Montserrat in World War I
Montserrat, a British Overseas Territory located in the Caribbean, played a minor role in the First World War. Much of their contribution was funding or materials gathered by civilians, although a small number of Montserratians served in the Army, or Marine Navy. Montserrat holds a Remembrance Day annually on 14 November, to remember Montserratians who died in World War I, alongside those who died in World War II and the Iraq War.
History
File:The Montserrat Defence Reserve in 1915.png
After the German Empire invaded neutral Belgium as a part of the First World War, Great Britain declared war upon them on 4 August 1914. The entirety of the British Empire declared war upon them on the same day, including Montserrat, which was administered as part of the federal crown colony of the British Leeward Islands at the time.{{sfn|Declaration of War}} Almost immediately, a militia was formed, called the Montserrat Defence Reserve.{{Sfn|West India Committee}}
Civilian effort
File:Montserrat Flag Day ladies group in 1917.png
Many Local Ladies Committees were formed to raise funds and support for the war effort. They also organized drives for material donations, such as one in which {{convert|250|lb}} of Guava Jelly was collected.{{Sfn|West India Committee}} Many of the individual presidencies of the five Leeward Islands donated money for the war effort. Montserrat was one, donating £1,000 (worth about £40,000 today) to the British Empire.{{sfn|Friends of the British Overseas Territories}}{{sfn|World War One Centenary}} A number of locals served in the Merchant Navy. Of these, six died in service.{{Sfn|British Merchant Marine}}
Legacy
Every 14 November, Montserrat holds a Remembrance Day, in which all Montserratians who died in the First World War are remembered, along with the Montserratians who died in the Second World War and the Iraq War. There was a war memorial in Plymouth, Montserrat, but it was abandoned when volcanic eruptions buried the town. In 2010 a new war memorial, in Little Bay, Montserrat, was christened. According to official records, the following Montserratians are recorded as having died due to the First World War: John Kingsley Martin, William Nugent Gordon, William Goather, Maurice Hannam, Burleigh Hannam, Adolphus Peters, and Arthur Samuel Warner.{{Sfn|Montserrat Remembrance Day}}
References
{{reflist|20em}}
=Websites=
- {{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwone/mirror01_01.shtml|publisher=BBC|title=Daily Mirror Headlines: The Declaration of War, Published 4 August 1914|accessdate=23 September 2017|ref=CITEREFDeclaration of War}}
- {{cite web|title=Montserrat remembers its fallen soldiers » Government of Montserrat|url=http://www.gov.ms/2010/11/15/montserrat-remembers-its-fallen-soldiers/|website=www.gov.ms|accessdate=23 September 2017|ref=CITEREFMontserrat Remembrance Day}}
- {{cite web|title=The Leeward Islands - Caribbean's Great War|url=http://westindiacommittee.org/caribbeansgreatwar/map/africa/topics/the-leeward-islands/|website=Caribbean's Great War|ref=CITEREFWest India Committee}}
- {{cite web|title=The British Overseas Territories in World War One|url=http://fotbot.org/ww1-programme|website=fotbot.org|accessdate=23 September 2017|ref=CITEREFFriends of the British Overseas Territories|language=en}}
- {{cite web|last1=Duffin|first1=Claire|title=World War One centenary: Far-flung heroes of the first truly global war|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11003327/World-War-One-centenary-Far-flung-heroes-of-the-first-truly-global-war.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140801070516/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-one/11003327/World-War-One-centenary-Far-flung-heroes-of-the-first-truly-global-war.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 August 2014|website=www.telegraph.co.uk|accessdate=23 September 2017|ref=CITEREFWorld War One Centenary|date=1 August 2014}}
- {{cite web|title=Montserrat in written records and photographs: preserving the archive for the nation and the Montserrat diaspora|url=http://eap.bl.uk/downloads/eap769_survey.pdf|website=eap.bl.uk|accessdate=23 September 2017|ref=CITEREFBritish Merchant Marine}}
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