The

Barbados Defence Force The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) is the name given to the combined armed forces of Barbados. The BDF was established 15 August 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the ...

Band (also known as the Zouave Band), is a musical element of the reserve units that make up the Headquarters Company,

Barbados Regiment The Barbados Regiment is the land force component of the Barbados Defence Force. Its main tasks are the defence of Barbados from external threats, internal security and assisting the local police in maintaining law and order. The regiment also pro ...

and the

. The musicians mainly range in ages between 18 and 50 years old and perform several types of music from light classics to Barbadian native music. The band is currently directed by Director of Music, Lieutenant Brian Cole. It has also participated military events of the

Jamaica Defence Force The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the combined military of Jamaica, consisting of an infantry Regiment and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit. The JDF is based upon the British military model, with ...

, parading alongside the JDF Band,

The Jamaica Regiment The Jamaica Regiment is the main formation of land troops in the Jamaica Defence Force. It is a non-mechanised infantry regiment consisting of five battalions, three regular infantry battalions, one territorial infantry battalion, and a Combat S ...

Band and

Corps of Drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

at the request of the JDF.

History

A Corps of Drums remained active in the Barbados Volunteer Force and the

until the early 1970s. A full band was raised in 1973 as the Band and Drums of the Barbados Regiment and was fully resuscitated in 1987 for the occasion of the

Trooping the Colour Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regi ...

parade in Barbados. It remained active until the early 1990s, and after a brief hiatus, the band was again revived as the Barbados Defence Force Band. In 1999, an improvement and substantial growth of the band facilitated their first major performance at the

Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is an annual series of military tattoos performed by British Armed Forces, Commonwealth and international military bands, and artistic performance teams on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle in the capital of S ...

that year.

Lineage

The BDF Band traces its history back to the

West India Regiment The West India Regiments (WIR) were infantry units of the British Army recruited from and normally stationed in the British colonies of the Caribbean between 1795 and 1927. In 1888 the two West India Regiments then in existence were reduced t ...

Band, which is considered to be the precursor to most Caribbean military bands under the control of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. As a result, the band has a shared history with the aforementioned

Jamaica Military Band Jamaican Military Band (JMB) is one of two military bands in the Jamaican Defence Forces, with the other being The Jamaica Regiment Band. The main task of the band is to play music at all national and military ceremonies. The band's repertoire i ...

. It also shares a lineage with the Corps of Drums of the Barbados Volunteer Force.

Particularities

Public Duties

Performances by BDF Band include: * Public concerts in the

Saint Michael Michael (; he, מִיכָאֵל, lit=Who is like El od, translit=Mīḵāʾēl; el, Μιχαήλ, translit=Mikhaḗl; la, Michahel; ar, ميخائيل ، مِيكَالَ ، ميكائيل, translit=Mīkāʾīl, Mīkāl, Mīkhāʾīl), also ...

* Military and patriotic ceremonies ** State arrival ceremonies **

Military parades A military parade is a formation of soldiers whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. The military parade is now almost entirely ceremonial, though soldiers from time immemorial up until the lat ...

Military tattoo A military tattoo is a performance of music or display of armed forces in general. The term comes from the early 17th-century Dutch phrase ''doe den tap toe'' ("turn off the tap"), a signal sounded by drummers or trumpeters to instruct innkeeper ...

s ** Passing out parades **

Change of Command A change of command is a military tradition that represents a formal transfer of authority and responsibility for a unit from one commanding or flag officer to another. The passing of colors, standards, or ensigns from an outgoing commander to a ...

parades **

Presentation of Colours The Presentation of Colours is a ceremony that marks an anniversary or event in the history of a particular regiment. This involves the presentation of a new version of the regimental colour to a regiment or equivalent formation in the armed for ...

Public holidays in Barbados In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

State Funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

s * Musical concerts *

Guard mounting Guard mounting, changing the guard, or the changing of the guard, is a formal ceremony in which sentries performing ceremonial guard duties at important institutions are relieved by a new batch of sentries. The ceremonies are often elaborate an ...

at The Garrison,

It takes part in the ''We Barbados'' procession through

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

on Independence Day annually. The band parades with a

corps of drums A Corps of Drums, also sometimes known as a Fife and Drum Corps, Fifes and Drums or simply Drums is a unit of several national armies. Drummers were originally established in European armies to act as signallers. The major historical distin ...

who also double as bugler's.

Extra functions

The associates itself with its police band counterpart, the Barbados Police Band. In 2017, the band hosted international

pipe bands A pipe band is a musical ensemble consisting of pipers and drummers. The term pipes and drums, used by military pipe bands is also common. The most common form of pipe band consists of a section of pipers playing the Great Highland bagpipe, a ...

at the Barbados Celtic Festival. Many senior directors of the Barbados Cadet Corps Band have served in the band.

Uniform

In 1856, a type of uniform was adopted for the regiments, modeled on that of the French

Zouave The Zouaves were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army serving between 1830 and 1962 and linked to French North Africa; as well as some units of other countries modelled upon them. The zouaves were among the most decorated unit ...

s (see illustration above). The uniform was first paraded in Barbados in 1858 and subsequently adopted by the Band and Drums of the Barbados Regiment and the Barbados Defence Force Band as a symbolic tribute to the old Band of the West India Regiment. The uniform is also worn by the Jamaica Military Band. It comprises a red

fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...

wound by a white turban, scarlet sleeveless jacket with elaborate yellow braiding worn over a long-sleeved white waistcoat, and a dark blue voluminous breeches piped in yellow. This uniform was retained for full dress until 1914 and by the band alone until its disbandment in 1927. It survives as the full dress uniform of the band of the modern BDF. The uniform is where the band's nickname; the Zouave Band; derives from. The common belief is that

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

saw the uniform worn by the colonial

Zouaoua Igawawen or Gawawa, mostly known as Zwawa (in Kabyle: Igawawen, in Arabic: زواوة, and in Latin: Jubaleni''Revue archéologique, Société française d'archéologie classique'' (in French), p. 28) were a group of Kabyle tribes inhabiting the ...

tribe in

French Algeria French Algeria (french: Alger to 1839, then afterwards; unofficially , ar, الجزائر المستعمرة), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of French colonisation of Algeria. French rule in the region began in 1830 with the ...

. She was immediately struck with the style of the uniform and the

to adopt the uniform for one of its regiments, with the honour being conferred onto the West India Regiment.

References

{{Reflist Barbadian musical groups Military of Barbados Military bands Musical groups established in 1978 Military units and formations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Barbados