Lives of the First World War

'The Jamaicans from every part of the island who answered the call of the Empire and left for England a short time ago.' Remembering the 2nd Battalion (1st Jamaica War Contingent - 12 officers, 722 men in 10 Platoons) of the British West Indies Regiment who sailed from Jamaica under the command of Majors WD Neish and Findlater Lawrence Roper on 8 November 1915, having first collected men from Belize (previously British Honduras) on 4 November. There were also men from Antigua. They arrived at Plymouth on 26 November. All of the men were volunteers. 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. The 2nd Battalion transferred to Alexandria, Egypt on 9 February, arriving 21 February 1916. 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 // incomplete.

Created by: , Deborah102878