I’ve heard from Lyn who is the Project Lead for ‘Away from the Western Front’. ‘No Parades’ was commissioned by them as part of their First World War centenary project.
The project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in the UK and accordingly, they were able to commission Chris Hoban to compose this song for their National Music Project. They have requested that I include this within the post. And I am happy to do so.
Here is the National Music Project page that enables you to listen to other versions of the song and get access to a range of scores and audio files. Their project funding has ended, but they would still like to hear from anyone who would like to record their own performance of the song – instructions are on the website:
https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/projects/national-music-project/
As part of their National Music Project, they commissioned a song to explore the First World War from a different perspective. Musicians, soloists, choirs and brass bands were invited to perform the song. They have recorded two versions that you can play here.
Please do take a listen. And how about taking a crack at a version of your own?
From No Parades by Chris Hoban. Listen here:
Chris Hoban’s song pretty much sums up the experience of the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) in WW1. (And do give it a listen – it’s haunting in its story-telling and evocation of the music of the period.)
It’s a story of how racism bigotry and mistreatment betrayed the loyalty, patriotism and courage of 15,000 men all of whom volunteered to fight for the Empire.
It’s also a story of mutiny, colonialism and the kickstart of the movement for self-determination and independence.
What first spiked my interest in the BWIR was reading through the names in the record book of the Taranto Town Cemetery Extension.
The Town Cemetery was used for British and Empire burials from June 1915 to April 1919, but by January 1918, it was necessary to open a military extension. After the Armistice the 102 Commonwealth burials in the town cemetery were removed to this extension. There are now 449 WW1 Commonwealth burials in the extension.
There among the names of the dead are 147 from the British West Indies Regiment. Why were they there and what had happened to them? I started to get interested in the history of the regiment and that of course led to the Taranto mutiny of the winter of 1918-1919.
Here’s the story.
Taranto is an industrial town on the Mediterranean. Italy entered the war on the Allied side in May 1915 and the Royal Navy began using Taranto as a Mediterranean base soon thereafter.
Taranto became a key transit point on the supply lines to and from Egypt. Mesopotamia, Palestine and Salonika. Lines of communication were established between the eastern theaters of war that ran then through Taranto, Turin, Lyons and Le Mans to Cherbourg
It’s where ships came in to re-coal and where troops passed through on their way from the near east to the Western Front or back to Britain.
A huge tented encampment was set up to accommodate them and No 79 General and No 6 Labour Hospitals followed with more permanent brick and concrete structures added over time. It was a base and rest camp and labour units, including the 8th, 10th and 11th Battalions, British West Indies Regiment, were brought in to service the camp as well as load and unload the ships and trains.
In 1915 the British War Office – which had initially opposed recruitment of West Indian troops – created the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR). It served in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In spite of promises made at the time of recruitment, BWIR did not give black soldiers from the West Indies the opportunity to fight as equals alongside white soldiers. Instead, the War Office largely limited this trained infantry regiment to labour duties.
Over 15,600 West Indian men volunteered for the BWIR, two-thirds of whom were from Jamaica. Others came from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, British Honduras, Grenada, British Guiana (now Guyana), the Leeward Islands, St Lucia and St Vincent. 185 were killed and 1,071 died of illness as a result of the war.
The first battalions of the BWIR were stationed on the Suez Canal and were first used as labour battalions. They saw front line service in Palestine and Jordan serving with distinction as part of General Allenby’s force that drove out the Turks and contributed to the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. They earned medals and commendations for bravery and were mentioned in despatches.
Later BWIR battalions were sent to the Western Front and then to Italy where they served in auxiliary roles that included digging trenches, construction of roads and gun emplacements, acting as stretcher bearers, loading ships and trains, and working in ammunition dumps. This was dangerous work often carried out in France and Flanders within range of German artillery and sniper fire.
After the Armistice in November 1918, eight battalions of the BWIR – 8000 or so men – were stationed at Taranto in preparation for demobilization. They were joined by the battalions returning from Egypt and Mesopotamia many of whom had served in combat.
Long standing grievances and growing resentment over unfair treatment, pay and promotion issues had been brewing for some time and in early December they erupted.
This was a time of uprisings, riots and disturbances across the British Army. Men who had signed on for duration wanted to go home and get on with their lives. Mutiny and revolution were in the air.
The BWIR had some very specific long-standing grievances and a growing resentment over unfair treatment, pay and promotion issues and in December 1918 they reached boiling point.
The underlying issue was of course the betrayal of the promise made to them at recruitment: that they would be treated on an equal footing with the other regiments of the British army. Instead they had been primarily used for manual labor and treated as ‘native” labor battalions and not as front line troops.
Although designated as an infantry regiment and entitled to the same terms of service as other British regiments, commanders and officials often subjected the BWIR to the menial conditions dictated for ‘native’ corps. Military commanders and officials regarded the BWIR as inferior and treated them accordingly. On the Western Front they were excluded from facilities enjoyed by other British soldiers. The medical care and recreational facilities offered to West Indian troops was often inferior as a result. Estaminets – simple civilian-run cafes that offered the ubiquitous egg-and-chips respite from army food – were off-limits for Chinese and African Labour battalions and that restriction was extended to the BWIR, even though they were officially a unit of the British army. When they were wounded or became sick they were treated in ‘native’ hospitals and received poor treatment.
Equally problematic was the official reluctance to deploy West Indians as combat troops. It meant that they had fewer opportunities to show the battlefield courage so prized by the military; fewer opportunities for medals and decorations. Their contribution – carrying ammunition, loading trains, building roads, railways and gun emplacements, cleaning latrines, cooking, carrying the wounded, digging trenches and graves, clearing the deadly debris of battle – had none of the supposed warrior glamour and glory of the battlefield. Ironically, it was the labour battalions that built the graveyards and cemeteries that are the symbols of remembrance.
The Black Soldier’s Lament – written by Canadian veteran George A. Borden in the 1980s – reflects the bitter disappointment of the injustice, the sense of shame and loss of manhood.
At Taranto, soldiers reported being ostracized: “since we came here, we couldn’t understand why these British soldiers they didn’t seem to want any attachment with us. We had always seemed to get on good together in Egypt,” a soldier from British Guiana recalled. They were given labour duties, loading and unloading ships and trains, as well as being ordered to clean latrines for white units. Meanwhile, sick and wounded BWIR men continued to succumb to illness and disease.
In August 1918,12 men from Barbados had signed a respectful petition (you can read it here) outlining their grievances about pay pointing out that soldiers from white regiments had received a pay increase while they – together with “native” regiments – had not.
They specifically identified this as a betrayal of the promises made to them at the time of recruitment. In addition, black soldiers had not been permitted to rise through the ranks, despite good recommendations. The Hon. J C Lynch, Chair of the Recruiting Committee, sent a letter in support of the petition indicating the justice of the claims. He also described the respectable (middle class) and often professional or land-owning backgrounds from which these men came. The 12 signatories were Joseph Chamberlain Hope DCM, Vernon G Thomas, Edward E. Packer, Vincent Lionel Talma, Leslie A. Greaves, John Berkeley Johnson, L’Estrand C. Deane, Alexander L. Marshall, Lashington L. Skinner, T Thompson, Herman P.J. Ince, and G.F. Bowen.
Nothing came of this petition.
After Armistice Day, on November 11 1918, the eight BWIR battalions in Europe were concentrated at Taranto in Italy to prepare for demobilization. They were subsequently joined by the battalions from Egypt and Mesopotamia. The combat veterans arriving in Taranto from the east were subjected to the same discrimination and second class status and treatment as the labour battalions. Brigadier-General Cyril Darcy Vivien Cary-Barnard was base commandant known for his strict segregationist regulations. According to some accounts, the men had been refused leave to enter town and he forbade black soldiers from using facilities alongside white soldiers. They had separate canteens they were not allowed to go to the cinema when white troops were there. When sick they were sent to the ‘native’ hospital where they received inferior treatment. They were prevented from being able to rise through the ranks. They were employed on fatigues and laboring duties in spite of assurances that this would not happen. All of these men had volunteered to serve and all of this was counter to the promises of equal treatment and opportunity they had been given on recruitment.
Discontent was rife at Taranto just as it was across a broad spectrum of the British Army in the weeks after the Armistice. Canadian troops stationed in Britain, for example, staged three major riots. The BWIR had quite specific and particular grievances however, and they arose from the unequal and demeaning treatment they received.
Soldiers returning from the Middle East had enlisted first and were ready to be mobilized. They resented being used as porters for white soldiers in transit and they resented being subject to the rigid segregation policies that barred them from equal access to canteens and cinemas. The designation “native” was imposed denying the BWIR access to proper medical facilities
Major Thursfield of the 5th battalion protested to the camp commandant Brigadier-General Cyril Darcy Vivien Cary-Barnard about the betrayal of the promises made to the men.
Cary-Barnard was a decorated veteran of the Boer War where he served with Lumsden’s Horse. He served with distinction on the Western Front. He was decorated for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty, wounded, mentioned in despatches and promoted. And from October 1917, to 31 January 1919 he was Base Commandant, Taranto.
At camp commander, Cary-Barnard had a reputation for harsh discipline and a dismissive attitude toward the legitimate grievances of the men of the BWIR. Field punishment was meted out for even trivial offenses removing the discretion from junior officers whose attitudes he regarded as too lenient. Cary-Barnard’s response to Thursfield’s protest was abrupt, brutal, racist and dismissive.
The men were only niggers… no such treatment should ever have been promised them …they were better fed and treated than any nigger had a right to expect… he would order them to do whatever work he pleased, and if they objected he would force them to do it.
On 6 December 1918, sergeants from the BWIR forwarded a petition with 180 names to the Secretary of State repeating the demands of the earlier petition, including for the pay increase granted by Army Order No.1 1918 to all Imperial troops.
They also expressed their resentment at being barred from the possibility of rising through the ranks and outlined some of the history of West Indian service in the British forces where this color bar was not observed. They also requested an increase in the separation pay – money that was sent home to help their families. Inflation and war profiteering had led to huge increases in the prices of basic commodities and their families were suffering hardship in their absence.
Captain Reginald Elgar Willis of the 9th battalion had travelled with the fifth contingent from Kingston on March 30th 1917. Promoted to Lt.Col., Willis had a reputation as a harsh disciplinarian. On December 6th 1918, ordered his men to clean the latrines used by Italian laborers. They refused and some men surrounded his tent and slashed at it with knives and bayonets before dispersing. There was some shooting and wild talk. Some men made demands that demobilization process be speeded up so that they would be home by Christmas.
The next day the 9th and 10th battalions refused to work and there were clashes. They were forcibly disarmed and ordered on a route march. On December 8th, Pte. Samuel Pinnock was killed by Acting Sgt, Robert Richards who was charged with negligently discharging his rifle and was sentenced to four months labor. This was the only fatality during the mutiny period.
Unrest and insubordination continued for four days with men refusing refusing orders and refusing to work. Unnerved, the military authorities reacted harshly and swiftly. The camp commander requested support and a battalion of the Worcestershire Regiment and a machine gun company were order to Taranto traveling “in fighting order with ammunition in their pouches”. The mutineers were arrested.
The 9th battalion was disbanded and the men distributed among the other battalions. The whole regiment was disarmed. Sixty men were charged with mutiny and 47 were found guilty. Most received sentences of between 3-5 years. One man – Pte. Arthur Sanches – who was considered the ringleader – was sentenced to death. This sentence was commuted to 20 years penal servitude. (He did not serve full term as in 1934 he was a member of the delegation that presented a petition to the Governor of Jamaica – Sir Arthur Jelf – requesting improvements to the roads and water service supply on the lands granted to ex servicemen.)
Many accounts state that one man was executed for his part in the mutiny. This does not seem to be correct. One man was shot at dawn on January 20th 1919. He was Pte. Albert Denny of the 8th battalion who was executed by firing squad for the murder of Pte. Edgar Hilkiah Best 13573 10th Battalion of Barbados in a robbery on the 5th of September.
The British authorities did make concessions and mobilization plans were speeded up. The Colonial Office prevailed on the War Office and in February 1919 the BWIR got, in full, the increased separation allowances withheld from them in the Army Order No.1.
Even after the courts-martial the spirit of resistance continued.
Some of those who who had been convicted and repatriated to the West Indies staged further revolts; disturbances occurred on the SS Orca which docked at Kingston, Jamaica. There, BWIR men allied themselves with seamen repatriated from Britain to protest their treatment.
There was also discontent at Plymouth where in February 1919 four men of the BWIR were found guilty and received 2 years detention.
In the midst of an even harsher camp regime enforced after the revolt, on December 17th 50-60 sergeants of the BWIR met and formed the Caribbean League. They held four meetings in December and early January and discussed not only their grievances but also their plans for what to do when they returned home.
Out of their discussions emerged a sense of a pan-Caribbean identity and political awakening. They called for greater cooperation between the islands and mainland Caribbean territories and they talked of seeking independence and self-determination.
At the second meeting one man – Sgt. Baxter – said that the black man “should have freedom and govern himself in the West Indies” and that “force must be used and if necessary blood shed to obtain the object”. Such words would have alarmed the colonial establishment and probably drowned out the more modest aim of the League, “the Promotion of all matters conducive to the General Welfare of the islands constituting the British West Indies and the British Territories adjacent thereto.” They agreed to strike for higher wages on their return home. They talked of a Caribbean–wide governing body with a headquarters in Kingston, although the choice of Jamaica led to some inter-island rivalry and controversy about the location.This was a distinctly social democratic and reformist agenda but also problematic for those determined to maintain the status quo of economic and power arrangements.
At first the Caribbean League was treated with cautious approval by the military authorities as they saw it as a way to help contain and manage the discontent of the troops. At one of the later meetings however, one of the participants – Sgt. Leon Poucher, a Trinidadian reported to his commanding officer that they talk had turned toward self-government and strike action. This concern was relayed to the colonial authorities in the West Indies who were spooked by the thought of thousands of radicalized and angry ex-servicemen returning to their homes determined to seek change.
The Caribbean League did not survive demobilization which was completed by August 1919. Although it was short-lived it seems to have had a powerful and radicalizing impact on those who participated. It gave rise to a new and confident voice of resistance that was to make an impact on the politics and social conditions of the post-war Caribbean.
Take a look at this poem written at the time:
In some ways this new spirit was presaged by the thinking at enlistment. By joining the imperial war effort to fight for king and country many hoped to prove something. Look at this 1915 article in the Jamaican journal the Grenada Federalist:
As coloured people we will be fighting for something more, something inestimable to ourselves. We will be fighting to prove to Great Britain that we are not so vastly inferior to the white. We will be fighting to prove that we are no longer merely subjects but citizens – citizens of a world empire whose watch word should be Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood.
The was an opportunity to show proof of worth, of the right of equality and freedom. Deliberately keeping these men from the combat duties of the front line served to thwart those aspirations. It had instead another outcome – that of radicalizing a generation of activists. In the West Indies, a number of BWIR soldiers played important roles in the growth of the working class, union and independence movements. They organized unions, led protests, contributed to reform movements and they laid the groundwork for the move to self-determination and independence.
The BWIR served honorably in the Egypt, the Middle East, on the Western Front and in Italy. When given the opportunity, they proved themselves as combat troops. Faced with discrimination and humiliation they fought back against injustice.
The BWIR was kept away from the victory parades that marked the end of the war. It was disbanded in 1921.
In spite of their efforts, a confidential 1919 Colonial Office memo on the Taranto mutiny makes it clear that the British Government realized that things had changed:
Nothing we can do will alter the fact that the black man has begun to think and feel himself as good as the white.
Sources:
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Another mutiny was in 1915. The Sepoys in Singapore - the 5th Light Infantry. It contained up to one half of the regiment that was 850 Indian troops. It was 15 February 1915 and went for about a week. Eight British were killed, three Malay, fourteen British civilians, five Chinese and Malay civilians and one German.
As result more than 205 sepoys were court-martialed, and 47 were publicly executed. Cause of mutiny was not conclusively established.
Manimugdha S Sharma wrote here https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/singapore-mutiny-of-1915-a-standalone-episode-not-linked-to-freedom-struggle/articleshow/39563737.cms
I have always intended to learn more about this event. Thank you for the reminder.
Thank you so much for a the history that needed to be told. Difficult at times and as I am working on gathering information on BWIR and coming across this part of their story, as a person of mixed heritage who found out that her relative from Jamaica had served and died in WW1 and had served in BWIR 6th Btn (the same as Pvt Herbert Morris), a mental health nurse and a serving reservist I cannot begin to tell how you how this plight resonated on so many levels. Reading this article, painful it has been, also shows how the seed of independency of the Caribbean Island had been sown. The song written by Chris Hoban “No Parades ”Taranto just encapsulate the plight of these men. For that I thank him greatly for putting such a great piece together.
My passion and interest of learning more about the commonwealth soldiers contribution in WW1 especially from the Caribbean and Africa has now developed into a community initiative over the last few years. I believe the stories of those need to be told in order to re-address the balance of history not re-write it. History should not be cherry picked and these men's stories need to be told along the likes of those shot at dawn. Thank you once again.
Wondering if your relative was Private S Patterson (7947) who died on the 14th of May 1918 and is commemorated at Mazargues War Cemetery in Marseille.
There would have been several Patterson's in the BWIR of course. One of them was awarded a Royal Humane Society medal for trying to rescue a drowning man.
Yes that is my relative. Myself and my niece went to pay our respects in 2018. Truly emotional experience. A beautiful peaceful memorial site of which we walked to from the metro along Mazargues Avenue. We were blessed to have met one of the CWGC workers who told us more about the cemetery and we paid our respect to each and every soldier buried there before finally laying a wreath at Pvt S Patterson. The plan was to revisit with more family members in 2020 which has now been put on hold for now. We believe that he may have been heading to Italy from information gathered so far.
Hi Sandra - Thank you so much for your comment. And I completely agree - these stories need to be told and the history known. And Chris Hoban's song is haunting. I often find the words and the tune float unbidden into my mind.
I'm wondering about your relative who served with the 6th battalion BWIR. I'm now curious about what happened to him. Was he buried at Taranto?
I'm curious too about your community initiative and what that entails. I certainly wish you well with it.
All the best. And thanks again.
Hi Josie,
Yes that would be great. If you can send me your email address I will send you further details. will definitely be great to connect and I can show you what we have worked on in regards to community initiative.
I have had the humbling opportunity to track my great uncle who served in 6th btn of BWIR to his burial place in France. Look forward to hearing from you.
Hello Josie,
Thank you for your writings on the BWIR. This is a very important history that seems to be white washed and hushed. My grandfather fought in WW1 with the BWIR, 2nd Battalion. It is believed he fought in the Palestine campaign. Based on the records I have reviewed, his battalion didn't demobilize till after the mutiny at Taranto, but they would have returned to Jamaica with many of those men. I read in another source that the mutineers that were returned to the West Indies were sent back in irons, and that led to the uprising on the S.S. Orca, and the British warships watching over the disembarking of returning soldiers in Kingston. Do you have any information verifying that? My grandfather returned and seemed to be exiled (migrated?) to Cuba, where my mother and her siblings were born, except my last living uncle. Any information would be helpful.
Hi again Chris:
Here's some clarification on the 2nd Battalion and Taranto. The 2nd served with the 1st in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Jordan Valley (Palestine). A small number of men from the 2nd also served in East Africa.
This is from "Jamaica's Part in the Great War" Frank Cundall 1925,
"After their return from the Jordan Valley in October 1918 the two battalions spent about a week at Jerusalem and then proceeded to Ram Allah about ten miles north of Jerusalem for rest and refitting: and when their much depleted ranks were refilled with drafts from the base and all ranks had regained health, the two battalions marched to Jerusalem and entrained for Ludd, where the 2nd Battalion remained, the 1st proceeding to Tul Keram, subsequently sending detachments to Samak, Rayak and elsewhere.
In March 1919 the 1st Battalion entrained for Ismailia and about a month later the 2nd Battalion also proceeded to the same place. During the remainder of their stay in Egypt, both battalions were employed on finding guards for railway stations and trains, ordnance and supply depots, and patrols, which were rendered necessary by the unrest among the Egyptians.
On May 14, 1919, drafts comprising the greater portion of the 1st and 2nd Battalions under Lieutenant-Colonel C. Wood Hill, D.S.O., embarked at Port Said on H.M.T. Kashgar for Taranto, where they landed three days later. Two days later most of the officers and other ranks from the Colonies other than Jamaica entrained for Havre; and after a stay of about a fortnight at Taranto, the officers and other ranks from Jamaica, together with drafts from some of the later battalions, embarked on May 31, 1919, on H.M.T. Canopic for Jamaica, and arrived at Port Royal on the night of June 15 and landed next day."
....
Every man before dispersal was supplied with a leaflet dealing with the arrangements to obtain work, information for those wishing to go to Cuba, instructions how to apply for land or for a loan to buy land or build a home, and information as to his final payment through the Government Savings Bank.
....
Free permits were issued to demobilised men proceeding to Cuba to look for work, and 4,036 availed themselves of this offer. With few exceptions, all brought back money with them or had remitted
home considerable sums; most of those who left their bank-books in the care of the Secretary of the Supplementary Allowances Committee remitted him their savings, which in some cases exceeded .£100, in twelve or fifteen months. Out of the 4,036 men who proceeded to Cuba on free permits, only 102 (who
through ill-health or other causes failed to make good) were repatriated at the Government expense."
Hello Chris, I've read your correspondence with Josie and wanted to let you know that I could add your grandfather's story to our website if you have enough information about his life and a few images. I've worked with other descendants of men and women who served 'Away from the Western Front', which is our name and you can see their stories here: https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/research/soldiers-stories/
Also, as you can read at the top of this page we commissoned the song, 'No Parades' in honour of the men of the BWIR - I hope you've enjoyed listening to it.
Kind Regards
Hi Chris - SO good to hear from you. Give me a day or so and I will dig back into the notes I made and see what I can find in answer to your questions. Memory tells me the 2nd battalion was in Egypt, Mesopotamia and Palestine but let me go and check. Also - please give me your grandfather's name so I can look up his record. And thanks again. More soon.
Hi Josie, I've come across your lovely website and I'm delighted to see this article on Taranto. I am the Project Lead for 'Away from the Western Front' and 'No Parades' was commissioned by us as part of our First World War centenary project: https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/
Our project was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund in the UK and accordingly we were able to commission Chris Hoban to compose this song for our National Music Project. I would be very very grateful if you could indicate this within the article, if at all possible. Indeed a link to our National Music Project page would enable your readers to listen to other versions of the song and get access to a range of scores and audio files. Our project funding has ended, but I would still like to hear from anyone who would like to record their own performance of the song - instructions are on the website:
https://awayfromthewesternfront.org/projects/national-music-project/
Hi Lynn, I am very happy to do this and thanks for the kind comment. Give me a bit and I will happily make those adjustments to include links to the National Music Project.
The Chris Hoban composition stays with me. It is memorable and haunting.
My grandfather died at Taranto. He was not in the BWIR but as a member of an RAMC Sanitary Section (112th) I believe he worked alongside them. I don't know how he felt about that, but I do know he got sick and died. He is buried in the same cemetery as so many young men from the Caribbean who died at Taranto.
Great blog Josie! Our film, 'Mutiny' also deals with this history, and is now available - for details please visit our website: http://www.sweetpatootee.co.uk/work/mutiny/ - Mutiny features our unique video interviews with BWIR veterans of the regiment's 1st, 2nd and 4th battalions.
Thanks Tony. Have the film on my "Must Watch" list. The story of the BWIR in WW1 is really so interesting.
You might be interested in this story of what happened to Private 7429 Herbert Morris of the 6th Battalion of the British West Indies Regiment:
For The Sake Of Example https://www.josieholford.com/example/
And thank you Bespoke Traveler. If we don't know our past how can we understand our present ...?
Thank you. So much of the material on the world wars focuses on European battles and victories. I'm enjoying learning about the complicated stories that went on with Allied troops from other parts of the world through your posts.