Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove

The Caribbean 1948-1969

The multiple islands of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea and linked with possessions on the mainland of America, were spread over an area of more than 2,000 miles, and had been the scene of fighting during the eighteenth century with France. British soldiers on arrival from England, with their heavy red coats, breeches, leggings, and waistcoats fell prone to the waiting diseases, headed by the dreaded yellow fever. The conquest over disease and the adoption of tropical uniforms brought about a transformation. The Caribbean became the Army's best overseas posting and there was envy for the single battalion based in Jamaica.

H.M.S. Devonshire Inevitably the eruption of nationalist and other factions spread to this part of the world in the post war years. The first scare, of many to come, came when the state of Guatemala, on the isthmus connecting North and South America, laid claim to its smaller neighbour, British Honduras and threatened to invade. This happened in February of 1948. Headquarters Caribbean Area was in Kingston Jamaica and the resident battalion was from the 2nd Gloucestershire Regiment. After a hectic 24 hours of military preparations, two companies of the Gloucesters were embarked in the cruiser HMS Devonshire on the night of February 27th and by dawn on March 2nd had arrived at Belize, British Honduras's capital and port. By midday they had been put ashore and rushed to the frontier where they found no sign of any invader. However, it was decided to keep a company of the Gloucesters in British Honduras as a dampener to Guatemalan ambition. This meant that the Gloucesters would have to withdraw a company from Bermuda so that a reserve would be available for any emergencies. The Gloucesters were followed by the 1st Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and after a brief tour, by the 1st Royal Welch Fusiliers, who helped during the devastating hurricane of 1951.

This caused great devastation in Jamaica and the Royal Welch turned out every man for relief work, clearing roads, circulating food, and sheltering the homeless. Later on that year they sent a company to Grenada and then to Antigua to subdue troublemakers, but as in most cases trouble dissolved when confronted by British troops. The next call for help came in 1953. It was from British Guiana on the mainland of South America. Conditions there were worsening following the introduction of a constitution by Dr. Jagan, leader of the Peoples Progressive Party, who was publicly praising the Mau Mau for killing whites. Two companies of the Royal Welch were despatched to British Guiana and they sailed into Georgetown on board two frigates ready to open up with all they had. They were met at the quayside by an official party, who assured the CO of the Royal Welch that there was no cause for alarm. Having changed from battle order to parade dress, the troops received a big welcome as they marched ashore. Dr.Jagan, meanwhile, expressed his amazement at the intrusion of the military when the situation was 'normal and peaceful'. The British thought otherwise so Guiana's constitution was suspended and a separate battalion was brought in from the U.K. for garrison duty. Arriving in the carrier HMS Implacable, the 1st Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders relieved the Royal Welch by the end of October.

The situation in Guiana remained outwardly quite calm as the troops, by their presence, had made the political climate stay that way. The Argylls were relieved by the 2nd Black Watch in October 1954, and in turn were relieved by the 1st Worcestershires, who had relieved the 1st Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry in Jamaica and British Honduras in December 1957. The Worcesters had to despatch a second company to Honduras in December 1957, when there was danger of a political coup by Guatemala, but on arrival in the Frigate HMS Ulster, the situation once again became calm under the influence of British troops. Only a month later this same company made an urgent journey to the Bahamas. The capital, Nassau, was in the grip of strikers and its one industry, the tourist trade, was at a standstill. Once again the presence of British troops had restored order. After five weeks the company returned to Jamaica.

However, after a further rash of unrest in the Bahamas, the decision was made to station a permanent duty there. Thus when the 1st Hampshires arrived in February 1960 there were three company detachments to be taken over, in British Guiana, British Honduras and the Bahamas, as well as garrison duties in Jamaica. No sooner had the Royal Hampshires settled in than there was a sudden call to arms in Jamaica itself. A fanatical sect, the Rastafarians, sought to take over Jamaica in the name of the Emperor Of Ethiopia. These gangs were reinforced by various Negro gangsters from the United States, who had been indulging in banditry in the Red Hills above Kingston. On June the 21st, 1960, B Company of the Hampshires laid a cordon around the Red Hills for a search. One group of gangsters broke through the cordon, shooting dead two privates and wounding a third. Although it was too late for the Hampshires to round up these men, the Police and the West Indies Regiment did so a few days later and among them was the Rastafarian leader. Jamaica quietened down swiftly after his capture. To strengthen the garrison in Jamaica, Y Company of the Hampshires was replaced at Nassau by A Company of the 1st Duke of Edinburgh's Royal Regiment from the U.K.

A years calm followed and the Bahamas garrison was withdrawn. In the early hours of October 31st, 1961, British Honduras was struck by a hurricane more terrible than any of the previous ones. Some 400 people were killed and 65,000 made homeless. Z Company, 1st Royal Hampshires, had their camp a few miles out of Belize and immediately went to the aid of the victims, bringing in families to safety. Parties of Hampshires set out when the fury subsided and found the airfield usable. Wading, swimming, and using a launch, they reached Belize as night was falling. The devastation was horrifying. The Royal Hampshires set about squelching the looting and performing the most urgent of tasks. Among them was the unloading of an American destroyer, which was the first to bring relief to Belize, controlling food queues, and working in waist deep water hour after hour and day after day trying to rescue victims. On November 3rd B Company of the Royal Hampshires arrived by air from Jamaica, with the main body of the Battalion arriving in HMS Troubridge on the 5th. The Hampshires took over the administration of Belize, which had no drinking water, no telephone system, over 10,000 homeless, hundreds of rotting corpses to be buried, and medical needs to over 600 casualties and 4,500 inoculations a day administered by the Battalion medical team.

The navies, both of the United States and Britain, provided stalwart aid. The battalion in England with the closest knowledge of Honduras, the 1st Worcestershire Regiment, had been alerted and they flew out from the U.K. arriving between the 6th and 15th of November. The 12th Field Squadron, Royal Engineers, also flew out from England, and speeded up the work of clearance begun by the Royal Hampshires. In a month of stupendous exertion the R.E. repaired the electricity and water supplies, re-roofed houses, and built temporary accommodation for thousands. By the end of November the Worcesters began to relieve the Hampshires in Belize City and by December 20th they had themselves returned to the U.K. leaving a sole company of Hampshires in sole occupation again. It had been decided now that Belize would have to be completely rebuilt on a different site and the Sappers had done the planning work on the project before their departure. The Guatemalan ambition to take over British Honduras was still there and on January 21st some troops of the Guatemalan Army decided to cross the border in a remote Jungle area and replace the Union Jack with the flag of Central America. Y Company of the Royal Hampshires sent a platoon off by boat. A corporal and three men bumped into the invaders on a jungle-covered hill on the 23rd January. After a brief exchange of shots, the invaders fled. Followed by a search, two men were found, one claiming to be the leader of the 'Belize Liberation Army'. All but one of his followers was soon rounded up.

The spotlight switched back to British Guiana. There was mounting conflict of racial domination between those of Indian origin led by the Prime Minister, Dr. Jagan, and those of African origin led by Mr. Burnham. Violence erupted in February 1962 when a general strike was called in protest against Jagan's budget. On the 14th the threat of mass disorder and violence in Georgetown sent orders and appeals for troops. There was a swift response and B Company, 1st Royal Hampshires left Kingston Jamaica at about 4am. On the 15th the 1st/1st East Anglian (Royal Norfolks and Suffolk) were alerted and at 8pm that same night two companies of East Anglians flew out from Stanstead Airport. The police in Georgetown retained control until early afternoon on the 16th, when a summons arrived for the garrison, A Company of the Royal Hampshires, who were waiting at the old American airbase 28 miles inland. The sky was thick with smoke and fires blazed everywhere as they drove into Georgetown.

Two platoons were rushed off to guard Jagan's house and public installations, leaving a third platoon to undertake the task of clearing the streets of rioters. By steady advance, in box formation, they sent looters and rioters scuttling away from the main street. The rioters and looters were driven into the arms of the police and detained, adding another task for the troops of guarding them. At 4 pm the detachment from Jamaica arrived onboard HMS Troubridge, thus making two companies of Hampshires to continue the task of rounding up looters all through the night, with the occasional shot being fired to disperse crowds. The two companies of the East Anglians arrived on the morning of the 17th, to be followed by the remainder of the Battalion and a company of the Duke of Edinburgh's. The men were sent off to patrol the streets. The East Anglians found themselves being lauded by a complete mixture of every race and colour. They extended the hand of friendship and showed a most gratifying liking and respect for the British soldier. By the end of March, the East Anglians had assumed full responsibility for the garrison duties, keeping only the resident company of Hampshires until the latter's departure in June.

Jamaica meanwhile was moving towards independence, which was scheduled for August 1962, and on June 2nd the Royal Hampshires performed the British Army's farewell rites. Dressed in white drill, they trooped their colours through the ranks of the 1st West Indies Regiment and on the same day handed over the King's House Guard to them. On July 1st Headquarters Caribbean Area closed down, to be reopened at Nassau as part of the Combined Inter-service Headquarters. Thus ended the longest occupation in British history, which had begun in 1655 when the island was taken from the Spaniards.

British Guiana remained quiet for over a year and then in April 1963, another general strike was called for in protest against Jagan's government. The 1st Coldstream Guards were now the garrison battalion, having relieved the East Anglian the previous October for the unaccompanied tour that had become routine for this station. For the most part they stood by, while the police riot squads dispersed gangs of rioters. Famine set in and rioting gave way to more widely dispersed groups bent on murder and intimidation. The Coldstreams were soon stretched to the limit in providing escorts and patrolling the villages that lay on the fringes of the jungle. One patrol, under a subaltern, released one village that had been in the grip of one gang, while another patrol of six men encountered a mob that showed no inclination to disperse. A shot had to be fired and it killed three people and wounded one. Such was the use of minimum force, when applied by the high velocity self-loading rifle.

More troops had to be summoned and the 1st/2nd Green Jackets, at Colchester, were sent on the 3rd of July and they arrived on the 8th and took over the coastal sector from the Coldstream Guards, who were in the process of being relieved by the 2nd Grenadier Guards. The 1st/2nd Green Jackets (K.R.R.C.) fanned out east and west along the coast road and was eagerly welcomed by the villagers. No defiance was shown against them and within the month the tension had subsided. The Green Jackets returned to the U.K. in January 1964 with the Headquarters 2nd Brigade that had come out with them. Arson was the latest policy of the marauders and during 1964, once again violence broke out. Murders and burnings were the problems for the 1st Queen's Own Buffs, who had arrived in March 1964 to relieve the Grenadiers.

On May the 22nd, a state of emergency was declared and on the same day the 1st Devon and Dorset Regiment received 24-hour notice to move from Northern Ireland. The first company of the Devon and Dorsets flew in on the 24th and were rushed to the remote town of Mackenzie where they joined up with a company of Queen's Own Buffs in preventing the terrible vengeance wreaked by the Negro population on outnumbered Asians. The guarding, evacuation, and rehabilitation of the latter, and the protection of abandoned property kept the troops at full stretch for ten days, with only three hours sleep in twenty-four. It was all achieved without firing a shot. The Asian population sought retribution in Georgetown, where the Colony's senior civil servant was burned to death in his house with seven of his children. Wide scale searches and arrests were made with cordons and searches, roadblocks, and border patrols, and a Home Guard unit was raised. In July the 43rd (Lloyds Company) Medium Battery R.A. was brought in to ease the strain on the two battalions. The military exerted a firm hold over the colony and again violence receded.

On December the 5th, the general election resulted in the removal of Jagan's party from office in favour of a party dedicated to multi-racial consultation. For over a year the garrison remained at two-battalion strength. The Queen's Own Buffs were relieved by the 1st King's Own Royal Border Regiment after the election and in January 1965 the Devon and Dorsets, by the 1st Lancashire Fusiliers. These two in turn were relieved after a tour of nine months by the 1st King's and the 3rd Parachute Regiment and in March 1966, the garrison was reduced to one battalion, in the person of 1st Middlesex Regiment. On May 26th 1966, the colony was granted independence, taking the name of Guyana. The Middlesex Regiment stayed on to train the Guyana Defence Force. In October, after a loudly applauded Beating of the Retreat, they flew home to Northern Ireland. Only Honduras was left with a garrison and there was no reserve available for intervention when the next of Britain's island dependencies went on the rampage. The island in question was Anguilla and it showed discontent and defiance by throwing a British minister off the Island by force in March 1969.

The British government decided that this small island, 16 miles long and 3 miles wide, with a population of 6,000 would have to be occupied. The task was entrusted to 2nd Parachute Battalion from Aldershot. The Paras enplaned at RAF Lyneham on March the 18th and the press was ablaze with sarcastic references to the unfolding of British might on such a small island. President Webster, the rebel leader of Anguilla, was, meanwhile, promising resistance to the death, hinting of hidden stocks of arms. The most the Paras could aim at was the old British tradition in this region for creating anti-climax. They landed at first light on March 19th, in battle order. They had been brought from Nassau in two frigates and were landed on the beaches by motor launch, while two helicopters landed a half platoon on the Island's airstrip. They then raced for the principle road junctions in commandeered vehicles.

There was no firing and no resistance but some of the population spat and raved at the soldiers, a thing that everyone else the world over knew it was safe to do. Given the restraint of the British Tommy, soon they were pictured with children on their knees. Close behind 2 Para came half of the 33rd Field Squadron, R.E., and by mid-September they had formed the entire garrison. They had come to turn peace into prosperity and started work on a long list of projects prepared by Mr. Webster on conversion from rebel to recognised leader. About the only thing that would seem likely to resurrect his defiance would be the threat to remove his British troops.

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