The Caribbean's Great War

The Caribbean’s Great War, a temporary display at the Museum of London Docklands, will acknowledge and celebrate the little known role played by the Caribbean during the First World War. The region’s main contributions to the war effort included supplying natural resources, donating cash contributions raised by committees from the region and London, and in providing more than 16,000 much needed soldiers each of whom bravely volunteered. These volunteers were initially drafted into a variety of units within the British Army, until the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) was established in 1915. It consisted of men of every class, creed and colour, reflecting the Caribbean as one of the most diverse places in the world. Housed within the London, Sugar and Slavery gallery, the new display will showcase a variety of items including recruitment posters, photographs of the BWIR, commemorative stamps and war honours awarded to the soldiers, many of whom bravely served on the Western Front in labour battalions as well as in front lines roles in Africa and the Middle East, taking on the Ottoman Empire. The display was created in partnership with the West India Committee, who opened up their vast archive and 500-year-old collections as part of their ongoing project The Caribbean’s Great War: The West India Committee’s Unique Perspective – a Heritage Lottery funded project that reveals the hidden history of the Caribbean during the First World War.

Suitable for
Any age

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk/se000048?id=EVENT542430