Caribbean Regiment

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Caribbean Regiment
Caribbean Regiment soldiers in Egypt
Active1944–1946
CountryUnited Kingdom
Branch British Army
TypeInfantry
EngagementsWorld War II

The Caribbean Regiment (fully the First Caribbean Regiment or 1st Caribbean Regiment, and sometimes referred to as the Carib Regiment) was a

Second World War. The regiment went overseas in July 1944 and saw service in the Italy, Egypt and Palestine
.

History

There had been resistance from the War Office to forming a new West Indian regiment, but those who made their own way to the UK were able to enlist in the British Army. Nearly 10,000 British West Indians travelled and joined the army in Britain. Following discussion between the Colonial Office and the War Office, the Caribbean Regiment was formed in April 1944 of 4,000 volunteers. The recruits were drawn from the Imperial fortress of Bermuda and all over the British West Indies;[1] most were members of local Volunteer Defence Forces. A few officers and non-commissioned Officers were also drafted in from other British Army units.

Many Bermudians were already serving in various regiments and corps of the army (a Bermudian officer becoming a prisoner-of-war at

Battle of Norway
) when the Second World War began, with many others joining thereafter.

In Bermuda, the manpower of the reserve units (the

Lincolnshire Regiment, but a handful of volunteers from the Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Volunteer Engineers were attached for the transit, separating to join their parent corps in England. This contingent departed Bermuda in June, 1940, following which concern of denuding the garrison meant a moratorium was placed on any further drafts being sent overseas by the local units (although many soldiers were to train as pilots at the Bermuda Flying School on Darrell's Island, and those that qualified were discharged and transferred to the Royal Air Force). By 1943, the United States Army and United States Marine Corps establishment in Bermuda was larger than that of the British Army, the threat posed by the German navy had greatly diminished, and the moratorium against overseas contingents was lifted.[2][3]

A detachment of 104 officers and men (Major W. W. Fuller in command, three other commissioned officers, one warrant officer, 2 Company Quarter Master Sergeants, 3 other sergeants, 14 junior non-commissioned officers, and 80 privates) from the Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Militia Infantry (conscription had been introduced to Bermuda shortly after the declaration of war, but those servicemen who were drafted to the Caribbean Regiment volunteered to serve overseas), arrived on two ships on 13 and 23 April 1944 to form the training cadre of the new regiment at Fort Eustis, a US Army base near Williamsburg, Virginia.

The Bermudians prepared for the arrival of the volunteers from West Indian colonies (which had been divided militarily into South Caribbean and North Caribbean areas),

OBE, MC, The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), who became the Commanding Officer of the new regiment. Whether a badge was authorised for the regiment is unclear. Although created as a regular line infantry regiment of the British Army, the regiment never appeared in the Army List, in which the badge of a unit, if one was authorised, is described. At least some of the Bermudians wore the General Service Corps cap badge, which was used by the Bermuda Militia Infantry (for which no unique badge had been authorised) while serving with the Caribbean Regiment. A blue, yellow, and green regimental flash was authorised for the Caribbean Regiment, and the Bermudian contingent was authorised to wear the name Bermuda as a distinguishing mark.[5]

In order of the number of strength, the regiment was made up of draughts from

Lincolnshire Regiment in 1943 to form the temporary Command Training Battalion, stationed at Prospect Camp (the location of the Command Headquarters of the Bermuda Garrison
) while training for the war in Europe (the two contingents had separated before proceeding overseas).

The new regiment trained in

PC) read:[6]

I should like to send to you and to all the officers and men in your batallion my best wishes on your departure for an active theatre of operations. the army is glad to welcome you and I feel sure that the men from the Caribbean and Bermuda will carry on the fine traditions founded by their fathers in the last war.

The message from the

PC MP, Royal Field Artillery
) read:

Now that your battalion has left its home base to take its place overseas with Allied Forces, I should like to send you and all ranks my best wishes for your success. I know how much you and your friends in the Caribbean and Bermuda have wished for this opportunity, and I have no doubt that you will make the very most of it, and that your bearing and discipline, in all circumstances, will fulfil the high expectation of us all. Good luck to all of you.

The Regiment left the USA for

Free French Forces before their arrival, and the Regiment went on to Naples, Italy, in July 1944, where it was employed in general duties behind the front line. L/BDA/95 Private W.C. Baxter of the Bermuda Militia Infantry died there on 4 September 1944 of an abscess of the liver and was buried at the Naples War Cemetery.[7][8] In October, it escorted 4,000 German prisoners of war from Italy to Egypt, where it was used in mine clearance work around the Suez Canal
area.

The regiment never saw front line action. This was due partly to inadequate training (with only a single battalion, it had not trained as part of a larger brigade; the smallest unit the British Army normally fielded on its own) and partly because of the anticipated political impact in the British West Indies if heavy casualties had been incurred.

The Caribbean Regiment left Port Said in December 1945 on the HMT Highland Monarch, reaching St. George's Town, Bermuda, on 5 January 1946. The Bermudian contingent disembarked there and was transferred by the rescue tug HMS St. Blazey (W 46)[9] to the City of Hamilton, from where the one-hundred officers and other ranks were driven in lorries to Prospect Camp. The remainder of the Caribbean Regiment departed Bermuda aboard HMT Highland Monarch for the West Indies (the ship, which also carried other British armed forces personnel returning to their homes, then continued on to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where it collected the crew of the Graf Spee and other Germans for repatriation to Germany),[10] where the Regiment was disbanded. The Bermudian contingent members were returned to their original unit (the Bermuda Militia Artillery, into which the remaining personnel of the Bermuda Militia Infantry had been transferred) before being placed on the Reserve and discharged from active service. Some were recalled to form part of the contingent sent from the various Bermuda-raised units to the London Victory Celebrations of 1946, and placed back onto the Reserve on their return to Bermuda.[11]

Gallery

  • Bermudian CSM Edward A. Lee (right) of the Caribbean Regiment circa 1940, during his earlier service with the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps.
    CSM Edward A. Lee (right) of the Caribbean Regiment circa 1940, during his earlier service with the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps
    .
  • 1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment soldiers armed with a Lee-Enfield No. 4 rifle and Bren light machine gun training in Egypt in 1945
    1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment soldiers armed with a
    Bren
    light machine gun training in Egypt in 1945
  • 1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment soldiers train with the Thompson submachine gun in Egypt in 1945
    1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment soldiers train with the Thompson submachine gun in Egypt in 1945
  • 1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment soldiers training in Egypt rush from a Universal carrier to take up position with a Bren gun in 1945
    1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment soldiers training in Egypt rush from a
    Universal carrier
    to take up position with a Bren gun in 1945
  • 1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment dance band in Egypt in 1945
    1st Battalion, Caribbean Regiment dance band in Egypt in 1945

See also

References

  1. ^ "Caribbean Regiment Trains In U.S. For Active Service". Trinidad Guardian. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. 8 June 1944. SOMEWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES, June 8 - The first British unit to train on United States soil since before the revolutionary war is an infantry line unit composed of volunteers recruited in the Caribbean and Bermuda, consolidated here, and in training for eventual overseas duty, it was revealed today
  2. ISBN 0969651716
    .
  3. ISBN 9780921560111
    .
  4. ^ "Caribbean Regiment Trains In U.S. For Active Service". Trinidad Guardian. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. 8 June 1944. The Bermuda contingent under Major W. W. Fuller was the first to arrive in the United States and immediately began preparation for reception of the remainder of the regiment which, having collected at Trinidad and Jamaica, arrived soon after.
  5. ^ "Caribbean Regiment Trains In U.S. For Active Service". Trinidad Guardian. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. 8 June 1944. A regimental "flash" in blue, yellow and green was designed for all ranks; and the Bermuda contingent was granted permission to wear that name as a distinguishing mark.
  6. ^ "Caribbean Regiment Trains In U.S. For Active Service". Trinidad Guardian. Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. 8 June 1944.
  7. ^ Private W C BAXTER, Service Number: L/BDA/95. Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  8. ^ Death of B.M.I. man in Mediterranean area, The Royal Gazette, City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 9 September 1944.
  9. ^ HMS St. Blazey (W 46). U-Boat Net
  10. ^ Private papers: Naval Guard Diary, HMT HIGHLAND MONARCH, 1946. Catalogue number: Documents.6603. Imperial War Museum
  11. ^ 100 Militiamen return from overseas duty, Page 1 and Page 8, The Royal Gazette, City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. 7 January 1946

External links

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