Samuel Grant

Killed in Action on the 18/07/1916 at Montauban / Delville Wood (part of the Battles of the Somme)

The Battalion arrived in France on the 01/02/1916 and were part of the 106th Brigade, 35th Division. The Division was largely comprised of locally raised units known as 'Bantams', manned by troops who were under the normal regulation minimum height of 5 feet 3 inches. The formation of the 'Bantams' In 1914, Alfred Bigland, the Member of Parliament for Birkenhead, pressed the War Office for permission to form a Battalion of men who were under regulation size but otherwise fit for service. Within a few days, some 3,000 men had volunteered, many of whom had previously been rejected as being under height. The original men were formed into the 1st and 2nd Birkenhead Battalions of the Cheshire Regiment (later re-designated the 15th and 16th Battalions). Other regiments began to recruit similarly : the Lancashire Fusiliers, West Yorkshires, Royal Scots, and Highland Light Infantry most notably. Many of the recruits were miners (including Samuel). Eventually these units were formed into the 35th Division. The 'Bantams' were very popular at home and were often featured in the press. After frequent bar brawls in Glasgow, the cantankerous 18th Battalion of the Highland Light Infantry, a Bantam Battalion, gained such a fierce reputation that they were nicknamed the Devil Dwarfs by the locals. By the end of 1916, it was found that the general fitness and condition of men volunteering as bantams was no longer up to the standard required. Brigades were informed that no more undersized men would be accepted, and the Divisions lost their bantam status as replacements diluted the number of small men in the mix. Ulster 'Bantams' - On 08/04/1915, Belfast newspapers announced that men between 5 ft and 5ft 3 could now enlist into units of the 36th (Ulster) Division. The only way that they could have enlisted before this was to go to Great Britain to join a bantam unit. The Division took part in the Battles of the Somme 1916, but in specific phases known as the fighting for Arrow Head Copse and Maltz Horn Farm and the fighting for Falfemont Farm, both in late July. Samuel was Killed in Action in the 3rd week of the British Somme Offensive at Montauban / Delville Wood. SEE PHOTOS x 17 FOR THE BATTALION WAR DIARY JULY 1916. See Directory for Samuel's older brother Private Robert Grant's page. See photos for Samuel's Medal Index Card, his name on the 1911 Census Record, his Army Register of Soldiers Effects, his Service Medal and Award Rolls, his name on the Thiepval Memorial x 2, his CWGC Grave Registration and the Highland Light Infantry Cap Badge. Finally, SEE PHOTOS x 10 FOR THE 35th DIVISION BOOK 1st - 18th JULY 1916, the 35th Division Order of Battle x 14 (the Division Samuel was with when he died), myself at Thiepval Memorial in July 2023, Samuel listed on the Thiepval Memorial (taken by myself in July 2023) and Newspaper clippings x 2 (Coatbridge Express x 1 and Coatbridge Leader x 1).