The British West Indies Regiment, 1914-1918 by Cedric L. Joseph - 2008

Georgetown, Guyana: Free Press, 2008. Staple-Bound Pamphlet. First Edition. Near Fine. Stamp from Austin's Book Services to title page. Label scar and light rubbing to pictorial card covers. Not from a library. No remainder mark. ii + 46 pages. Discount available for academic libraries.

A tragic tale of deception and discrimination by an arrogant caste of military officers and colonial officials. At the outbreak of war in Europe 1914 there was a great upsurge of patriotism for the Empire among West Indians. The Colonial Office sought a way to recognize and encourage West Indian participation in the mother country's struggle. On the other hand, the War Office saw black West Indians only through racial lenses and sought every possible way to avoid using black troops, particularly not in opposition to white forces. As the war wore on, the War Office eventually sent six West Indian battalions to France; not to fight, but to provide labor: carrying ammunition, digging cable trenches and gun emplacements, loading and unloading at the docks, and constructing railways. Despite this policy, some West Indian battalions eventually took part in raids in which their performance was exemplary, winning an impressive collection of awards.

In Italy, after the war ended, West Indian battalions were assigned to labor, including laundry and cleaning latrines for white British troops. The camp commandant said that he "had no intention of treating West Indians like British troops" ... "they were only niggers and were better fed and treated than any nigger had a right to expect," crudely summing up official attitudes to West Indians during the war. This prompted a group of about sixty NCO, meeting in secret, to form the short-lived Caribbean League, calling for equal rights, self-determination and closer union in the West Indies. The League dissolved but its legacy was manifest in the thrust towards federation and closer unity evinced by the next generation of West Indians.