Bantams - Hardcover

Allinson, Sidney

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1848840306 ISBN 13: 9781848840300

Publisher: Pen and Sword Military, 2009

Synopsis

The Bantams tells the factual but well nigh incredible story of how the British and Canadian armies recruited over 50,000 short men to serve as front-line soldiers. Such Bantam battalions eventually numbered over twenty units in Britain, plus two battalions from Canada. The movement spread all over Britain, particularly the coal mining regions of Wales and Northern England, then to Canada, particularly among British immigrants there.

Canadian military historian Sidney Allinson's researches took him to Britain, Canada, the U.S., and the old battlefields of Flanders. He contacted over 300 survivors of the Bantams, to gather the many first-hand accounts of battle told in his book.

It reveals disturbing new information about battlefield executions by firing squads that was only recently released from British official records long held secret from the public. It adds even more poignancy to the story of how thousands of patriotic 'Bantams' -- not much taller than a rifle themselves -- well below the Army's 5ft 3in. minimum regulation height, flocked to the colors.

This book also describes the social conditions in Britain and Canada during the First World War. Patriotic fervor enabled many famed British regiments to recruit eager volunteers for bantam-designated battalions. English and Scottish Bantams fought along the Somme front, while Welsh Bantams helped win the Battle of Bourlon despite hideously large casualties.

In Canada, the 216th Bantam (Toronto) Battalion was recruited within a few weeks, and the 143rd B.C. Bantams was quickly raised on Vancouver Island. Soldiers from both these now-forgotten Canadian units served at Vimy Ridge and in other later battles.

About this title

Review

REVIEW BY RENEECOX.  "THE BANTAMS: The Untold Story ofWorld War I."  amzn.to/1OnTiKv
This book chroniclesthe forgotten plight of the little-known courage of undersized British mendetermined to join the armed forces and to fight for their country, oftenagainst amazing odds, during World War I. At the outset of the First World War,when men were volunteering in droves, many diminutive sturdy males, thoughpatriotic and fit, were being rejected because they did not meet the regulationminimum height requirements for enlisted soldiers.
Eventually, though, afew far-sighted men prevailed, and units of "Bantam" infantrymen ranging inheight between five feet and five-feet-three-inches was formed. After rigoroustraining, they were sent to fight in the trenches as bravely and effectively asany other soldiers. The book soon swings vigorously into fascinating details ofthe forming of the army units that became known as the Bantams, who like somany other soldiers were victims of wartime tactics of attrition which wastedlegions of soldiers. Through it all, the Bantams retained their courage andtheir sense of humour. The author has made it his task to tell their story. Andlike the bantam soldiers it depicts, this book is a small gem.
-- Renee V. Cox,Vancouver, BC, Canada.

Edition details

• Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1848840306
• ISBN 13: 9781848840300
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 320