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.
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. [1] Almost immediately, a militia was formed, called the Montserrat Defence Reserve. [2]
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 250 pounds (110 kg) of Guava Jelly was collected. [2] 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. [3] [4] A number of locals served in the Merchant Navy. Of these, six died in service. [5]
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. [6]
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
Montserrat is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. The island is in the Leeward Islands, which is part of the chain known as the Lesser Antilles, in the West Indies. Montserrat measures approximately 16 km (10 mi) in length and 11 km (7 mi) in width, with approximately 40 km (25 mi) of coastline. Montserrat is nicknamed "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" both for its resemblance to coastal Ireland and for the Irish ancestry of many of its inhabitants. Montserrat is the only non-fully sovereign full member of the Caribbean Community and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Montserrat, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The Lesser Antilles are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc between the Greater Antilles to the north-west and the continent of South America. The islands of the Lesser Antilles form the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Together, the Lesser Antilles and the Greater Antilles make up the Antilles. The Lesser and Greater Antilles, together with the Lucayan Archipelago, are collectively known as the West Indies.
The Leeward Islands are a group of islands situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean. Starting with the Virgin Islands east of Puerto Rico, they extend southeast to Guadeloupe and its dependencies. In English, the term Leeward Islands refers to the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain. The more southerly part of this chain, starting with Dominica, is called the Windward Islands. Dominica was originally considered a part of the Leeward Islands, but was transferred from the British Leeward Islands to the British Windward Islands in 1940.
The British West Indies (BWI) were the British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago. Other territories include Bermuda, and the former British Honduras. Before the decolonisation period in the later 1950s and 1960s the term was used to include all British colonies in the region as part of the British Empire. Following the independence of most of the territories from the United Kingdom, the term Commonwealth Caribbean is now used.
The music of Montserrat is influenced by Irish traditions, noticeable in the set dance-like Bam-chick-lay, and the presence of fife and drum ensembles similar to the bodhrán. Natives are also witness to the jumbie dance, the style of which is still strongly African. Instruments include the ukulele and shak-shak, an African instrument made from a calabash gourd; both of these are used in traditional string bands. Calypso and spiritual-influenced vocal choirs, like the Emerald Isle Community Singers, are popular.
Anguillan Creole is a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Anguilla, an island and British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. Although classified as a dialect of Leeward Caribbean Creole English spoken in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Montserrat due to a common British colonial history, it is actually closer to the British Virgin Islands and Saint Martin varieties of Virgin Islands Creole. The number of speakers of Anguillan Creole is below 10,000. Anguillan Creole does not have the status of an official language.
The term British West Indies refers to the former English and British colonies and the present-day overseas territories of the United Kingdom in the Caribbean.
The coat of arms of Montserrat consists of an escutcheon (shield) charged with a woman in a green dress holding a golden harp and a black cross. In use since at least 1909, it has been the official coat of arms of the Caribbean island of Montserrat since the island became a British Crown colony in 1962. The escutcheon is featured on the flag of the territory.
British America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in the Americas from 1607 to 1783. These colonies were formally known as British America and the British West Indies before the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) and formed the United States of America.
Charles Henry "Jim" Allen MBE is a former Montserratian first-class cricketer who was a part of the World Series Cricket West Indies XI and is considered the greatest ever Montserrat sportsperson.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Montserrat:
Montserratians in the United Kingdom including Montserratian-born immigrants to the United Kingdom and their British-born descendants constitute the second largest number of overseas British citizens living in the UK.
The following is an alphabetical list of topics related to the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat.
The Royal Montserrat Police Service is the police service of the British Overseas Territory island of Montserrat in the Caribbean. The current Commissioner is Steve Foster, JP, BSc, CPA., a native and career police officer of Montserrat.
Montserratian may refer to:
The Montserrat cricket team has represented the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat in cricket. The team is not a member of the International Cricket Council, but the Montserrat Cricket Association is a member of the Leeward Islands Cricket Association, which itself is a member association of the West Indies Cricket Board, and players from Montserrat generally represent the Leeward Islands cricket team at domestic level and the West Indies at international level. Montserrat has however played as a separate entity in matches which held Twenty20 status, but has not appeared in first-class or List A cricket. The team's current coach is Abdiel Hughes, who was appointed in April 2012. The current captain is McPherson Meade.
Cannabis in Montserrat, the British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean Leeward Islands, is illegal under British law.
Ellen Dolly Peters, BEM was an Afro-Montserratian teacher and trade unionist. Outspoken in her activism for improved conditions for workers, she was instrumental in the rise of William Bramble's political career and earned the title "king maker". For her contributions to labor, she was awarded the British Empire Medal and was awarded the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice for her teaching and service to the Catholic Church.