Harry Bamford

Harry Bamford, better known by his nickname Bam, is a character in The Enemy Series. He only appears in The Dead.

Before the books
Not much is known about Bam before the books as his past isn't looked upon much. It is known however that he did have a girlfriend before the sickness began called Cass. It is also known that he played prop forward for the school rugby team. He is mentioned to be from the country.

His best friends are Johnno, Piers and the Sullivan brothers, but he is also good friends with Ed and Jack.

In the Dead
In The Dead, Bam plays a major role and features throughout the novel. He first appears near the beginning of the book when he along with his rugby friends saves Jack and Ed.

Along with Ed, Jack and his rugby mates (Johnno, Piers and the Sullivan brothers) he makes it back to the dormitory where the group of survivors are taking shelter in Rowhurst, a boarding school. Whilst in the dormitory Bam agrees with Jack that they cannot stay in the school forever and will have to soon leave and start a new life for themselves.

The following morning Bam leads the Rowhurst boys out of the school grounds and across to a church that is opposite the school, where the group saves Matt Palmer, a boy of Rowhurst who took shelter in the church with some other boys.

Following this Bam leads the group away from the school and church, with the intent of heading to the countryside, where they hope to start life anew. Unfortunately, they run into trouble and many of the boys in the group are killed by sickos. As the conflict goes on a coach pulls up, driven by an adult named Greg. Bam is among the few who make it onto the safety of the coach.

Bam remains on the coach, which is heading to London, for much of the journey, spending his time looking after Piers, who was injured during the fight. When the next day they find that Greg has killed Liam and has got the disease, Bam helps fight Greg off and manages to take his shotgun and its ammo. He then leads the surviving kids out of the coach and through a park to the Imperial War Museum.

When the group enter the museum they find that it is run by a boy called Jordan Horden. Jordan refuses to allow them to stay at the museum, and a argument between Jack and Jordan quickly rises. Bam takes Jack's side and to help their side of the argument sits on Jordan's tactics game. Jordan eventually agrees to let them stay as long as they can feed themselves. After this Bam finds out about Piers death and is greatly saddened by losing his last rugby mate.

Bam, Jack and Ed then take responsibility for their group and take charge of scavenging for food. For their first day at the museum they decide to raid the coach and take a proper expedition of South London the following day. They are successful on their second day out in London, and manage to find a Tesco's lorry full of food. Bam helps Ed with finding the keys in the cab of the Lorry, and they group of scavengers, aided by DogNut, one of Jordan Horden's boys, manage to get the lorry started and exit the alleyway they find it in.

As the lorry is driving off back to the museum, the back filled with food and the kids of the scavenging party, Jack decides it is the perfect chance to go back home, and against his wishes Bam follows, loyal to one of his last remaining friends. Ed also joins and together the three make their way across South London to Jack's old home.

An the way the trio stop at the Oval cricket stadium and decide to inspect it. Outside the stadium Ed finds a pair of binoculars and gives them to Bam on account of his poor eyesight. Once inside the stadium they realise that it was going to be used to burn all the dead people affected by the disease, but couldn't be followed through with due to the authorities also getting sick. They find that it is filled mountain high with dead bodies and also quickly realise that not all of the sickos are dead.

As they make their escape Jack fires with his machine gun at the sickos, but accidentally hits the gas canisters around the stadium and causes the ground of the stadium to collapse as well as some explosions and starting a large fire. Bam and Jack fall underground with the floor, whilst Ed is thrown into the stands. Bam wakes to find himself in the dark and he isn't sure if its the lack of light being the cause that he can't see or if the one of the explosions blinded him.

Whilst down there he fears that a sicko is about to attack him, so he fires with his shotgun. It turns out that the target he fired at is Jack and that he punctured his side with the shot. Bam then tries to help Jack to his feet whilst calling for Ed. Ed eventually finds them and helps them out of the ground, and the trio then continue to make their way to Jack's home, though Ed and Bam are forced to carry Jack on account of his injury.

Along the way as they rest they are attacked by a group of sickos and are forced to fight them off. Bam falls to the ground but with Ed's help manages to get up again and fight of the last of the sickos. As he is celebrating their victory over the attack, Greg comes up behind him and kills him with his meat cleaver. Ed scares off Greg and goes to check on Bam only to find him dead.

Jack also later mentions Bam, asking how he is. Ed tells him he died, and Jack responds with "Oh".

Appearance
Bam's appearance isn't given much look into during the book, but he is described as being big and strong, and it is assumed he is muscular as he plays rugby. Bam is described as looking like a troll by Jack, but this may to be the fact, as it is heavily implied as friendly banter.

Other evidence of Bam's strength is the fact that he can rugby tackle adults to the ground and even defeat them by merely battering them with his shotgun or clubs.

Personality
Bam is described as being in a constant good mood and always happy. He is said to be one of the only things that kept everyone going, due to his good mood and stubbornness to continue on, no matter the loss. He is also shown to be quickly forgiving, such as when he forgives Ed for leaving Piers behind on the coach. Despite his innocent and good intentions he can be described as quiet annoying by the other boys, but overall he is liked by all of them. He is also shown to be fiercely loyal, such as carrying Piers onto the coach and going with Jack across South London.

When he is stuck underground at the Oval cricket stadium it is hinted that he is afraid of the dark.

Equipment
Bam uses multiple equipment during The Dead, e.g. his shotgun or the binoculars.

Greg's shotgun - Bam gains this when Jack gives it to him as they try and fight off Greg on the coach. Bam uses it on multiple occasions within the book and is one of the best shots with it, though he too isn't vastly experienced with it. Even after he runs out of shells for it he continues to use it as a club.

Binoculars - Bam receives his binoculars from Ed outside the Oval cricket stadium when he reveals that he is short sighted.

Bed parts - at the beginning of the book, before he gets Greg's shotgun, Bam uses bed parts as a weapon to fight of the teachers at Rowhurst.

Abilities
Bam is shown to have multiple abilities throughout The Dead, such as being good at fighting and whilst not shown directly it is stated multiple times that he is a great rugby player. Bam also states that he could survive without the help of Greg or the others as he took a SAS survival course with his dad once. Bam is also shown to have some experience with guns, as he knows how to reload the shotgun and is also one of the best aims with it.

Relationships
Ed Carter - Bam and Ed have a close friendship and they enjoy joking about together. They are also shown to be loyal to each other and Bam goes to lengths to protect Ed and Jack. Ed is upset by Bam's death later in the books, and frequently remembers him and Jack.

Jack - Jack and Bam are shown to have a close friendship, similar to his with Ed's. Bam is loyal to Jack, as shown when he decides to help Jack get home. Jack and Ed could be described as Bam's last best friends with the loss of his rugby mates.

Johnno - Johnno is one of Bam's best friends and both used to be close, and Bam is upset by his death. He used to like old rock bands, e.g. Led Zepplin.

Piers - Piers is one of Bam's best friends and the two were close before the disease broke out. They both played on the rugby team together, and Bam tries to protect Piers when he is injured at the fight at the FEZ. He is angry and upset at Piers' death after he is abandoned on the coach with Greg and the sickos.

Sullivan brothers - the Sullivan brothers, Anthony and Damien are both part of Bam's rugby group, and are some of his best friends. They die early on during The Dead.

Jordan Hordern - not much is known about their relationship.

DogNut - Bam and DogNut don't seem to have a particularly close relationship though they do get on fine and could be considered friends. Bam seems to make light of DogNut's care free persona, and jokes about it with Jack and Ed. DogNut seems to show some care and sadness when he learns of Bam and Jack's deaths.

Matt Palmer - Bam and Matt's relationship isn't shown in much light, but it is assumed that Bam shares everyone else's feelings towards Matt and his new religion. Bam mostly seems to make light of Matt's religion and laughs it off with the others.

Greg Thorne (St. George) - Bam and Greg have a bickering relationship. Greg looks down on the kids on the coach, but Bam takes great pride in being able to prove Greg wrong. Greg has a great hate towards Bam nearer the end of the novel and blames him, along with Jack and Ed for his son, Liam's death. Greg eventually kills Bam in 'revenge'.

Kwanele - Little is shown of Kwanele and Bam's relationship, although it is likely that Bam has the same contempt for Kwanele as all the others do for his lack of work and fear of dirtying his suit.

Brooke, Courtney and Aleisha - Bam's relationship with the three girls is barely mentioned or shown, and so not much is known.