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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
http://caribbeanrollofhonour-ww1-ww2.yolasite.com/1st-merchants-contingent.php
Created by: , Deborah102878
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Born 1887
Died 1947
British Army 1839 Private King Edward's Horse 2nd Battalion
Air Force (RAF/RFC) 139295 Air Mechanic 3rd Class Royal Flying Corps
Air Force (RAF/RFC) 139295 Private 2nd Class Royal Air Force
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Born 1894
Air Force (RAF/RFC) 14755 Air Mechanic 1st Class Royal Flying Corps
Air Force (RAF/RFC) 14755 Air Mechanic 2nd Class Royal Flying Corps
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British Army 1022 Private British West Indies Regiment 1st Battalion
More about Ronald Barrow -
Born 1890
British Army Lieutenant British West Indies Regiment 1st Battalion
More about Vivian Joseph Maingot, M.b.e. -
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British Army 1069 Private British West Indies Regiment
More about Timothy R Waldron -
Born 1897
British Army 5227 Private London Regiment 28th london regiment (artist Battalion
Air Force (RAF/RFC) Cadet Royal Flying Corps
Air Force (RAF/RFC) Second Lieutenant Royal Air Force
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Born 1896
British Army 1042 Private British West Indies Regiment 2nd Battalion
British Army 1042 Private British West Indies Regiment 1st Battalion
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Born 1891
British Army 2432 Private British West Indies Regiment 5th Battalion
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Born 1896
Died 1972
British Army 1040 Private British West Indies Regiment
More about Joseph Chamberlain Hope -
Born 1894
British Army 1066 Private British West Indies Regiment 1st Battalion
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Born 1896
Died 1917
British Army 1059 Private British West Indies Regiment attached Inland Water Transport
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Died 1967
British Army 1239 Trooper Household Battalion
Air Force (RAF/RFC) Second Lieutenant Royal Flying Corps Royal Air Force
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Born 1888
British Army 1033 Lance Corporal British West Indies Regiment 5th (Service) Battalion
British Army 1033 Private British West Indies Regiment 2nd Battalion
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Born 1887
British Army Second Lieutenant West India Forces
Air Force (RAF/RFC) Lieutenant Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force
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