Bantam (military)
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A bantam, in British Army usage, was a soldier of below the army's minimum regulation height of 5 ft 3 in (160 cm).[1]
During the
Bantam units enlisted from industrial and coal-mining areas where short stature was no sign of weakness. The name derives from the town of
The first "bantam battalions" were recruited in
When the permission was granted, news spread across the country and men previously denied the chance to fight made their way to Birkenhead, 3,000 successful recruits being accepted for service into two new bantam battalions in November 1914. The requirement for their height was between 4 ft 10 in (147 cm) and 5 ft 3 in (160 cm). Chest size was one inch (2.5 cm) more than the army standard.[3]
The men became local heroes, with the local newspaper, The Birkenhead News, honouring the men of the 1st and 2nd Birkenhead Battalions of the
See also
- Sidney Allinson has published a thorough study: The Bantams: The Untold Story of World War One.[10]
- Category:Bantam battalions
- 143rd Battalion (British Columbia Bantams), CEF
- 216th Battalion (Bantams), CEF
Notes
- ^ de Castella, Tom (8 February 2015). "Bantams: The army units for those under 5ft 3in". BBC News Magazine. Retrieved 9 February 2015.
- ^ McGreal, pp. 17–22.
- ^ McGreal, pp. 22–35.
- ^ McGreal, pp. 35–42.
- ^ McGreal, passim.
- ^ Daniel, pp. 225-6.
- ^ Scott, passim.
- ^ Davson, passim.
- ^ Whitton, passim.
- ^ Allinson, passim
References
- Allinson, Sidney (June 2009). The Bantams. ISBN 978-1-84884-030-0. Archived from the originalon 2 February 2011.
- Lt-Col H.M. Davson, The History of the 35th Division in the Great War, London: Sifton Praed, 1926/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2003, ISBN 1-84342-643-9.
- Stephen McGreal, The Cheshire Bantams: 15th, 16th and 17th Battalions of the Cheshire Regiment, Barnsley:Pen & Sword, 2006, ISBN 1-84415-524-2.
- Caroline Scott, The Manchester Bantams, The Story of a Pals Battalion and a City at War: 23rd (Service) Battalion, The Manchester Regiment (8th City), Barnsley: Pen & Sword, 2016, ISBN 978-1-78346-389-3.
- Daniell, David Scott (2006). Cap of Honour: 300 Years of The Gloucestershire Regiment (3rd ed.). Sutton Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-0-75094-172-3..
- Lt.-Col. F.E. Whitton, History of the 40th Division, Aldershot; Gale & Polden, 1926/Uckfield: Naval & Military Press, 2004, ISBN 978-1-843428-70-1.
External links
- "Bantam Battalions". Imperial War Museum. Archived from the original on 10 July 2006.
- "What was a Bantam?". 1914-1918.net. Archived from the original on 30 August 2001.
- "The lost Souls - one family's war sacrifice". BBC Local Gloucestershire. October 2002.