We dedicate this work to all soldiers who fought, and continue to fight to give us the freedom we now have.

Sunday 28th June 1914, a member of the Serbian terrorist group, shot and killed Archduke Ferdinand, the heir to the Austro- Hungarian throne. This started a chain of events that led to Britain being dragged into WW1.

World War One which was 1914-1918 is also known as the Great War. Mainstream media portray World War 1 and 2 as an all White affair. Black soldiers are missing in action when it comes to interviews, documentaries, parades and war movies. This pale version of history then gives those who watch it the conscious and subconscious view that black people had nothing to do with any of the wars but remember, We were There’.

The Great War was not a European War fought exclusively by Europeans. There were many nationalities that came under the great British Empire at that time. Asian, West African, Canadian, Australian, Chinese and Caribbean soldiers they contributed resources and their lives to the War, so yes, ‘We were There’.

To understand the support given by African and Caribbean countries during WW1 it is important to recognise the global influence of the British Empire.

At its height, the British Empire was the largest empire in history. By 1922 it had one-fifth of the world’s population and almost a quarter of the earth’s total land area.

In the Battle of the Somme on 1st July 1916, 60,000 British men were killed or wounded, this created fear that the Imperial force would not be able to recruit enough men to replace the fallen ones. This led Britain to rely heavily upon its empire. That is why, we were there.

During both world wars the Caribbean region was important to Britain, as thousands of people from the region joined the British forces to work and fight for the ‘mother country’. West Indian and African loyalty to the British Empire remained strong throughout both world wars. The islands donated up to £60m in today's money to the war effort - cash they could ill afford.

The West India Regiment was an infantry unit of the British Army recruited from, and normally stationed in, the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. It was the longest serving black

regiment and formed an integral part of the regular British Army. The original intention was the recruitment of free blacks along with purchased slaves from the West Indian plantations. The regiment fought in campaigns in the West Indies, Africa, Cameroon, East Africa and Palestine.

In 1914 many West Indians left the colonies to enlist in the army in the UK and were recruited into British regiments. The War Office was concerned with the number of black soldiers in the army and tried to prevent people from the West Indies enlisting. The approval for a second West Indies regiment from Caribbean volunteers came on 19th May 1915, after discussions between the Colonial Office, the War Office and the intervention of King George V. On 26th October 1915, the British West Indies Regiment was established.

A total of 15,600 men of the British West Indies Regiment served with the Allied forces. Jamaica contributed two-thirds of these volunteers, while the rest came from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, British Honduras (now Belize), Grenada, British Guiana (now Guyana), the Leeward Islands, St Lucia and St Vincent. These numbers included White West Indians. The British West India Regiment was disbanded at the end of the war.

WW1 also mobilized women on all sides. Thousands served in the military in support roles, such as nursing or clerical work. Across the Caribbean islands women did their part organising Flag Day fundraisers, and sewing woollen garments for soldiers.

The British depended on Indian and African troops to do their fighting in Africa. Over two million people in Africa made huge sacrifices for the European Allies. 100,000 men died in East Africa and 65,000 men from the French North Africa and French West Africa lost their lives.

Walter Tull was born in Folkestone in 1888 of mixed parentage. His father was from Barbados, and his mother from Kent.

Walter was the first Black professional footballer in Britain. When WW1 broke out, Walter abandoned his football career to join the 17th Battalion of the Middlesex Regiment. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1917 as the first Black officer in the British Army. He was recommended for the Military Cross but never received it.

William Robinson Clarke was born in Kingston, Jamaica. At the age of 19, William paid his own passage to Britain with the outbreak of war. In 1915, he joined the Royal Flying Corps. In 1917, Clarke won his ‘wings’, and was promoted to Sergeant. He was the first black pilot to fly for Britain.

William died in April 1981. He is buried at the Military Cemetery at Up Park Camp, Jamaica. The Military Cemetery in Jamaica contains the graves of 105 Commonwealth war dead for WW1 and WW2.

There are centotaph’s and military museums in the Caribbean that commemorates the military history of the soldiers such as the St Vincent’s Cenotaph, The Barbados Museum, Jamaica Military

museum and the Bahamas’s Cenotaph. The Trinidad Military History and Aviation Museum commemorates their military history, it has artefacts on display including guns, knives, swords, uniforms, ammunition, radio equipment used by soldiers and military vehicles. In Trinidad there are posters that display the family trees of Trinidadian servicemen from the world wars.

The WW1 service records for the British West Indies Regiment and the West India Regiment are believed to have been destroyed by a German bombing raid that struck the War Office repository in Arnside Street, London in September 1940. However, an estimated 2.8 million service records survived the bombing or were reconstructed from the records of the Ministry of Pensions. There is a 40% chance of finding the service record of a soldier who was discharged at some time between 1914 and 1920.If an individual began their service with one of these regiments and moved to another unit, it is possible that you may be able to find their service record among those in The National Archives. Surviving First World War service records are now available on the ancestry website.

The Imperial War Museum is seeking to expand their holdings for any items, memoirs, photographs, publications, etc. that could be added to their collections. If you do have information it would be good to share it as once that missing link has gone it is forgotten. Remember we were there.