Bantam (military)

Bantam units enlisted from industrial and coal-mining areas where short stature was no sign of weakness.

The name derives from the town of Bantam in Indonesia, from which a breed of small domestic fowl allegedly originated.

One of the miners, rejected on account of his size, offered to fight any man there as proof of his suitability as a soldier, and six men were eventually called upon to remove him.

[2] 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.

Heavy casualties, transfers to specialized Army tunneling companies and tank regiments, the introduction of conscription, and replacements by taller men, eventually led to Bantam units becoming indistinguishable from other British divisions.