West Indians: Forefathers of the Metropolitan Police was a year-long project, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, that explored the rich and varied history of the forerunner of the Metropolitan Police. The Thames River Police were founded in 1798 by the West India Committee to protect the West Indian trade passing through the Port of London. Based on a model of preventative policing, they predate the Metropolitan Police by 21 years and are recognised by UNESCO as the longest continuously serving police force in the world, existing today as the Met’s Marine Policing Unit. The interview below shows the young women who assisted with the project discussing their experiences.

The Caribbean’s Great War was a Heritage Lottery funded project that highlights the involvement of the Caribbean and her people in the First World War. The West India Committee was at the heart of the Caribbean’s war effort in Britain and in 1915 established the West Indian Contingent Committee in response to the British Government’s decision to raise a West Indian army. The records held by the Committee provide a rare insight into the Caribbean’s role in the First World War, and much of what is now available has not been seen for a century.