{"id":1225,"date":"2020-06-16T07:23:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T06:23:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/historyheritageculture\/?post_type=projects&#038;p=1225"},"modified":"2021-11-05T09:25:11","modified_gmt":"2021-11-05T09:25:11","slug":"caribbeansgreatwar","status":"publish","type":"projects","link":"https:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/historyheritageculture\/projects\/caribbeansgreatwar\/","title":{"rendered":"The Caribbean&#8217;s Great War"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"float: left; margin: 0;margin:0 20px 20px 0;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XiYYlyvRVDc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p> <strong><em>The Caribbean\u2019s Great War<\/em> was a Heritage Lottery funded project to highlight the involvement of the Caribbean and her people in the First World War<\/strong>.\u00a0The West India Committee was the heart of the Caribbean&#8217;s war effort in Britain and in 1915 established the West Indian Contingent Committee in response to the British Government&#8217;s decision to raise a West Indian army.\u00a0<strong>The records held by the Committee provide\u00a0a rare\u00a0insight into the Caribbean&#8217;s role in the First World War,\u00a0<\/strong>and much of what is now available has not been seen for a century. As a part of the project, a temporary exhibition was staged at the <strong>Museum of London Docklands<\/strong>\u00a0 in the <em>London, Sugar and Slavery<\/em> gallery at the Museum of London Docklands and ran from 6 November 2015 &#8211; November 2016, having been extended by six months due to popular demand.<\/p>\n<p>Official records on the service of the British West Indies Regiment were destroyed during the Blitz, and the Committee&#8217;s records help our understanding of this hidden history. 16,000 volunteered in the regiment and they served in the Middle Eastern, African and European theatres of the war. Over 1,500 perished, mainly though disease. <strong>The British West Indies Regiment earned the following battle honours for their service:<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 52\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p><em><strong>Messines 1917<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Ypres 1917<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Polygon Wood<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Broodseinde<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Poelcappelle<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Passchendaele<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Pursuit to Mons<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>France and Flanders 1916\u201318<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Italy 1918<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Rumani<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Egypt 1916\u201317<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Battles of Gaza<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>El Mughar<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Nebi Samwil Jerusalem<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Jaffa<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Battle of Megiddo 1918<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Nablus<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Palestine 1917\u201318<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p>For more information on the British West Indies Regiment and the role of the Caribbean during the First World War, please visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/historyheritageculture\/topics\/caribbeansgreatwar\/\">Topics<\/a> page.<\/p>\n<p>The War Diary of the 1st Battalion British West Indies Regiment, the Committee&#8217;s minutes from the war and the\u00a0meticulously detailed West India Committee Circulars from 1914-1918 shed light on this story. The records feature in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/historyheritageculture\/archives\/\">Archive<\/a><\/strong> section of\u00a0this website, and\u00a0the West India Committee has shared\u00a0its photo albums from the period which can be found\u00a0in the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/caribbeansgreatwar\/gallery\/\">Gallery<\/a><\/strong> section.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>You can also find a free eBook, education pack and poster for young people in the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/historyheritageculture\/downloads\/\">Downloads<\/a><\/strong> section alongside databases for fallen West Indian servicemen courtesy of the <strong>Commonwealth War Graves Commission<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The West India Committee&#8217;s unique resources allow the organisations and individuals involved in the project to foster\u00a0a greater understanding of the Caribbean&#8217;s experience of the Great War,\u00a0thereby strengthening\u00a0our\u00a0understanding of the millions of servicemen\u00a0from the Commonwealth who bravely fought and died for Britain and the shared heritage\u00a0which connects us all.<\/p>\n<div class=\"page\" title=\"Page 3\">\n<div class=\"layoutArea\">\n<div class=\"column\">\n<p><strong>This project would not have been made possible without the invaluable support of the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Museum of London, Lord Ashcroft, Sir Hew Strachan, Richard Smith, the British Army, the Jamaican Defence Force and a band of hard-working and dedicated volunteers.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"margin: 20px 0;\"><div class=\"qrcswholewtapper\" style=\"text-align:left;\"><div class=\"qrcprowrapper\"  id=\"qrcwraa2leds\"><div class=\"qrc_canvass\" id=\"qrc_cuttenpages_2\" style=\"display:inline-block\" data-text=\"https:\/\/westindiacommittee.org\/historyheritageculture\/projects\/caribbeansgreatwar\/\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"featured_media":1330,"template":"","class_list":["post-1225","projects","type-projects","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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