British West Indies Regiment
Encyclopedia
In 1915 the British Army
formed a second West Indies regiment from Caribbean volunteers who had made their way to Britain
. Initially, these volunteers were drafted into a variety of units within the army, but in 1915 it was decided to group them together into a single regiment, named the British West Indies Regiment. The similarity of titles has sometimes led to confusion between this war-time unit and the long established West India Regiment
. Both were recruited from Caribbean blacks and a number of officers from the WIR were transferred to the BWIR.
Initially the new regiment was made up of men from:
The British West Indies Regiment played a significant role in the First World War especially in Palestine and Jordan where they were employed in combat roles against the Turkish Army. A total of 15,600 men of the British West Indies Regiment served with the Allied forces. Jamaica contributed two-thirds of these volunteers, while others came from Trinidad and Tobago,
Barbados, the Bahamas, British Honduras, Grenada, British Guiana (now Guyana), the Leeward Islands, St Lucia and St Vincent. Nearly 5,000 more subsequently volunteered to join up.
High wastage led to further drafts being required from Jamaica
, British Honduras
and Barbados
before the regiment was able to begin training. The regiment totalled twelve battalions, and engaged in a number of roles and theatres. The British West Indies Regiment was finally disbanded in 1921.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
formed a second West Indies regiment from Caribbean volunteers who had made their way to Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. Initially, these volunteers were drafted into a variety of units within the army, but in 1915 it was decided to group them together into a single regiment, named the British West Indies Regiment. The similarity of titles has sometimes led to confusion between this war-time unit and the long established West India Regiment
West India Regiment
The West India Regiment was an infantry unit of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. The regiment differed from similar forces raised in other parts of the British Empire in that it formed an integral part of the...
. Both were recruited from Caribbean blacks and a number of officers from the WIR were transferred to the BWIR.
Initially the new regiment was made up of men from:
- British GuianaBritish GuianaBritish Guiana was the name of the British colony on the northern coast of South America, now the independent nation of Guyana.The area was originally settled by the Dutch at the start of the 17th century as the colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice...
—A Company - TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
—B Company - Trinidad and St VincentSaint Vincent (island)Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
—C Company - GrenadaGrenadaGrenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
and BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
—D Company.
The British West Indies Regiment played a significant role in the First World War especially in Palestine and Jordan where they were employed in combat roles against the Turkish Army. A total of 15,600 men of the British West Indies Regiment served with the Allied forces. Jamaica contributed two-thirds of these volunteers, while others came from Trinidad and Tobago,
Barbados, the Bahamas, British Honduras, Grenada, British Guiana (now Guyana), the Leeward Islands, St Lucia and St Vincent. Nearly 5,000 more subsequently volunteered to join up.
High wastage led to further drafts being required from Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, British Honduras
British Honduras
British Honduras was a British colony that is now the independent nation of Belize.First colonised by Spaniards in the 17th century, the territory on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, became a British crown colony from 1862 until 1964, when it became self-governing. Belize became...
and Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
before the regiment was able to begin training. The regiment totalled twelve battalions, and engaged in a number of roles and theatres. The British West Indies Regiment was finally disbanded in 1921.
Battle honours
- The Great War (11 battalions): Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1916–18, Italy 1918, Rumani, Egypt 1916–17, Battles of GazaBattle of GazaBattle of Gaza may refer to:* Battle of Gaza , fought between Ptolemy I of Egypt and Demetrius I of Macedon* Battle of Raphia, also known as Battle of Gaza, fought between Ptolemy IV of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom in 217 BC* Three World War I battles between British...
, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Battle of MegiddoBattle of Megiddo (1918)The Battle of Megiddo took place between 19 September and 1 October 1918, in what was then the northern part of Ottoman Palestine and parts of present-day Syria and Jordan...
1918, Nablus, Palestine 1917–18Sinai and Palestine CampaignThe Sinai and Palestine Campaigns took place in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I. A series of battles were fought between British Empire, German Empire and Ottoman Empire forces from 26 January 1915 to 31 October 1918, when the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottoman Empire and...
and in World War I 81 medals for bravery were won, and 49 men were mentioned in despatches.