Why did Laurence Sterne feel affection for soldiers?

Laurence Sterne’s affection for soldiers was rooted in his own upbringing. His father, Roger Sterne, was an infantry officer who served in many battles during the War of the Spanish Succession. As a child, Sterne spent much of his early life in poverty, following his father's regiment as it moved throughout Ireland.

Sterne later channeled this personal history into his literary work, most notably through his sympathetic and gentle portraits of the characters Uncle Toby and Corporal Trim in his famous novel, Tristram Shandy.1