Officers' batmen

[Michael]

I've often wondered where officers' batmen were recruited from and this forum is bound to have the answer.

What category of officer were entitled to batmen and were they chosen locally from the Battalion ?

This question is in the context of the Great War period but what arrangements are in place today ?

Michael

[Guest stevebec]

In the AIF every officer was entitled to a batman.

There was no training as the batman were any soldier in the company that the officer was in.

Many Officers took their batman from unit to unit while others did not.

I have a number of Camel Corps officers who took their batman into the AFC when they transfered.

There was on the Table of organization for a Camel Company places for all batman in a Camel Company there in the HQ.

S.B

[Jonathan Saunders]

Mick,

Not a direct answer to yr question but as an example, my Grandfather joined the RMLI in October 1914 and then served with the RM right through to September 1945, mainly serving on ships until the late 30's from what I can make out. During WW2 he served as a Batman on a temporary basis to high ranking officials. I have always believed this to be because of a combination of his age, his exemplary service record and that he was considered loyal and well trusted, as borne out by his letters of reference after he left the service. I dont know if these appointments were on shore or at sea, but if the latter, then his sea legs may have also been a factor. However I presume his length of service and exemplary service record and character were the deciding factors.

[Joe Sweeney]

This is from the "Field Service Manual" dated Oct 1914 for an Infantry Battalion Expeditionary Force.

"Batman in the field are allowed at the rate of one each for each dismounted officer, or mounted officer with one horse, and two for each mounted officer with two horses. All batman are fully armed and trained soldiers, and are available for duty in the ranks."

In 1914 only the Liuetent\ant-colonel had two horses.

Joe Sweeney

[Muerrisch]

batmen appointed from within the ranks of the battalion

[uncle bill]

From some accounts that I have read Batmen were sometimes soldiers of a more advanced age or even men considered jittery in the front lines. My great uncle served in the 6th Dorsets and kept in touch with his batman after the war. His daughter kept up the tradition and sent the batman's family a christmas card up to 2002 ! She sadly passed away last month so I fear that this small link with the Great War will be lost.

[Jock Bruce]

In the subaltern's diary I'm transcribing, his batman is one of the soldiers from his platoon and a butcher by trade.

In a letter I saw recently written by the battalion transport officer whilst sick in UK, he asks another officer in Bn HQ to take on his batman since he 'isn't really fitted for the trenches' - the soldier concerned later transfered to RFC/RAF.

Jock

[Bob Coulson]

I have also read accounts of officers batmen being former employees of the gent in question before hostilities.

Bob.

[Michael]

All interesting answers, thank you.

michael

[Tom Morgan]

Like Bill and Jock,I've read of examples of offficers choosing batmen simply in order to keep them out of harm's way - perhaps because they were extremely young, or to give them a job where they couldn't really do any harm, such as the jittery ones.

But I also thought that a batman was supposed to act as a sort of bodyguard when the officer went into action. Perhaps an officer could choose to dispense with this requirement?

Tom

[Jock Bruce]

Tom,

may it have been different at different echelons ? By which I mean a platoon or company commander's batman accompanied him in action as bodyguard, runner, whatever (the individual in the diary was KIA later in the war) whilst being transport officer's batman was possibly a safer option.

Jock

[Tom Morgan]

You're right Jock, I'm sure. I hadn't considered that aspect and was only thinking about "in the trenches" officers.

Tom

[Jonathan Saunders]

Mick ... just another aside, Bert Webb, who was the subject of the Rainham enquiry you emailed to me, had been acting as a servant on the WF to his Colonel who was at Staff HQ. The Colonel was subsequently killed by a sniper and Bert returned to service with the guns.

[Guest Hussar]

From the memoirs of Travis Hampson M.C., who was a Medical Officer with N0. 20 Field Ambulance.

'Today I chose another servant, one Strudwick, a grocer's assistant in civil life and said to be a relative of the cricketer. He is going to do for Hull and myself, my ASC batman will just look after the horse. There is no establishment of RAMC servants, but it doesn't matter if they do their ordinary duty as well, and it means a bit of extra money for them.'

[Andrew P]

One of the men from my local area became a batman to an officer shortly after he joined the battalion in 1917. He was a theological student.

In April 1918 he wrote a letter to his officer requesting to be able to relinquish his duties as batman and become a member of the regular platoon.

This was granted and a few weeks later he was killed with the 51st Battalion at Villers Brettoneux.

[pat]

My grandfather always remembered a comment by his batman. He (the batman) had a large family including twins and triplets. He is supposed to have commented gloomily "It soon mounts up when they come twos and threes"

I had always assumed batmen were just assigned. But having read this interesting track, I think maybe my Grandad was trying to keep the man out of harm's way because of the big family.

(To be perfectly honest I'm not sure whether this was his WW1 or WW2 batman, but its a nice story anyway.)

Pat

[peterd]

According to my father, my grandfather was batman to Captain Sebag-Montefiore (not sure of spelling) in the DLI. Supposedly he was appointed batman because he was clean looking and also a member of the Bn concert party!

Just shows that clean living and a lively sense of humour pays off - he survived the war although a wiff of gas meant he could not go back down the pit.

Peter

[Annette Burgoyne]

I missed this interesting thread back in August, when first started.

Captain Dugdale, M.C. dedicated his book to Pte. Jack Whittingham, his batman. Whittingham went on patrols in No Mans Land with his officer, all the time, Dugdale was Battalion intelligence Officer, so not that a cushy a job for some. Dugdale took Whittingham with him when he was posted to Brigade Staff.

Annette