Batman (military) Batman (military) 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 pack saddle with his officer's kit during a campaign. The U.K. English term is derived from the obsolete "bat", meaning "pack saddle" (from French "bât", from Old French "bast", from Late Latin "bastum"). A batman's duties often include: The action of serving as a batman was referred to as "batting". In armies where officers typically came from the upper
Woman giving Money to a Servant-Girl de Groot : "30. LADY WITH A SERVANT-GIRL. Sm. n. To the right in a room, paved with white and brown tiles, sits a lady. She wears a red jacket trimmed with fur and a skirt of the same colour ; on her lap lies an embroidery-cushion. She is giving money from her pocket to a servant-girl who has a market-pail in her right hand. A child is pulling the girl to the left by her apron. By the open window to the right is a table with a cloth, upon which are placed a mug and a glass on