Mrs. Prentice worked as a servant in one of the great halls near Walmington-on-Sea at some point before the Boer War. At the same time she fell for a 20 year old Charles Godfrey and drank potato wine with him on what Godfrey refers to as "that night".
In later years she married a farmer who died, leaving her his 100 acre farm. When her foreman is too ill to bring in the harvest Godfrey convinces Mainwaring to volunteer the platoon's services. In return she organises supper of homemade pastys and potato wine for the platoon which leads to a very rowdy harvest service.