A batman or an orderly is a soldier or airman assigned to a commissioned officer as a personal servant. Before the advent of motorized transport, an officer's batman was also in charge of the officer's "bat-horse" that carried the officer's kit during a campaign. The

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

term is derived from the obsolete ''bat'', meaning "

pack saddle A pack saddle is any device designed to be secured on the back of a horse, mule, or other working animal so it can carry heavy loads such as luggage, firewood, small cannons, or other things too heavy to be carried by humans. Description Idea ...

" (from French ''bât'', from

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...

''bast'', from

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

''bastum'') The military term long predates the appearance of the fictional superhero Batman.

Duties

A batman's duties often include: * acting as a "runner" to convey orders from the officer to subordinates * maintaining the officer's

uniform A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, ...

and personal equipment as a

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...

* driving the officer's vehicle, sometimes under combat conditions * acting as the officer's bodyguard in combat * digging the officer's foxhole in combat, giving the officer time to direct his unit * other miscellaneous tasks the officer does not have time or inclination to do The action of serving as a batman was referred to as "batting". In armies where officers typically came from the upper class, it was not unusual for a former batman to follow the officer into later civilian life as a

domestic servant A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

By country

France

In the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (french: Armée de Terre, ), is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. It is responsible to the Government of France, along with the other components of the Armed Force ...

the term for batman was ''ordonnance'' ("orderly"). Batmen were officially abolished after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. However, in the 1960s there were still batmen in the French Army.

Germany

In the German Army the batman was known as ''Ordonnanz'' ("orderly") from the French "ordonnance", or colloquially as ''Putzer'' ("cleaner") or as ''Bursche'' ("boy" or "valet"). The main character Švejk of the antimilitarist, satirical novel ''

The Good Soldier Švejk ''The Good Soldier Švejk'' () is an unfinished satirical dark comedy novel by Czech writer Jaroslav Hašek, published in 1921–1923, about a good-humored, simple-minded, middle-aged man who pretends to be enthusiastic to serve Austria-Hungar ...

'' by the Czech author

Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czech writer, humorist, satirist, journalist, bohemian and anarchist. He is best known for his novel '' The Fate of the Good Soldier Švejk during the World War'', an unfinished collection of farcical inc ...

is the most famous portrayal of a batman drafted into the

Austro-Hungarian Army The Austro-Hungarian Army (, literally "Ground Forces of the Austro-Hungarians"; , literally "Imperial and Royal Army") was the ground force of the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy from 1867 to 1918. It was composed of three parts: the joint arm ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. (The 1967 German song "''

Ich war der Putzer vom Kaiser Ich may refer to: * Ich, a German pronoun meaning ''I'', also a Middle English form of ''I'' * The ego, one of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * ''Ich'' (album), an album by German rapper Sido * I ...

''" is actually based on the British instrumental hit "

I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman "I Was Kaiser Bill's Batman" was a hit single in 1967 composed by British songwriters Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway. It was a novelty record, performed mostly by whistling. The name Whistling Jack Smith, credited on the most commercially succes ...

" of the same year, with original German lyrics.)

India

The old British term "orderly" continued into the post-independence

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

. It has now, however, been replaced with the

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

word ''sahayak'', which translates as "assistant" or "helper". There have been suggestions to do away with the practice, as the Indian Navy and Indian Air Force already have.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh Army, officers and officer cadets have civilian orderlies. In Bangladesh Air Force, they are called batmen.

Italy

In the

Italian Army "The safeguard of the republic shall be the supreme law" , colors = , colors_labels = , march = ''Parata d'Eroi'' ("Heroes's parade") by Francesco Pellegrino, ''4 Maggio'' (May 4) ...

the term for batman was ''attendente'', from the Italian verb ''attendere'' (same meaning of the English verb ''to attend''). ''Attendenti'' were eventually abolished in 1971.

Nigeria

The term ''Orderly'' is in use for both the military and police assistants.

Pakistan

The term "batman" in the Pakistan Army dates from the period of the British Indian Army. In the modern Pakistan Army, civilian personnel are employed in this role and are designated as NCB (Non-Combatant Bearer) or (Non-Commissioned Batman). The term implies that the present-day batman is not a soldier or part of the fighting cadre of the army, and works only as a personal servant to each officer. The employment of NCBs in the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

and the Pakistan Navy is not officially recognized. However both these services pay their officers an extra allowance comparable to the average pay of a household servant.

Russia and the Soviet Union

17 2398 Book illustrations of Historical description of the clothes and weapons of Russian troops

The Imperial Russian Army used the term ''denshchik'' (russian: Денщик) for a batman. In the Russian Empire higher-ranking cavalry officers often chose Cossacks for these roles as they could be reasonably depended on to survive combat, and were also known for resourcefulness on

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

. However, they were hired help, and had to be provided with a horse also. The lower-ranking officers from serf-owning families brought a servant from home they were familiar with, particularly the

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

officers that did not require additional protection in combat, and tended to leave the servants with the unit

baggage train ''Wagon Train'' is an American Western series that aired 8 seasons: first on the NBC television network (1957–1962), and then on ABC (1962–1965). ''Wagon Train'' debuted on September 18, 1957, and became number one in the Nielsen ratings. It ...

. After the abolition of

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which deve ...

in the Russian Empire (1861), many officers went on campaign without servants. Although the positions were abolished in the post-revolutionary Soviet Union, the recognition that higher-ranking officers required assistance soon fostered an unofficial reintroduction of the role through secondment of an NCO to the officer's staff, usually also as the driver, which also at one stage became their unofficial role and title as many officers often "lived" out of their vehicles. The term was borrowed from the French, but adopted to Russian pronunciation as ''ordinarets'' (russian: Ординарец). Several ''ordirnartsy'' of the

marshals Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

and generals commanding fronts and armies during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

wrote memoirs about their service. For example,

Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov ( rus, Георгий Константинович Жуков, p=ɡʲɪˈorɡʲɪj kənstɐnʲˈtʲinəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐukəf, a=Ru-Георгий_Константинович_Жуков.ogg; 1 December 1896 – ...

's "driver" was a semi-professional racing car driver Aleksandr Nikolaevich Buchin who met Zhukov by accident on the first day of the war when Zhukov's previous elderly driver failed to get the vehicle he was in out of the rut. Buchin drove Zhukov throughout the war and although he began the war as a private, he ended the war with the rank of captain. Buchin wrote his memoirs called ''One hundred and seventy thousand kilometres with Zhukov'', at the suggestion of the marshal in the 1970s.

Sweden

''Kalfaktor'', derived from calefactory and entering the Swedish language during the 17th century, was a soldier assigned to tend to an officer from the rank of platoon leader and higher. The duties was mainly focused on practicalities like maintaining the officer's personal equipment and uniform, make sure meals and sleeping quarters are prepared and so forth, but also to remind the officer to get rest when needed and to avoid unnecessary risks.

Turkey

The term "emir eri" (literally "order private") was used for a soldier that attends an officer. The practice was abolished in 1950.

United Kingdom

The official term used by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the First World War was "soldier-servant". Every officer was assigned a servant, usually chosen by the officer from among his men. The term ''batman'' replaced this in the inter-war years. Batmen were among the casualties of the Great Depression, and by the Second World War only senior officers of the army and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

were officially assigned batmen, with junior officers usually sharing the services of one batman among several officers. Batwomen also served in the women's services. Batman was usually seen as a desirable position. The soldier was exempted from more onerous duties and often got better rations and other favours from his officer. Senior officers' batmen usually received fast promotion to

lance-corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

, with many becoming

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

s and even sergeants. The position was generally phased out after the war. Officers of the

Household Division Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country's most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with ...

however still have orderlies, because of the high proportion of ceremonial duties required of them. In the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

, stewards performed many of the duties of batmen in the other services. Aboard ship, only captains and admirals were assigned personal stewards, with the other officers being served by a pool of officers' stewards. Most vessels carried at least two stewards, with larger vessels carrying considerably more. The Royal Marines used the term Marine Officer's Attendant (MOA). The term "orderly" was often used instead of "batman" in the colonial forces, especially in the British Indian Army. The orderly was frequently a civilian instead of a soldier. However, from 1903 to 1939 four Indian officers from different regiments were appointed each year to serve as "King's (or Queen's) Indian Orderly Officers" in attendance on the monarch in London. While performing some routine orderly functions the main role of these officers was to represent the Indian Army in

full dress uniform Full dress uniform, also known as a ceremonial dress uniform or parade dress uniform, is the most formal type of uniforms used by military, police, fire and other public uniformed services for official parades, ceremonies, and receptions, ...

at ceremonial functions in front of the British public who might otherwise seldom be made aware of its existence. In the British Armed Forces, the term "batman" or "batwoman" was formerly also applied to a civilian who cleaned officers' messes or married quarters. In the Royal Air Force, free married quarters cleaning services were phased out for all officers except

squadron leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr in the RAF ; SQNLDR in the RAAF and RNZAF; formerly sometimes S/L in all services) is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is als ...

s or above in command appointments as of 1 April 1972. One famous example of officer and batman during the Second World War was British actor

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

and fellow actor Peter Ustinov. Niven and Ustinov were working on the film ''

The Way Ahead ''The Way Ahead'' (also known as ''Immortal Battalion'') (1944) is a British Second World War drama film directed by Carol Reed. The screenplay was written by Eric Ambler and Peter Ustinov. The film stars David Niven, Stanley Holloway and Willi ...

'', as actor and writer respectively, but the difference in their ranks—Niven was a

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

and Ustinov a private—made their association militarily impossible; to solve the problem, Ustinov was appointed as Niven's batman. At the start of the

Battle of Gazala The Battle of Gazala (near the village of ) was fought during the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War, west of the port of Tobruk in Libya, from 26 May to 21 June 1942. Axis troops of the ( Erwin Rommel) consisting of German an ...

in the Second World War, Major General Frank Messervy was captured by the Germans on 27 May 1942, but having removed all insignia, managed to bluff the Germans into believing he was a batman. As such, he was not closely guarded by his captors and managed to escape with other members of his staff to rejoin Division HQ the following day.Richard Mead, p.298

United States

Aides are junior commissioned officers who are available to support some of the needs of general officers who serve in command positions in the rank of

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and above, and those of

Flag Officers A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

in the grade of Rear Admiral (lower half) and above in the Navy and Coast Guard. These aides "perform tasks and details that, if performed by general or flag officers, would be at the expense of the officer’s primary military and official duties." Their assistance, however, is restricted to those tasks which are directly related to the officer's official duties. In addition to officers being assigned as aides de camp, all the US Services, including the US Coast Guard, also use enlisted personnel in support of General Officers and Flag Officers. This program is officially known as the Enlisted Aide Program. Generally the personnel are military cooks however in recent years, any enlisted person could volunteer to serve in this position. They attend a joint service course for Enlisted Aides and advanced culinary course for cooks. Many are often sent on to education outside the military to become chefs and butler training. Some will also be used as stewards and stewardess on very senior officer aircraft. In addition General and Flag officers are assigned a driver. Drivers may get additional training but not always in driving, taking their service's or another service's driver course and or other government agency's driving schools. Only personnel in the Enlisted Aide Program can serve as an Enlisted Aide. Drivers, admin personnel and others on the personal staff are often but not always selected locally. Ordinarily, enlisted service members would be prohibited from performing services as an aide. "No officer may use an enlisted member as a servant for duties that contribute only to the officer's personal benefit and that have no reasonable connection with the officer's official responsibilities, according to the Department of Defense instruction 1315.09 for Enlisted Aides. In the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

the term "striker" or "dog robber" (a slang term implying that the soldier ate table scraps otherwise given to the officer's pet dog) was unofficially used, although that could also be applied to a junior officer who acted as a

gofer A gofer, go-fer or gopher is an employee who specializes in the delivery of special items to their superior(s). Examples of these special items include a cup of coffee, a tool, a tailored suit, or a car. Outside of the business world, the term ...

to somebody with high rank. The actor

James Garner James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor. He played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including ''The Great Escape (film), The Great Escape'' (1963) with Steve McQueen; Paddy ...

played such a role in the film '' The Americanization of Emily'' (1964).

Fiction

Dorothy L. Sayers Dorothy Leigh Sayers (; 13 June 1893 – 17 December 1957) was an English crime writer and poet. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. She is best known for her mysteries, a series of novels and short stories set between th ...

's novel ''

Whose Body? ''Whose Body?'' is a 1923 mystery novel by Dorothy L. Sayers. It was her debut novel, and the book in which she introduced the character of Lord Peter Wimsey. Plot Thipps, an architect, finds a dead body wearing nothing but a pair of pince-n ...

'' (1923) and subsequent novels,

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A dilettante who solves mysteries fo ...

's valet

Mervyn Bunter Mervyn Bunter is a fictional character in Dorothy L. Sayers' novels and short stories featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. Literary Background Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957) wrote a number of novels and short stories concerning the adventures of ...

was also his batman during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Bunter is said to have helped rescue Lord Peter after he was buried alive when shell fire collapsed a dugout he was in and was credited with saving his life on several occasions both during and after the war. Bunter was also instrumental in helping his master recover from and cope with what was then called "shell shock" ( post traumatic stress disorder) upon his return to civilian life. Bunter taught himself photography in order to assist His Lordship in his detective activities. In the novella ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...

'' (1933), Mr. Chipping's former student, Peter Colley, is killed during the Great War attempting to save the life of his batman and childhood antagonist-cum-friend, Perkins.

's '' Good Soldier Švejk'' begins his WWI military career as a batman to army chaplain Otto Katz; Katz loses him at cards to Senior Lieutenant Lukáš, whose batman he then becomes. In

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

media,

Alfred Pennyworth Alfred Thaddeus Crane Pennyworth is a fictional Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, most commonly in association with the superhero Batman. Pennyworth is depicted as Bruce Wayne's loyal and tire ...

( Batman's butler, created in 1943) has been referred to multiple times as "Batman's batman." Currently unsubstantiated rumors have it that Alfred was also Thomas Wayne's (Bruce Wayne's late father) batman when both men were in military service. In the ''

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

'' comic strip '' Dan Dare'' (first published in 1950), Digby is Dan's batman.

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

took the relationship of his characters Samwise Gamgee and

Frodo Baggins Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in '' The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly ...

(introduced in ''

The Fellowship of the Ring ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' is the first of three volumes of the epic novel ''The Lord of the Rings'' by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It is followed by '' The Two Towers'' and ''The Return of the King''. It takes place in the ficti ...

'' in 1954) from his observations while in military service during

of the relationship between a batman and his officer. In 1967, the pseudonymous Whistling Jack Smith (actually a session vocalist) recorded an all-whistling number called "

", which went Top 5 in the UK. Despite a title that baffled most Americans (who no doubt were thinking of the other Batman), the tune hit number 20 on the '' Billboard'' charts. In the musical film '' Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' (1968), Caractacus Potts's father was Lord Scrumptious's batman. In the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...