Soldiers of the British West Indies Regiment on the Albert to Amiens Road, September 1916
The West India Committee, one of the leading British-Caribbean charities operating in the UK, has strived to recognize the contribution made by Caribbean soldiers to the Allied effort during the First World War.
As noted on the Centenary News.com website:
“The West India Committee explains that it was ‘at the heart of the British Caribbean’s war effort’. In 1915, it established its own Contingent Committee to coordinate efforts to get men from the region to the front… Some 16,000 men volunteered for the newly-formed British West Indies Regiment. Soldiers from the BWIR served on the Western Front, in the Middle East & Africa… Their participation was not, however, treated as that of equals. The military authorities largely confined the regiment’s duties to ‘labour’ activities, including the digging of trenches, building roads, provision of stretcher-bearers and working in ammunition dumps.”
Their efforts were however recognized by some of the commanders in the field, especially in Palestine and Jordon where the soldiers were employed in operations against Ottoman forces. During the Palestine Campaign General Allenby sent the following telegram to the Governor of Jamaica:
“I have great pleasure in informing you of the gallant conduct of the machine-gun section of the 1st British West Indies Regiment during two successful raids on the Turkish trenches. All ranks behaved with great gallantry under heavy rifle and shell fire and contributed in no small measure to the success of the operations”
According to released figures by the end of the war, some 185 men from the BWIR had been killed in action and almost 1,100 had perished of sickness and disease. Thanks to the efforts of the West India Committee their sacrifice will hopefully be remembered.