Ingrid Robinson argues Barking and Dagenham would be right place to honour the British West India Regiment as many residents have “familial or ancestral links”, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter
Soldiers who served in the British West India Regiment should be honoured in Barking and Dagenham, a councillor has said.
Labour councillor Ingrid Robinson wants Barking and Dagenham Council to pay tribute to “Caribbean and global majority soldiers” who served in the British Army.
Cllr Robinson said she wanted black and Asian people to know they had a “part to play” in Britain’s history.
She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “When we wear poppies and we’re remembering, most black, Asian or brown people don’t always think they have any connection to this. But they really do.”
Cllr Robinson is asking councillors at a meeting on Wednesday (22nd) to vote for a permanent civic tribute or memorial in the borough “to honour Caribbean and global majority service personnel”.
She also wants the council to develop and share educational resources with schools, and encourage schools, veterans’ groups, and community organisations to take part in remembrance and educational events.
Her motion to the council says this is “vital to ensuring the bravery and contributions of Caribbean and global majority soldiers are never forgotten”.
Cllr Robinson, who is Jamaican, said she herself had only recently learned of the experiences of Caribbean soldiers in the two world wars, on a visit to Ypres in Belgium.
She said: “I didn’t really realise that West Indians or anybody apart from British people served for the British Army in the First World War.”
Stories of Jamaicans who signed up included the teenager Herbert Morris, Cllr Robinson added, who developed PTSD and was shot for desertion when he was just 17 years old.
She said: “He’d never left Jamaica when he went over to fight. He must have had PTSD – he left three times, and they found him under a tree, and they shot him for desertion as they did many people.”
Cllr Robinson said she didn’t want to change the school syllabus, but did want to “broaden it to show that all of these people assisted”.
Her motion says: “The British West India Regiment, formed in 1915, fought courageously in the First World War, with over 15,000 West Indian soldiers serving the British Crown.
“Barking and Dagenham has an active West Indian heritage population, many of whom have familial or ancestral links to these regiments.”
It adds: “The history and legacy of the British West India Regiment form an essential part of both Black British History and British military history, and must be taught, recognised, and celebrated.”
