George Blackman (1897 – 22 April 2003) was born in
Barbados and served as a Private in the 4th
British West Indies Regiment
The British West Indies Regiment was a unit of the British Army during the First World War, formed from volunteers from British colonies in the West Indies.
Formation
In 1915 the British Army formed a second West Indies regiment from Caribbean ...
during
the First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Following the death of former Jamaican soldier Eugent Clarke in 2002, George Blackman was the last living man from the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
who was known to have served in the Great War.
Black soldiers from the
British Empire rarely saw front-line action during the First World War; they were usually assigned logistical or support roles for their white comrades. Blackman, however, saw action against the
Germans and the
Turks, fighting hand-to-hand in many cases, before returning to Barbados via the British base in
Taranto, Italy.
Soldiers of the empire, UK news, The Guardian
/ref>
After his return, Blackman was given no support from the government. He worked as a labourer for the remainder of his career.
On 6 November 2002 Blackman was featured in an article in '' The Guardian'' entitled "There were no parades for us", which highlighted the plight of soldiers from the British Empire who served in the World Wars, and who received little recognition from the British government for doing so. A few months after this article was published, he died in Barbados.
See also
* Stanley Stair
* List of last surviving World War I veterans by country
References
External links
Simon Rogers, ''Soldiers of the empire: "There were no parades for us"''
''The Guardian'', 6 November 2002
1897 births
2003 deaths
Barbadian centenarians
British Army personnel of World War I
British centenarians
British West Indies Regiment soldiers
Men centenarians
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