The Bantams

The citizens of Le Javre weren't prepared for the bizarre sight that greeted them after a British troopship arrived in their harbour in January, 1916, with a fresh contingent of reinforcements for the Western Front - the troops comically marched down the gangplanks and along the quay as though they were mocking the traditional image of the stalwart soldier. They were all about 5 feet tall, miniature Guardsmen, more like mascots than fighting men. And so the first battalion of Bantams, as they were officially called, prepared for battle. They soon proved they were equal in stamina and greater in valor than standared-sized soldiers. By 1918, more that 50,000 Bantams, including almost 2,000 from Canada, had been in the trenches and their casulalties were enormous, due in part to their heedless bravery. Yet has been forgotten or deliberately concealed by army historians, who are perhaps embarrassed by the episode and fear that such little men, and the army's need to use them, somehow revealed weaknesses in the British character. Their story is now told for the first time.