麻豆社

In May 1915, nine men from Barbados arrived in east London having been arrested as stowaways on the SS Danube.

They had been discovered on the journey from the West Indies to Europe and put to work. Their defence was that they wanted to enlist in the British Army.

Rather than being allowed to join up the men were prosecuted by the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company and ridiculed in court on account of their race.

More than 16,000 men from the West Indies served in World War One.

In 1915 the British West Indies Regiment was formed. Many members of the regiment suffered racism and many worked as labourers rather than serving in combat roles on the front line.

Soldiers from the West Indies ended up serving around the world and their return home is thought to have contributed to the increasing calls for national independence in the region.

Location: West Ham Police Court, West Ham, London E13
Image: British West Indian Regiment, courtesy of IWM