Do Your Little Bit: The 143rd Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force, “BC Bantams”

Abstract

The 143rd Battalion is a little-known battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. A Bantam Battalion, one that enlisted men under the standard 5'4" heigh restriction, it was the first of it's kind in Canada. Barracks for the battalion were constructed at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, BC, and summer training took place at Sidney Camp - both locations now almost lost to the historic record. This article brings to life the details about this lost piece of history, including many previously unidentified photographs.