Raised in Birkenhead in 1914 the Bantams were unique as the average height of the volunteers was a mere five foot! Previously denied the opportunity to serve, these men seized this chance to join up. As a result the battalions comprised working class men from all over Britain - Welsh miners, sturdy London dockers, Lancashire mill workers and Merseyside laborers. As part of 35th (Bantam) Division, the Bantams fought on the Somme. The Bantams' casualties were so severe that by early 1917 the Division effectively ceased to exist. Thereafter reinforcements came from the General Pool. They suffered heavily again at Houlthust Forest. The 35th Division played a key part in stopping the German 1918 offensive. Some 900 members of these Battalions lost their lives in The Great War.
Raised in Birkenhead in 1914 the Bantams were unique as the average height of the volunteers was a mere five foot! Previously denied the opportunity to serve, these men seized this chance to join up. As a result the battalions comprised working class men from all over Britain Welsh miners, sturdy London dockers, Lancashire mill workers and Merseyside laborers.As part of 35th (Bantam) Division, the Bantams fought on the Somme. The Bantams casualties were so severe that by early 1917 the Division effectively ceased to exist. Thereafter reinforcements came from the General Pool. They suffered heavily again at Houlthust Forest. The 35th Division played a key part in stopping the German 1918 offensive. Some 900 members of these Battalions lost their lives in The Great War.
From the dawn of organized conflict, sub-standard men--the inverse of the elites that get the lion's share of our attention-- have served their countries. This is their untold history.
'Durham Pals' is a well-illustrated record of Great War service from 1914-1918. The Durhams were the largest regiment in the British army, and this book covers the war on the Western front including the Somme, as well as Italy.
At the dawn of the twentieth century Liverpool had 8 miles of docks thronged with cargo ships loading or discharging goods. When Britain declared war on Germany in the summer of 1914, Liverpool's geographical position demanded it be one of the chief home bases for wartime operations. It was a challenge the city accepted with relish and went on to become one of the most significant home-front contributors to the Allied victory. Justifiable, the city cenotaph proudly declares 'out of the north parts came a great company and a mighty army', but there is a forgotten army of patriotic civilians whose endeavours played a key role in the Allied victory. Despite an acute shortage of skilled labour, Liverpool led the way in the construction of munition factories and developed the required skills to 'feed the guns'. Inititally, men who were too old for military service produced shells, but a local factory became the first in the country to introduce women shell-makers, and this initiative was replicated throughout the nation As the men made the transition from street to trench, Liverpool and district developed into a vast arsenal employing approximately 30,000 women and producing a million shells a month. Civilians were also actively involved in tending the wounded, fund-raising for hospital equipment and ambulances and the provisions of home comforts for those at the front. When the German submarine onslaught almost severed Britain's maritime trade routes food rationing was introduced. Damaged ships limped into Liverpool were ploughed up as the nation 'dug for victory'. The city was also a portal through which thousands of American troops passed; they stayed briefly at Springfield Park Rest Camp before entraining south. This is the fascinating but largely forgotten story of how Liverpool provided the sinews of war.
