non-military professions - OT kinda
 

I am reading The Recollections of Rifleman Harris at the moment (true story of a British rifleman in the napoleonic peninsula war - v good btw) and one interesting story was regarding his side profession as a cobbler/boot-mender.

During one engagement of an early battle against the French, his officer called him back from his unit who were defending a particularly dangerous area of the battlefield and sent him to a safer zone because of his value as a cobbler!

Telling a mate this story he recollected talking to a relative of his with a more unusual profession.... apparently this chap was in Burma (a Brit) and he was one of the most popular men in the unit. He was very artistic and drew pornography to order!! My mate said he actually saw some of his work, some of which was rather extreme involving mules....