William Parkes of Newport - the last survivor of the Welsh Bantam Brigade
Photo reference number: 2406
William Parkes in Army uniform.
(Image found in the Napa Valley Register, December 15, 2000.
Reproduced under 'fair use', courtesy of the California Digital Newspaper Collection, Center for Bibliographic Studies and Research, University of California, Riverside, http://cdnc.ucr.edu)
William Parkes was born on 18 January 1896 in Newport, South Wales. His family lived in the Pill (Pillgwenlly) dockland area, where he was baptised at Holy Trinity Church on 16 February. He was the fifth of 11 children of an iron moulder called James Parkes and his wife Maria (nee Mills). In 1901 the family lived in Jeddo Street.
William tried to join the Royal Navy at the outbreak of WW1 but was turned down because he was too small at 5' 5" (1.65 m), instead he signed up for the merchant navy.
In 1915 he left the merchant navy and joined the 12th (Service) Battalion (3rd Gwent) of the South Wales Borderers when it was formed in Newport in March 1915; later, it became part of the Welsh Bantam Brigade.
The first Bantam Battalions had been formed in 1914 to accommodate small men with a maximum height of 5' 3" (1.60 m); William was 2" (5 cm) over this limit. Previously excluded from fighting units, these men were allowed to enlist provided they were grouped into special 'short stature' units. In some cases, recruits were underage because it was easier to lie about how old they were in a battalion for short men.
The Battalion landed at Le Havre as part of the 119th Brigade in the 40th Division on 2 June 1916 for service on the Western Front. Welsh poet and language activist Saunders Lewis also served in the 12th Battalion during World War I. Its first serious action was in April 1917, when the 40th and 8th Divisions attacked Gonnelieu, southeast of Cambrai. The 12th Battalion carried the formidable defences of Fifteen Ravine with great gallantry and skill, securing all their objectives for 26 killed and missing and 45 wounded. They counted 40 dead Germans in the position and many more beyond it. This was William's toughest action, and by the end, he was commanding his company after all the officers were killed.
The 12th Battalion performed a successful raid in May 1917, winning a Military Cross and eight Military Medals. They remained in the same sector throughout the summer, distinguishing themselves by capturing German patrols and by several raids. In one of these, carried out by two officers and 32 men, the Bangalore Torpedo, used to blow a path through the wire, failed to explode. The commanding officer cut the wire himself, led his men through the second trench and brought them out with only two casualties after inflicting heavy losses on the enemy.
Although 2" (5 cm) taller than the prescribed height when he joined, William and two other men regularly went out on night reconnaissance patrols together in No Man's Land because it was commonly believed that their shorter stature made them harder to see. He specialised in what he called 'reconnoitring', and in 2000, he stated: "Us little guys could hide much better than the tall guys."
William was discharged from service in London in February 1919 and worked on the docks, presumably in Newport.
He emigrated to America on the Adriatic' leaving Southampton on 6 October 1920 and arriving in New York on 15 October. At first, he stayed with relatives in Pennsylvania, where he was employed in the coal mines.
He settled in Napa Valley in 1932 and remained there until his death in 2002 - age 106 - the last survivor of the Welsh Bantam Brigade.
For more about William Parkes' amazing life follow the link below to Peter Brown's article on the Newport Past website.
