For King and Country

FOR KING AND COUNTRY

The Service and Sacrifice

of the British West Indian Military

Members of the Royal Air Force from the British West Indies in London – World War II

IRVING W. ANDRE AND GABRIEL J. CHRISTIAN

A Pont Casse Press Production.

Twenty-third Pont Casse Press publication, 2009

Cover Illustration by Michael Williams. Front page shows British West Indian RAF airmen with Spitfire in background and Wendell Christian (L) and Twistleton Bertrand (R) of the British army in foreground. Back page shows ancient artillery at the old colonial battlements at Fort Shirley, Cabrits National Park, Portsmouth, Dominica, 2008. The Fort, recently restored under the direction of historian Dr. Lennox Honychurch, was the site of the 1802 Mutiny of the 8th West India Regiment.

Printed in the United States by Sheridan Books, Inc.

ISBN 978-0-9812921-0-6

André, Irving W. and Christian, Gabriel J.

For King and Country Bibliography/Latin American/Caribbean History/Military History Dominica, Society and Politics.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The process of marshalling a considerable amount of arcane details and information for narrative purposes is a tortuous process that takes a significant toll on an author or narrator. This was especially true of the writing of this book given the paucity of information about the contribution of Dominicans and other British West Indians in both World Wars. But in accessing this information we were particularly fortunate given the groundswell of support and encouragement we received from virtually all sources. While it is impossible to identify all the contributors to this book, we will at least give due recognition to those whose commitment to learning something of their past made them willing participants in this journey of discovery. We thank those who have provided valuable information including The Dominica Archive Centre, Dr. Edsel Edmund, Cy Grant, Major Francis Richards, Dr. Clayton Shillingford, Major Earle Johnson, Mr. Arnold Telemaque, Mr. Carlton Peters, Mr.& Mrs. Colin Hodgson, Mr. Cymbert Angol, Miss Joy Floyd, Mr. Stafford Lestrade, Ambassador Curtis Ward, Honourable Dudley Thompson and Judge Ulric Cross. We are also deeply indebted to Mrs. Joan Christian and Mrs. Kathleen André for their supervisory role in this initiative. We also thank Dr. Sigmund McIntyre for his useful comments. Finally, we are eternally grateful to the invaluable contributions of the two main subjects of this book, Major Twistleton Bertrand and ex-serviceman Mr. Wendell Christian. In writing this book we hope to accord some degree of recognition to the extraordinary service of these men and their fellow veterans. We hope that in so doing, we rescue them from the oblivion to which their experiences have been relegated and that in the autumn of their lives, imbue them with a heightened sense of pride for the sacrifice they were prepared to make. While this book would have been impossible without the assistance of these persons, we accept full responsibility for any errors and omissions within its pages.

Irving W. André & Gabriel J. Christian

CONTENTS

DR. EDSEL EDMUNDS Foreword vi

GABRIEL CHRISTIAN Introduction 1

IRVING ANDRE A Long Campaign 19

GABRIEL CHRISTIAN The Inter-War Years & the British West-Indian Soldier in Social Transformation 77

GABRIEL CHRISTIAN The War Experiences of Wendell Christian 127

IRVING ANDRE The Advent of World War II 191

IRVING ANDRE The Military Tradition and the “Urgency of Now” 257

Appendix I Perpetuating the Dominican Legion 269

Appendix II Reflection of a West_Indian Squadron Leader Justice Ulric Cross, DSO, DFC. 275

Appendix III The Exemplary Life of Honourable Dudley Thompson, OJ, QC. 283

Index 291

Dedicated to the West-Indian fighting men who lost their lives in their valiant and fight for freedom.

FOREWORD

This book is a vivid account and embodiment of the role of the “British West-Indian Military” and our Caribbean people, through sacrifice and struggle, when “political power resided in the hands of a distant elite and economic opportunity was denied by many” in the makings of the Caribbean.

The emergence of our Caribbean people is juxtaposed to the struggle of African Americans and the birth and dynamism of the liberation of a people. The book is rich in historical content with episodes dating back to the 18th century when Caribbean people fought in the Napoleonic wars, the Ashanti wars in West Africa and on many other fronts. The accounts of history to this present time are recounted as living episodes giving life and meaning to history, as though the authors were present in past encounters.

The linkage in time and circumstances, and the contribution of our former Caribbean leaders in the liberation movement of the United States, for example, in the formation of The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA); the role of the Caribbean Sargeants who formed the Caribbean League at Taranto, Italy in 1918 who swore to “Fight for the rights of the black man and the independence of the Caribbean” are but a few rich and dramatic encapsulations expressed in a gripping style.

As Dominicans, the authors highlighted the contributions of Dominican soldiers and former political leaders to the overall development of Dominica in the past, leading to the present. The accounts of the aforementioned wars as well as the two World Wars, our past mimicry in song and pageantry as we paid homage to King and Country; the songs we were made to sing and to salute as “obedient servants” of our colonial masters, are descriptively recounted but not without the indelible impact it all had on the makings of a new Caribbean. Caribbean families most of whom are still alive are mentioned in the context of their past contributions as part of a continuum of history of a people with deep seated roots.

Nevertheless, the authors do not fail to go into detail on the makings and contributions of our many Caribbean leaders and in the global liberation movements leading to our own independence. The role of former Caribbean leaders, our founding fathers who contributed to our present world of freedom and liberation within and beyond our Caribbean shores are appropriately elucidated in this book.

Hand in hand with the historical political landscape of the Caribbean, the authors remind us of the contributions and influence of our eminent writers and their impact on the thinking of those leaders and scholars to this present time.

In all of the above, André and Christian bring to the fore, the principles of discipline, integrity, loyalty, self-confidence, dedication, honour and commitment to civic duty which is displayed through “service and sacrifice;” attributes which should be the hallmark of our present generation in much the same way as service to “King and Country” was to the founding fathers of our present independence.

Dr. J. Edsel Edmunds Former Ambassador of St. Lucia To the United States of America and Dean of the Caribbean Diplomatic Corp Washington, D.C.

For King and Country

Introduction

In the Shadow of Fort Young

The stout moss-flecked stone walls of Fort Young tower overhead, topped by a powder blue sky; not a cloud in sight. A 1700s British fort, now a hotel; still a row of musket embrasures, their inner walls painted white, punctuate the Fort’s battlements to my back and lope around to where two glinting brass cannons guard its entrance. Up the Street is the Roseau Public Library where I learned to read of the world beyond the Caribbean Sea. The same sea that now gurgles and froth as its waves dash against a grey stone fringed beach, down a fifty foot drop, at the base of the retaining wall behind the library’s seaward verandah. At the back of the library is the small room dedicated to the Windward Island Broadcasting Service (WIBS) from where broadcaster Jeff Charles will be relating the news this day. Framing the scene is the Anglican Church across Victoria Street to the north east of the Fort, behind the church is the Governor’s House, painted in white. And beyond the church’s spire, atop the hills of Morne Bruce in the soaring distance, wreathed in its dark green coat, is the Roman Catholic Church’s cross standing sixty feet high, as it overlooks the City of Roseau. At its base a rusting

For King and Country cannon looks out over the city. As I turn my gaze towards the azure blue sea, sea gulls gracefully dip towards its surface in search of prey. I am gasping a bit; somewhat out of breath; a few beads of sweat drooping slowly down my warm brow. In a moment, a slight breeze comes over the spire of the Anglican Church and cools my face some. The breeze moves onwards to the ranks of middle aged men about twenty feet from where I stand. As the breeze filters through their ranks, the edges of their coats flap in the wind, their ties swing gently, and the blue flag held in the grasp of one of the men in the front rank - with the Union Jack in the upper left quadrant nearest the pole - is ruffled ever so slightly. These men belong to the Dominica Legion of the Royal Commonwealth ex- Services League; or simply, The Legion. I know the man next to the one holding that flag. He is my Dad, the man we fondly call “Old Talk” at home, as he always delights us with his war stories, his recall of Churchill’s speeches; BBC newscasts from the dark days of 1939-1945 when war came and other times when he got out his Caribbean Reader during his school days. He is former Private Christian, W., World War II, British Army South Caribbean Forces veteran, C Company, Windward Islands Battalion, regimental number 7263. It is Remembrance Day, 1967, and I had followed Dominica’s Music Lovers Government Band from the gates of the Royal Dominica Police Force Headquarters on Bath Road, hopping all the way amidst a throng of similarly enthralled kids my age. I am six and will soon turn seven come January 1968. As I had traveled

For King and Country along King George the V Street, I had cast a glance back along the straight line of gleaming white tunics of the Royal Dominica Police Force men, their white pith helmets with a silver spike at the top glinting in the early morning sun. They bear their rifles at slope arms, and their bayonets are fixed; the sun’s rays glancing off rows of sharp steel edges. Coming now, around the bend of Bath road, are robust men of the Dominica Defence Force, clad in olive green. And behind them, yet still more: the solid khaki ranks of the eternal Dominica Grammar School Cadet Corp, Australian Bush hats gracing their heads at perfect angles. Then the blue beret cadets of the St. Mary’s Academy Cadet Corp; gleaming crown insignias showing like some star alight atop their headdress; white puttees topping their black boots. And there is my brother Wellsworth, as he swings by, the old snub nosed Lee Enfield rifle at slope arms, casting me a stern glance. No time for joking or laughter here. This is a big day. This is serious business. I must watch closely how he holds that gun for one day I will be an army cadet too. Shine I did shine his boots early that morning, until they shone enough that I could see my reflection in the toe cap. Wellsworth is a scholarship man at the SMA and gets a stipend from government for his smarts. So he can afford to throw a penny at me for my labors. Those pennies in English days were fat, round, discs of imperial designed copper and could fetch me some good frozen custard cubes and coconut treats during school recess that coming week at the Roseau Mixed Infant School. There, my father’s younger sister, Auntie Floss presided as the Headmistress and would have us sing “God Save the Queen” on Discovery Day.

For King and Country

Now we were singing our own new anthem called Isle of Beauty; since we now had become an associated state with Britain in 1967 and Discovery Day became National Day. But all these thoughts must wait now, as I am swept along with those, young and old, crowding the sidewalk as the marching band belts out its rousing rendition of The Caissons Go Rolling Along. At the fore is the band’s drum major, Charley Beaupierre, who smartly throws his baton high, flawless catching and twirling it – all in full stride. So here I stand, a poppy pinned to the left lapel of my Sunday best Elite long sleeve shirt; my bow tie stuffed in my pocket. My father had insisted I wear it. But with all the shoving and pushing and running alongside the drilling policemen, soldiers, cadets, firemen and Boy Scouts, I feared losing it. So into the pocket it must go. “Front rank back a bit. Carry it on number two platoon. Steady! Stand still the front rank!” The Sargeant Major of the Defense Force is dressing the men and snaps me out of my day dreams. Soon the Governor with his plumed white helmet sweeps by, a thin black sword tucked to his side. His wife follows. Then the Premier, Mr. LeBlanc comes along, followed by the bishop, other ministers and high officials. They all lay wreaths at the grey stone obelisk in the triangular memorial ground and its smaller French cousin. The big obelisk is for those who fell doing duty for King and Country. On both sides brass plaques for those who made the ultimate sacrifice in World Wars I and II. The smaller obelisk is for the French Resistance fighters led by General De Gaulle; many of whom took refuge in Dominica after the fall of France in 1940 and

For King and Country who rallied from there to retake Guadeloupe and Martinique for the Free French Forces and the Allied cause. Prayers and short speeches come and go. The muskets rattle as they are taken through their paces. The steel shod boots grate on the asphalt. Then the cannon from Fort Young boom out the salute to those who fell on Flanders Fields and thereafter. Then the mournful lament of the bugle calls out the Last Post1. It is the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day of the eleventh month;2 the time when the Armistice was declared in World War I. And as good British subjects, we are dutiful and must do our duty. Such is the personal history that partly impelled this book. However, there is much more. In particular, there is the noble literary and judicial leadership of Justice Irving W. Andre, son-in- law of British Army veteran Twistleton Bertrand who served with my father. Bertrand and my father were young men in Portsmouth and friends then, as now. My father joined the army in 1943 and Bertrand joined the army in 1944. Both men felt so compelled to

1 Last Post is a bugle call used at military funerals and/or ceremonies commemorating those who have fallen in war. 2 Armistice Day is the anniversary of the official end of World War I, November 11, 1918. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." While this official date to mark the end of the war reflects the ceasefire on the Western Front, hostilities continued in other regions, especially across the former Russian Empire and in parts of the old Ottoman Empire.The date was a national holiday in many of the former allied nations to allow people to commemorate those members of the armed forces who were killed during war. After World War II, it was changed to Veterans Day in the United States and to Remembrance Day in the British Commonwealth of Nations.

For King and Country fight to protect what they perceived as “their country.” They had been fed on the philosophical milk of an empire that still loomed large, even where the nutritional diet of the average Dominican and/or British West Indian was not that wholesome in that era. This was a time where yaws3, jiggers4 and other health issues plagued the average Dominican. An island where political power resided in the hands of a distant elite and economic opportunity was denied the many. Yet by joining the army, Bertrand, Christian and others would open wide freedom’s gate in a manner never foreseen by them. The political impact of their trajectory would not be dissimilar from that of the visionary Caribbean soldiers who stood up and demanded self determination at Taranto, Italy in 1918. In recounting this and other stories, Irving Andre’s literary genius has been to rescue the history of an entire nation from the shadows of its colonial past; so giving voice to the colonial mute. His dedication to chronicling the history of our people has been an essential instrument in the institutionalization of national memory. While a few scholarly works have been written about the Caribbean man of arms, the record is woefully scant. Nothing has ever been published to recount the struggles of the British West

3 Yaws (also Pétasse tropica, thymosis, polypapilloma tropicum or pian) is a tropical infection of the skin, bones and joints caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pertenue. 4 Jiggers or chiggers are 8 legged mites; red, about the size of a pencil point, and belong in the Arachnid group of animals which also includes spiders, ticks and scorpions. For them to become mature mites they must have a blood meal. They were a common affliction among poverty stricken Dominicans in the earlier part of the 20th Century.

For King and Country

Indian military, in any context wherein its role in regional social change is deeply examined. We have some sense of the Fort Shirley mutiny at Portsmouth Dominica by Black soldiers in 1802, and we know that British West Indians served in Britain’s armies during World War I and II. However, not much thought is given to that legacy; nor do we mine the veins of that experience to draw any lessons as to how we became who we are. So this work is not some exercise in nostalgia for an imaginary colonial nirvana. Rather it is a purposeful and necessary recounting of our military history and the ideas and organizing principles that gave shape to the modern English speaking Caribbean nations. Consider: The Commonwealth of Dominica. To the colonist, Dominica was a tough country to bridle. The very land seemed to take offense to being cultivated or assume the posture of vassalage. It stood, and continues to stand, apart in many ways unique.5 It fought and otherwise blunted the imperial sword, and did not take kindly to being a mere producer of coffee, cocoa, sugar or limes for too long. It is as if the whole island has been a huge animated, green, quilt that has shaken-off varieties of foreign planter imposed crops over the centuries. A British Navy report on Dominica in 1802 stated:

5 In November 2007 National Geographic Traveler Magazine gave Dominica top billing, as the best eco-tourism spot in the Caribbean, stating: “It is a beautiful country. Still largely forested,amazing biodiversity, great bird watching and scuba diving. Because Dominica doesn't possess the traditional beaches of the Caribbean, it is often overlooked. The Nature Isle is aptly named—awesome power and incredible beauty of nature unspoiled. Its lush mountains, indigenous population, art, craft, agro-based products, and small- scale accommodation facilities all add to the opportunity for sustainable tourism development. The island has not changed much since Columbus first spied it.”

For King and Country

The island of Dominica is one of those devoted spots in the world subject to more evils than usually fall to the lot of humanity: revolt, invasion, floods, and fever, have been its fatal attendants of many years past.

As seen through the prism of the colonizer, the place seemed immune to being vanquished or put under any boot. Stunning in its beauty, it was seen as the Ireland of the islands; wild and untamed. It was possessed of a peculiar Carib and African humankind scattered amidst the valleys and furrows of the island’s towering mountain peaks. History teaches that those who reside amidst, or in the shadow of, mountainous fastness usually abide a fiercely independent spirit. Had the Carib people of the island not repulsed many a European invader? Had the captive Africans not fled plantation slave labor for the mountains in great number? In their mountainous redoubts, under the Negre Maron6 chiefs such as Jaco, Balla and Congoree, they had established free settlements and fought off their attackers for decades, in some instances. Yet, that fighting spirit held by Dominicans saw service to the Crown as worthy, where it meant one could proudly bear arms. The same could be said of the proud Jamaicans, Barbadians, Grenadians, St. Lucians, Guyanese, Trinidadians and other British West Indian islanders whose ancestors had resisted slavery. Thus, a pairing was attained between the inherent martial spirit of an independent minded people, and an empire’s need to staff its legions.

6 Negre Maron means Negro maroons; those who resisted slavery by living in the wild and defending their freedom by force of arms.

For King and Country

This work reveals that the fate of the Caribbean soldier in World War I, for instance, was not that much different from that suffered by their African American brothers in arms. During World War I, 370,000 African Americans had laboured, fought and died for a democracy they did not enjoy at home. Commanded by white officers they had often been consigned to the harsh conditions prevalent in labour companies. Scarred by their wartime conditions they too led revolts – as at Houston, Texas in 1917. Their experiences toughened their resolve to seek equal rights. In their number was Charles Hamilton Houston, a captain of artillery, who later tutored Thurgood Marshall (later to become the first Black US Supreme Court Justice). Following his war experiences Houston wrote:

The hate and scorn showered on us Negro officers by our fellow Americans convinced me that there was no sense in my dying for a world ruled by them. I made up my mind that if I got through this war I would study law and use my time fighting for men who could not strike back.7

7 Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950) is known as the man who killed Jim Crow (the common term for the system of racial oppression in the United States) During World War I Houston was an artillery captain in France. He witnessed and endured the racial prejudice inflicted on black soldiers. These encounters fueled his determination to use the law as an instrument of social change. He entered Harvard Law School in 1919 and became the first black editor of the Harvard Law Review. Later he joined Howard University Law School’s faculty and became its most distinguished Dean, to date. In 1934 Charles Houston left the Howard University School of Law to head the Legal Defense Committee of the NAACP in New York City. Seeking out bright, dedicated attorneys to join the mission, he built an interracial staff that defended victims of racial injustice. Among the lawyers recruited was Thurgood Marshall, Houston’s star student from Howard’s law school. His work with the NAACP led to the successful dismantling of America’s Jim Crow laws which oppressed Black people.

For King and Country

In Houston’s fight against injustice this soldier turned lawyer was said to have coined the famous phrase:

A lawyer is either a social engineer or a parasite upon society.

The equally harsh experiences endured by Caribbean and African American war veterans caused many to swell the ranks of Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA)8, the most powerful and militant Pan African organization in history. There, many became officers of its famed African Legion.9 During this work it becomes crystal clear that the dedication of the Caribbean soldier was not an aberration. Indeed, it was fostered by a system of belief in the supremacy of an empire of which they believed themselves part. How then was the British West Indian

8 The UNIA, founded by Jamaica’s Marcus Garvey was the most dynamic mass movement across territorial borders among the African peoples during the 20th Century. Garveyism occupies a central place in the struggle for democracy, dignity and social transformation. (Rupert Lewis and Patrick Bryan, eds., Garvey: His Work and Impact [Mona, Jamaica: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1988], p. 171. 9 One of these World War veterans was Jamaican St. William Grant who served in Europe and may have been present during the 1918 Taranto rebellion. He became a militant Garveyite who attracted public attention as a street corner orator dressed in the full military regalia of the Universal Negro Improvement Association's African Legion. Grant had served in World War I with the BWIR then traveled to New York where he joined the UNIA, becoming an officer in its fame African Legion. Grant later became a leader of the 1938 workers uprising in Jamaica, alongside Alexander Bustamante. Racial prejudice of the time showered much praise for that rebellion on Bustamante and led to his ascension in that island’s politics. Grant was mostly forgotten.

For King and Country soldier transformed into an agent for social change? This work offers several explanations:

1. Travel and inter-island solidarity exposed the Caribbean soldier, particularly in World War I, to the true nature of his oppressed condition;

2. World War I exposed class and racial divisions that spurred rebellions in the US, British, French, German, and Russian armies. Such rebellions influenced Caribbean soldiers to also seek self-determination;

3. Improved education and the rise of Garvey’s UNIA (and its publications) were subversive instrumentalities in a time when the British Empire was buckling under its own weaknesses.

4. Organized and armed, the Caribbean soldier was part of the most self confident cohort of its kind, and possessed of a psychology grounded in victory.

It also must be noted that, though the British Empire had been the practitioner of slavery and had pursued the colonial experience, it was possessed of an ability to change with the times. The empire had a nimble ability to reform, and be inclusive enough of the dispossessed classes within its core and the subject nations within its realm. Life is a battle of maneuver and such astute maneuvering allowed the British Empire to avoid the fate of Czarist Russia10. So any examination of the Dominican soldier – as a component of the Anglo-Caribbean military tradition – is a case study in what is a paradox: How was the British Empire able to create a sense of ownership and dignity in those whose ancestors had been utterly

10 The cutting edge of the Russian revolution of November 7, 1917, was led by rebellious soldiers and sailors from the Czar’s own armed forces.

For King and Country dispossessed by it? Had not their lands been taken, their people shackled, their histories denied? Yet, it would seem that by the nuanced application of due process of law principles, there was derived a sense of British “fairness.” That by skillfully promoting locals of talent, there emerged a sense that meritocracy was a cherished value to be sought after. That gathering commissions of inquiry to examine misdeeds and suggest reforms as needed, portrayed the sovereign as benevolent, caring and kind – so worthy to “long rule over us.”11 And that by rewarding the loyal and diligent with medals and honors, such as the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and Member of the British Empire (MBE) the colonized Dominican or Caribbean leader of stature, was really just a bronzed English gentleman. One who was assimilated enough into British culture to be neutered; immune from any nationalist contagion. One whose dignity was secure in an empire that recognized talent for what it was. By this effort, we rescue from oblivion the history of Dominica’s war veterans whose service to the British Empire, instilled a sense of discipline and purpose in them that ultimately redounded to the benefit of their own island: Dominica. In that context, we examine how team dynamics and common purpose can uplift a people (as exemplified by Britain’s own rise) even where they are confronted by limits imposed by size, racial prejudice, population and natural resources. In any such analysis, the role of mental conditioning or attitude must – of necessity – be addressed. In veterans such as Bertrand and Christian one senses a deep

11 From the popular British nationalist song, Brittania Rules the Waves.

For King and Country reservoir of self confidence, planning, and stoicism born of their military training that assured their own successes. Modest though these successes may have been, they – and their soldier comrades – influenced the shape of the Caribbean nations that evolved after both world wars. In The Art of Victory12, Gregory R. Copley’s profound work on nation-state definition and survival, the author stresses:

The victory of a society is possible only when there is a sense of it as a force within the individual, either to lead to victory or actively follow. Individuals, communities and societies that lack the desire for victory will, in all species of creatures, risk obliteration.

Throughout this work it becomes apparent that the Dominican soldier had internalized that sense of victory and incorporated the British belief system in such achievement of victory. In their recall, none seem to doubt that victory was certain. Especially where they were inspired by the soaring oratory of Britain’s war time Prime Minister Winston Churchill: the quintessential Anglo-Saxon nationalist of the modern era. They had all imbibed a sense of British superiority and believed themselves worthy too13. They felt secure, and derived comfort from, being part of a solid institutional endeavor with a rich heritage of achievement. More so, they all seemed determined to play their part to achieve victory for “their”

12 The Art of Victory, Fulfilling Mankind’s Potential – 26 Maxims, Gregory CR. Copley, International Strategic Studies Association (2003). 13 As will be elaborated upon later, this explains why the Caribbean soldiers rebelled at Taranto, Italy in 1918, once confronted by racist British soldiers who failed to treat them as equals.

For King and Country mother country Britain. So the driving force is that stoic sense of duty to country. Many of those who served the colonial state later transferred that sense of duty, integrity and fair play, to the Commonwealth of Dominica. This work indicates that a disproportionate percentage of Caribbean political leadership, in the period 1918 -1980, came from the World War I and II veterans, or those who later served in the British armed forces. Their time in the service had sharpened their leadership skills immensely and bestowed a degree of self confidence. The internalization of those principles by those men enhanced the stability of most of the English speaking Caribbean. Those principles have endured via: membership by ex-soldiers in civic organizations; conforming to due process of law principles; the ascendancy of social democratic governance as normative in the former British West Indian colonies; a socially responsible clergy; adherence to the practice of regularly held free and fair elections; upholding the practice of parliamentary procedures and debate; a consistent aversion to corruption in public office, and a free press. The upholding of those principles by that influential military cadre is one reason why political tyranny has not found fertile soil in an otherwise verdant land. As the time for the bugle to sound the Last Post”14 draws near upon a generation of soldiers who inspired Caribbean nationalism and independence movement in the 20th Century, it is right and proper that we know what institutions will ensure the survival of

14 Last Post is a bugle call used at military funerals and/or ceremonies commemorating those who have fallen in war.

For King and Country

Dominica as a nation-state. Again, Gregory Copley is insightful when he states:

It is critical that the leaders of those post- colonial modern states recognize the true historic nature not only of their constituent peoples, but also the nature of their historic institutions, including the accepted myths of those institutions. What will be successful in the post colonial structure is either the re- introduction of structures that truly reflect the character of the society, or the transformation of colonial legacy structures that truly reflect the character of the indigenous society.

The British Caribbean military played a role – disproportionate to their numbers – in shaping our islands. By attitudes soaked through with discipline, integrity and loyalty, they stiffened the social fabric of fragile island societies. So an independent Dominican nation may transform the old colonial structures to better suit its indigenous needs. However, we must first know the history behind those institutions and gain a keen sense of their contributions to stability and our forward march. And where notable institutions such as the Dominica Cadet Corps - established in 1910 by the British - was allowed to lapse after independence, it was only right that it be revived and transformed to provide some guidance to the nation’s young.15 Wisdom dictates that such noble

15 The Dominica Cadet Corps was revived by former Dominica Grammar School cadet sargeant, Roosevelt. “Rosie” Douglas, Prime Minister of Dominica, by executive order of February 9, 2000. The Dominica Cadet Corps Act of 2001 was officially passed in parliament in January 2001 by Prime Minister Pierre Charles’ Dominica Labour Party led coalition government with the conservative Dominica Freedom Party. A former St. Mary’s Academy cadet

For King and Country structural elements from the colonial era remain – or be revived – where they enhance our chances for survival – not diminish it. Mere tinkering with, or discarding, institutions that are the legacy of the colonizer, without superior systems with which to replace them, is no option. Those who have thrown out the baby with the bath water have lost both. It is that understanding of the importance of heritage in nation-state cohesion and the beneficial nature of sound institutions which has allowed for the British Commonwealth of nations to have continued meaning in a changing world. For King and Country aims at institutionalizing the memory of those brave Caribbean men and women who sought to serve a cause greater than themselves. It is our hope that this study of the British Caribbean military, through the eyes and experiences of World War II veterans - Wendell M. Christian, Twistleton Bertrand, and legendary Royal Air Force officers such as Phillip Louis Ulric Cross, Dudley Thompson, and Cy Grant – will shed new light on the role of the armed forces in developing our nationality. The camaraderie forged by British West Indians at war for the British Empire was to fuel a new Caribbean sense of nationalism and unity of purpose which would hasten the postwar surge for independence in the region. While such was never the intent of the colonizer or their commanders, the commingling of these Caribbean soldiers - and their confrontation with racism - bred a new Caribbean nationalism. In so doing, they made an

corporal, Prime Minister Charles had succeeded Douglas after his untimely death on October 1, 2000.

For King and Country incomparable contribution to our survival and the well being of generations yet unborn.