World Wars & Windrush

These are two pin badges which were part of the uniform for soldiers from the West Indies Regiment and the King's African Rifles during World War 1. Archive reference: BCA-170 and BCA-171
Britain’s war office initially rejected the recruitment of West Indian troops. However in 1915, the war office began to recruit West Indian troops as the demands of the war were increasing and Britain called for help from the Empire. From this recruitment, a new regiment was formed called the British West Indies Regiment (BWIR) which served in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. During World War I (1914-18), 15,000 Black British Caribbean men were enlisted in the British army. 10,000 (2/3's) of those were from Jamaica which means an overwhelming number of the British West Indies Regiment were Jamaican. The British West Indies Regiment soldiers had high expectations as they were recruited to fight for their 'Mother country'. Their expectations were to fight as equals alongside the white solders. However, they were often limited to labour duties such as holding reserve posts or guarding prisoners. Despite the discrimination they faced, they continued contributing to the war effort and were eventually permitted to combat.They were very successful in their combats and soldiers such as Lance Corporal Sampson and Private Spence won medals for bravery.
The King's African Rifles (KAR) formed in 1902. The King's African Rifles was a multi-battalion British colonial regiment raised from Britain's various colonies in British East Africa.It performed both military and internal security functions within the colonial territory, and later served outside these territories during the World Wars.
Today, groups such as The Black Poppy Rose encourage us to remember African/Caribbean contributions to both World War I and II by distributing black poppies. The name Black Poppy Rose represents the following:
- Black is for the people.
- Poppy is for remembrance.
- Rose is for honour.