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RMS Danube Oct 1915 British West Indies Regiment plus Merchant and Planters Contingent (1st)
RMS Danube Oct 1915 British West Indies Regiment plus Merchant and Planters Contingent (1st)
Remembering the second contingent of the 1st Battalion BWIR and a Contingent of Merchant and Planters (168 men in total) who sailed from Trinidad (109) / Barbados (29) on RMS Danube on 18/19 October, stopping at Plymouth (where BWIR were landed) and arriving at Tilbury Docks on 1 November 1915. The contingents, including servicemen from Grenada, Guyana (30) and St. Lucia were invariably given a hearty send off by their friends and well-wishers. On arrival in London, the Merchants and Planters were received by Mr AE Aspinall, Hon. Secretary of the West India Committee, who put them in touch with various recruiting centres, and assisted them in joining their respective regiments. Between October 1915 and March 1916, Seaford was used as a training camp for the men from the West Indies in preparation for fighting in Europe. Withnoe camp, Whitsand Bay, Plymouth was also an arrival camp. The new arrivals were inadequately clothed for the harsh realities of the British cold in winter and the huts badly insulated. As a result the camps became rife with diseases and men lost their lives totally unnecessarily. For those who died extra information has been collected from the Soldiers' Effects records, but for lots of these men there are only medal records because they managed to survive; (the medal rolls are however split by island and show their original battalion). So they sailed from home, served in the war and then sailed home again, with the regiment not invited to the Peace (Victory) Parade held in London July 1919. Still to find: Ralph Lionel Fabien b1887 [c1901 Student in Hertfordshire], Vicente (Vincent) Leon Farfan b1885. // Barbados BWIR service numbers from 1015; Trinidad BWIR numbers from
Created by: Deborah102878
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Born 1896
Died 1967
Air Force (RAF/RFC) 15466 Air Mechanic 2nd Class Royal Flying Corps
Other Empire Force Trinidad Light Infantry Volunteers
British Army M2/150359 Acting Lance Corporal Royal Army Service Corps Motor Transport
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More about Claude Mcclean Vincent -
Born 1895
Other Empire Force Trinidad Light Infantry Volunteers Motor Cycle Section
Air Force (RAF/RFC) 15476 Air Mechanic 2nd Class Royal Flying Corps
Air Force (RAF/RFC) Temporary Flight Second Lieutenant Royal Flying Corps
More about Errol George Rooks -
British Army 1032 Acting Serjeant British West Indies Regiment 1st Battalion
British Army 79688 Acting Serjeant Royal Army Medical Corps
More about Allan H Ferry -
Born 1892
British Army 429 Trooper Household Battalion
More about Martin Austin Govia -
Born 1885
British Army Second Lieutenant Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders
British Army Second Lieutenant 2nd King's African Rifles 2nd King's African Rifles
More about John Noel Crawford -
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British Army 1828 Private King Edwards Horse
British Army 135542 Private Royal Army Medical Corps
British Army 302933 Private Tank Corps
More about Leo De Verteuil -
British Army 10095 Acting Serjeant Machine Gun Corps
British Army 1145 Acting Serjeant British West Indies Regiment 1st Battalion
British Army 1858 Acting Serjeant London Regiment 31st Battalion
More about Arthur Carleton Evelyn -
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Born 1897
British Army 1295 Private King Edwards Horse
More about Joseph Oliver De Nobriga -
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British Army 1307 Private King Edwards Horse
British Army 414475 Private Labour Corps
More about Andres Gonzales -
Born 1899
British Army 12269 Private Army Cyclist Corps
British Army 3771 Trooper Life Guards 2nd Battalion
More about Vernon Joseph Grantham -
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British Army 1315 Trooper King Edwards Horse
More about Frederick O'brien Fahey -