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West India Regiment
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The West India Regiment (WIR) 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 part of the British Empire in that it formed an integral part of the regular British Army.
West India Regiments were initially raised in 1795 by recruitment amongst freed slaves from North America and by purchase of slaves in the West Indies, (as were the Corps of Colonial Marines).
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Encyclopedia
The West India Regiment (WIR) 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 part of the British Empire in that it formed an integral part of the regular British Army.
Origins
The West India Regiments were initially raised in 1795 by recruitment amongst freed slaves from North America and by purchase of slaves in the West Indies, (as were the Corps of Colonial Marines). By 1800 most of the WIR recruits were bought from slave ships arriving from Africa and trained into regular units with a reputation for courage and effectivness. In 1807 some 10,000 black slave-soldiers in the West India Regiments of the British Army were freed under the Mutiny Act passed by the British parliament that same year.
After the slave trade was ended, recruits continued to be obtained from freed slaves in West Africa. The WIR soldiers became a valued part of the British forces garrisoning the West Indies, where losses from disease and climate were heavy amongst white troops. The African soldiers by contrast proved better adapted to tropical service. They served against locally recruited French units that had been formed for the same reasons. Free African, mulatto and slave soldiers, militia and para-military forces played a prominent and often distinguished role in the military history of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Nineteenth Century
The new West India Regiments saw considerable service during the period of the Napoleonic Wars, including participation in the British attack on New Orleans. In 1800 there were 12 battalion sized regiments with this title. The numbers were reduced after 1815 but during most of the remainder of the nineteenth century there were never less than two West India Regiments. In 1888 these were merged into a single regiment comprising two battalions. A third battalion was raised in 1897, but was disbanded in 1904.
Uniform
For the first half century of its existence the WIR wore the standard uniform (shako, red coat and dark coloured or white trousers) of the English line infantry of the period. The various units were distinguished by differing facing colours. One unusual feature was the use of slippers rather than heavy boots. In 1856 a very striking uniform was adopted for the regiments modelled on that of the French Zouaves. It comprised a red fez wound about by a white turban, scarlet sleeveless jacket with elaborate yellow braiding worn over a long-sleeved white waistcoat, and dark blue voluminous breeches piped in yellow. This distinctive uniform was retained for full dress throughout the regiment until 1914 and by the band until disbandment in 1927. It survives as the full dress of the band of the modern Barbados Defence Force.
Final Years
The regiment served in West Africa throughout the 19th Century, and saw limited action in the Middle East during the First World War. After the war, the 1st and 2nd battalions were amalgamated into a single 1st Battalion in 1920. This was disbanded in 1927. The reasons for disbandment were primarily economic. The West Indies had long been a peaceful military backwater with limited defence requirements and the substitute role under which the WIR had provided a single battalion as part of the garrison in Britain's West African possessions had become redundant as local forces were raised and expanded there.
Officers
Overall the WIR had a good record for discipline and effectiveness, although there were three separate mutinies between 1802 and 1837. A factor in these (and a weakness in the WIR throughout its history) was that it did not always attract a high calibre of British officer. Prevailing social attitudes meant that service with "black infantry" was not a popular option during the nineteenth century and many of the more capable officers saw their time with the WIR as simply a stepping stone to more sought after assignments. Long serving British officers and non-commissioned officers, who had built up ties of mutual respect with their men, had mostly dispersed or retired by the end of World War I and in its final years of service the WIR was led by officers seconded from other British regiments for relatively short assignments.
Revival in 1958
In 1958, with the foundation of the Federation of the West Indies, it was decided to raise the West India Regiment once again. Initially, the 1st Battalion was formed from the nucleus of the Jamaica Regiment. The 2nd and 3rd battalions were also formed by 1960. However, the Federation was short lived, and the regiment again disbanded by 1962, with the constituent battalions becoming the infantry regiments of the two largest islands:
Battle Honours
- Dominica, Martinique 1809, Guadeloupe 1810, Ashantee 1873-4, West Africa 1887, West Africa 1892-93-94, Sierra Leone 1898
- The Great War (2 battalions): Palestine 1917-18, E. Africa 1916-18, Cameroons 1915-16
British West Indies Regiment
Surprisingly limited use was made of the long serving regulars of the West India Regiment during World War I. However, in 1915 a second West Indies regiment was formed from Caribbean volunteers who had made their way to Britain. Initially, these volunteers were drafted into a variety of units within the British Army, but in 1915 it was decided to group them together into a single regiment, named the British West Indies Regiment.
Initially the new regiment was made up of men from:
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.
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 Gaza, El Mughar, Nebi Samwil, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Battle of Megiddo 1918, Nablus, Palestine 1917-18
Caribbean Regiment
Another West Indies regiment was formed in 1944, this time called the Caribbean Regiment. This consisted of members of the local militia forces, as well as direct recruits. The regiment conducted brief training in Trinidad and the United States of America, before being sent to Italy. Once there, the regiment performed a number of general duties behind the front lines - these included the escort of 4,000 PoWs from Italy to Egypt. Subsequently, the regiment undertook mine clearance around the Suez Canal. The regiment returned to the Caribbean in 1946 to be disbanded, having not seen front line action - this was due to inadequate training and partly because of the political impact in the British West Indies if it had incurred heavy casualties.
Sierra Leone Creoles
As noted above the West India Regiment provided detachments for service in West African for over a hundred years. This began when the 2nd WIR was sent to Sierra Leone to quell a rebellion of 'settlers' (freed slaves) in 1819. Upon completion of their service some soldiers of this and subsequent WIR regiments remained in West Africa intermarried with other Sierra Leone Creole Settlers, whose descendants today are the Sierra Leone Creole people.
See also
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