Caribbean Political Geography

The Oxford Companion to World War II The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Further reading

British West Indies

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | | Copyright

British West Indies, British Caribbean colonies of nearly 3 million people comprising the Bahamas (where the Duke of Windsor was governor), Barbados, British Guiana (which produced bauxite in large quantities), British Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago (the UK's largest source of oil in 1938), and the Windward Islands. US air and sea bases were established on several of the islands under the destroyers-for-bases agreement, which helped bring a degree of prosperity, and skilled West Indian workers went to work in the UK, as did 500 woodsmen from British Honduras who were employed in the Scottish forests. The latter were poorly treated and were returned home in 1943. A number of Jamaicans joined the Royal Engineers in 1941, and in 1944 the 1st Caribbean Regiment was raised from volunteers. After training in the USA and Italy, it went to Egypt, but did not see action. About 300 West Indians also enlisted in the RAF for aircrew duties and subsequently about 5,500 volunteered for ground duties. See also Caribbean at war.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "British West Indies." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 30 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "British West Indies." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 30, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BritishWestIndies.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "British West Indies." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 30, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-BritishWestIndies.html

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