Remembrance Sunday Celebrated in Cayman Islands / Home Guard – An Unforgettable Chapter in Cayman History/Memorial to ‘Overlooked’ African and Caribbean war veterans

Remembrance Sunday Celebrated in Cayman Islands 

All celebrations fell silent precisely at 11 a.m. for two minutes at today’s (Sunday, 9 November) Remembrance Sunday Parade and Ceremony. The annual event commemorates fallen veterans and seafarers around the world and locally.

As a part of this year’s theme on both Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, those who served in the Cayman Islands Division of the Jamaica Home Guard from 1942-45 during World War II were specially recognised.

The Home Guards were invaluable participants in a significant chapter in Cayman’s war efforts when live action during World War II arrived off Cayman’s shores. The locals who had formed the Home Guard had helped defend the islands by maintaining a vigil around the clock, 365 days a year, at six posts around Grand Cayman. They looked out for enemy shipping in the surrounding waters, to pass on the warning to a resident US Navy Base in central George Town.

Veterans who are still alive today include Mr. Robert Soto, Cert. Hon., Mr. Edison Yates, Mr. Norlan Smith, Mr. Clifton Bodden, Mr. Harry Carter and Mr. Arlie Pars.

Ceremonies took place simultaneously on Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac starting at 10:45 a.m.

Held at Elmslie Memorial Church in front of the Cenotaph, the Grand Cayman ceremony began with a parade led by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service band and officers. Other contingents were members of the Veterans Association; the Fire and Prison Services; Girls’ Brigade; Scouts; Cadet Corps; the Lions Club of Grand Cayman and the Lions Club of Tropical Gardens.

Persons from various churches throughout the island also took part in the ceremony. These were Rev. Dr. Dave Hazle, Pastor Husam Rochez, Bishop Nicholas Sykes, CMH, Pastor Ellen Peguero and Ms Audrey Leahong.

On Cayman Brac, a similar ceremony took place at the Memorial Cenotaph on the District Administration Lawn in Stake Bay. Partakers included from Speaker of the House, Hon. Julianna O’Connor-Conolly, Deputy Premier Hon. Moses Kirkconnell, District Commissioner, Mr. Ernie Scott, and Deputy District Commissioner, Mr. Mark Tibbetts, Pastor Courtney Morrison, Pastor Joel Scott Snr., contingents from several uniformed organisations as well as members of the Veterans’ and Seamen’s Society of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.

Both ceremonies included the sounding of the Last Post and the laying of wreaths at the cenotaphs and also at Grand Cayman’s Seamen’s Memorial.

Remembrance Sunday Parade and Ceremony is organised by the Protocol Office each year. For more information, please contact Protocol Coordinator Meloney Syms at [email protected]

Photo captions: Photos by Information Officer Yvette Cacho

1. Her Excellency the Governor Helen Kilpatrick.
2. Royal Cayman Islands Police marching band leads parade.
3. Fire Service contingents.
4. Member of Veterans Association lays wreath at Cenotaph.
5. Veterans salute.
6. Hon Premier Alden McLaughlin lays carnation flower.

Home Guard – An Unforgettable Chapter in Cayman History

The Cayman Islands Division of the Jamaica Home Guard delivered sterling service during Cayman Islands’ World War II involvement. The men provided round-the-clock defence from 1942-45, aimed at protecting vessels from enemy shipping, notably from increasing German U-boat activity in the Caribbean.

Their actions also augmented the efforts of a small US Navy Base on the Cayman Islands, once it was well established in George Town, behind the present Public Library.

As outlined in Founded Upon the Seas, Cayman’s history book, there were radio reports nearly every day of merchant vessels being sunk close to the Cayman Islands. What brought it home for Cayman was the torpedo-sinking of the United Fruit Company steamer Camayagua within sight of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman ship Cimboco, headed by Capt. Eugene Thompson, went to the rescue despite the danger, bringing in survivors, some of whom were badly burnt. Sadly, two died in George Town Hospital later.

For the Home Guard, men were recruited from among those living on the Islands who were in “reserved” occupations and those who were considered either too young or too old for active overseas service. Nearly 1,000 Caymanian men or two-thirds of the adult population were already away in active service during the war.

Though officially under the Jamaica Home Guard, the local division was under direct orders of the US Base Commander. The men, who were on a monthly salary, wore khaki uniforms and received thorough training for a month, including in hand-to-hand combat and the use of the rifles they each received.

Their task was to maintain coastal lookouts from posts set up at high points around the islands. The most notable was the wood platform 60 feet up, atop a silk cotton tree beside Fort George in George Town. The others included Palmetto Point in Barkers, West Bay; North West Point, West Bay; Pedro Bluff in Savannah, Gorling Bluff in East End, in North Side and on Cayman Brac.

The posts were equipped with bunks, powerful binoculars and a telephone for reporting to the central office in George Town.

The men took their tasks seriously and provided a diligent service to these Islands, reporting anything they saw that seemed suspicious. Sightings included floating mines and abandoned lifeboats.

(For more information, check out the history book, Founded Upon the Seas: A History of the Cayman Islands and Their People.)

EDITOR NOTE: Not mentioned in the above is the Captain of the Home Guard was the late Major Rodriguez (Roddy) Watler who was also Chief of Police. See today’s Editorial

Additional Images: Georgina Wilcox www.ieyenews.com

Memorial to ‘Overlooked’ African and Caribbean war veterans

From The Voice

The sculpture is the first of its kind in Europe to honour black personnel

Brave but largely unsung African and Caribbean soldiers who fought valiantly for Britain in the First and Second World Wars will finally be elevated beyond a “footnote in history” with a permanent memorial unveiled in their honour.

The two-and-a-half ton sculpture in Windrush Square, Brixton, will be revealed to the public for the first time on Armistice Day (Nov 11) following the observation of the traditional two-minute silence at 11am.

Every name of the African and Caribbean regiments which contributed to Great Britain’s war effort to remember the servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the ‘mother country’ will be engraved for all to see.

It coincides with the 100th anniversary of the First World War and is the vision of the Nubian Jak Community Trust – the only national BME plaque and sculpture scheme in the UK and Europe – in partnership with the West Indian Association of Service Personnel (WASP), with support from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Black Cultural Archives (BCA) and Lambeth Council.

ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

Vince McBeam, chair of WASP, said: “We are honoured and pleased to present this memorial in memory and dedication to the sacrifices and contributions made by African and Caribbean Servicemen and women.

“Stand tall our brave heroes as this befitting monument is unveiled in recognition of your contributions and ultimate sacrifices and that you gave your yesterdays for our today’s democracy and world peace.”

Jak Beula, chair of the Nubian Jak Commemorative Plaque Scheme, said: “The efforts of military contribution to both World Wars by African and Caribbean have for too long remained overlooked and unheralded.

“This memorial will correct that omission and give justice and dignity to the tens of thousands of African and Caribbean servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for the mother country.”

The tribute is part of a six-month project supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund called From Sea to Land and Sky which looks at the contribution of black service men and women from 1914-1948.

CRITICAL ROLE

It has the firm backing of the Jamaican High Commissioner, Her Excellency Aloun Ndombet-Assamba. She called the memorial a “fitting permanent tribute” to those who played a critical role in the war effort.

“This year, as the one hundredth anniversary of the start of the First World War is observed, it is fair to say that the role played by the Caribbean, Africa, India and other parts of Asia is still not widely known by many in Britain,” said Ndombet-Assamba.

She added: “The Caribbean and Africa were profoundly affected by the war as manpower, materials, and funds were sent by them to the aid the war effort to protect Britain and Europe. Although troops from the Caribbean and Africa played a critical role in the war, they were never properly compensated or recognized and their work and sacrifices are still treated as a footnote.

“This memorial is a fitting permanent tribute to those thousands of men and women from Africa and the Caribbean. I hope that it will go some way to highlight that we were also an important part of this shared history.”

Dawn Hill, chair of BCA board of trustees, said: “This memorial will establish a constant source of inspiration to our Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities of the valuable contribution made to Great Britain and the continuing heroic role of our soldiers in the present day.”

IMAGES:

WELL-KNOWN: Walter Tull

REMEMBRANCE: Art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by artist Paul Cummins at the Tower of London, marking the centenary of the First World War

For more on this story go to:

http://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/memorial-overlooked-african-and-caribbean-war-veterans