Henry Simmerson

Lieutenant Colonel Sir Henry Simmerson is a fictional British officer in the Sharpe novels and TV series by Bernard Cornwell. He is a recurring villain, portrayed as a stereotypical snobbish and tyrannical English aristocrat. He is narrow-minded, militarily inept and cowardly; while he is not presented as a clever man, he does display a certain cunning and deviousness. Simmerson has some influence at Horse Guards which serves to protect him, to a considerable extent, from the full consequences of his cowardice and mistakes on the battlefield. He is a distant cousin of General Banastre Tarleton.

Lieutenant Colonel Simmerson is first seen in command of the South Essex Regiment of the British Army in the Peninsula Campaign of the Napoleonic Wars. This regiment is part of the army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. He blames his own disastrous military blunders on the officers and men under his command, particularly the loss of a proportion of his regiment in a stupid manoeuvre, as well as one of his regiment's two colours (presented by the king and representing the regiment's honour). He also displays blatant nepotism in favouring his nephew in "Sharpe's Eagle". At the end of "Sharpe's Eagle" he is ignominiously relieved from his post by William Lawford at the Battle of Talavera.

In 1813 ("Sharpe's Regiment") Simmerson, now a Colonel, uses the second battalion of the South Essex in an illegal crimping operation, recruiting men for the South Essex then selling them to posts overseas. Sharpe exposes him and presumably this is the end of his career. Simmerson was (legally) crimping long before this and the historical notes at the back of "Sharpe's Regiment" reveal this is how he obtained his commission.

In the TV series, Simmerson, played by Michael Cochrane, proved to be a popular character with the viewers. He appeared in "Sharpe's Eagle" (1993) , "Sharpe's Sword" (1995) and "Sharpe's Regiment" (1996). Cochrane returned as Simmerson, now an officer in the army attached to the British East India Company, in the 2006 revival, "Sharpe's Challenge" and its 2008 sequel "Sharpe's Peril".