicep, Sam has a raven perched atop a skull tattooed artfully, if one has the chance to ask him what it represents, he’ll shake his head and say, ”Death takes everyone in the end.” He appears morose to others that do not know him, as he rarely smiles. Yet, when one has the chance to see him smile, and his grey eyes light up, it is an endearing sight, as it is considered to be lucky to see him happy, even if for a second.

Unlike his sister, Vera, his voice is not soft, rather husky from the cigarettes he smokes on a daily basis. While most women would attribute the sound of his voice as an attractive quality, the smell of cigarette smoke is seeped into his clothes.



History:

Like his sister, Vera, Sam was born in Liverpool. Though, just like his sister, he was too young to know his father. Growing up in his Aunt Eliza’s manor, Sam had an enjoyable childhood. Here, he learned to ride horses, and chased his sister through the towering boxwood hedges that were the garden maze in the back of the house. When Vera turned 6, Samuel recalled the quiet conversation between his mother and Eliza, while his aunt insisted that there was plenty of room for the three of them to stay with her and Edward in the manor, Millie was born of a stronger thread, not one to bring up her children without teaching the need for hard-work. He remembered the sad smile his mother wore as they packed a truck full of their belongings and headed to the smog filled city. The polluted air from the smoke stacks of the factories brought on many coughing fits for her. However, after a year within the East-End, they were forced to move to Southwark with the rest of the Cockney’s, as the rise of migrant workers to the city were swimming with disease and poor housing conditions. While Sam and Vera never saw much of their mother, as she worked for the law firm to provide for them, Sam found himself in more than one schoolyard fights. It was there that he developed the protective nature for Vera, when he would find himself face down on the ground, he could hear the wallops little V inflicted on the other boys. They teased her, picking her up by the back of her dress, while she spat, kicked and flailed her arms like some rabid badger. Infuriated that they would dare pick on his sister, Sam always found the strength to pick himself up off the ground, and continue fighting. When they would go home after school, Sam with a black eye, and Vera’s dressed stained, Millie would only pull her children into the warmth of her breast, holding them tenderly. Sam realized early on that his mother hardly uttered a word of their father. What she did say, when she could, were only fragments of what must have been the man that helped in creating them.

In hushed tones, ”Your father would be proud of you both.”, or ”You have your father’s spirit Samuel.” always tiny glimpses of the man that was. The only photograph of their father that Sam ever laid eyes on was a photograph of Millie and Jack (that was their father’s name), on their wedding day. Sam knew he took after his father with his blond hair, and Vera from their mother with her brunette.

When Sam turned 14, he left school in pursuit of mill-work to help support Millie and Vera, while his mother protested him leaving school so soon, she had to admit that the extra pounds from his paycheque were helpful nonetheless. Four years passed as Sam busied himself with dock work, yet at the start of the Great War he enlisted to protect the great nation of Britain against the impending doom that he thought would end in defeat. He engaged in the 142nd (6th London) Brigade, where they were first shipped out to the battle of Battle of Loos on September 25th, the trenches were deep, muddied, and the chaos of the resounding war guns confused and disoriented many men in his brigade, however with careful planning, they executed the use of poison gas for the first time, albeit it wasn’t an overall success as the chlorine gas would blow back onto the British forces with the changing tides of wind.



By the time he returned home, he was a changed man, even his sister had not recognized him right away when he stood on the platform from the train station. His eyes were sunken, and a haunted gaze hung about him, like he had seen too many horrors, too many ghosts. And the truth was; he had. While he became morose in attitude, something of which Vera had never seen in him before, not even when she was little did she remember Sam in such a sorrowed state. However, the only thing that seemed to cheer him up, was visiting his sister, and of course, the honorable ladies of the night. By the time Tommy Wallis offered him a position on his gang as a henchman, Sam was in a desperate state for work, anything, truly anything would suffice to make him feel more normal. The work given to him by the gang, felt all too familiar, like he was in war all over again, but that is perhaps why he joined so readily. He’s been with the Roughers for well-over a year and a half now.