Social Impact
© IWM (K 8829) An inside view of the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) Library at the St James Depot, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Two librarians are at work The bag at the bottom left of the picture contains magazines and other literature for troops
The Second World War had an enormous social impact across the Caribbean, in a similar way to other parts of the world. This increased the need to produce additional food and materials for export to support the Allied Forces, while maintaining domestic consumption. These pressures, coupled with the disruption to imports to the Caribbean caused by the war, meant that many Caribbean nations suffered from food shortages (the Caribbean suffered stresses on the home-front just as Britain did).
Additionally the supply of personnel to support the war economies of the British Empire and the USA (as well as to the Armed Forces), caused labour shortages in the Caribbean. This problem was made worse by the arrival of US troops in the region because many local people assisted with building, guarding and supplying these bases.
DID YOU KNOW…?
During the war, many men and women from the Caribbean worked overseas in Europe and America in factories, airfields, organisations such as libraries and even in forestry.
People from the Caribbean were important to the Allied war effort and approximately 20,000 Carribeans served in the Armed Forces. In the Army there was no specific Caribbean Regiment until 1943. The West Indies Regiment had been disbanded in the 1920s as the traditional threats had diminished and Britain experienced financial difficulties. The West Indies proved very loyal and were determined to raise troops so that they could ‘do their bit’ in fighting the Axis powers.
There were challenges creating the Caribbean Regiment due in part to indifference from the War Office (a predecessor of the Ministry of Defence), and backward-looking racial attitudes that were found in Britain and other countries around the world. However, the Colonial Office (predecessor the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) insisted the Caribbean Regiment be formed. While many people faced discrimination in British society, as around the world, such as lower pay and limited access to jobs, there were also positive stories.
The reasons people joined armies were many fold in the Caribbean countries just as they were across the world. These included; a sense of loyalty to their country, fear, opportunities to access education, and to do something they perceived to be exciting and meaningful. Economic considerations became increasingly prominent as the war disrupted trade, causing unemployment and poverty to rise in the region, and making the stable wage offered by the Armed Forces more attractive.
The attitude of people in the Caribbean to Britain and the War were complex and multi-layered. There was resentment of colonial rule, but also patriotic pride of the ‘Mother Country’. As the war progressed and peoples’ experience of the world grew and they were brought into contact with other peoples and perceptions, ideas of self-determination grew.
The Caribbean, like every other part of the British Empire, including Britain, was subject to a government propaganda exhorting people to ‘do their bit’. Threats to the Caribbean were also highlighted to encourage peoples support. These might seem far-fetched today but in the 1940s German warships had destroyed merchant shipping in the Atlantic and German U-boats (German submarines) were active around the Caribbean. It's easy to see why people thought that there might be a genuine threat.
However, the changes brought about by the war paved the way for the independence of these countries from British colonial rule. The military service of people from the Caribbean and the arrival of US service people in the Caribbean led to an introduction of new ideas and changes in perception. The concept of Britain’s Empire came under pressure from the United States, a key British ally.
Meanwhile, the increased desire for self-determination within Caribbean nations was an important factor in the social change that the war brought about on a local and global level. This led to the implementation of a new constitution for Jamaica in 1944, introducing universal suffrage (the ability of all adults to vote), full internal self-government and a democratically elected House of Representatives. It was the most far reaching political reform in the British Empire during the Second World War.
Similar reforms were introduced elsewhere, for example, in Trinidad and Tobago in 1945. These countries went on to gain full independence from British colonial rule in the 1960s-80s.
After the war, many servicemen chose to stay in the United Kingdom to help rebuild post-war Britain. Some others who went back to the Caribbean found jobs were scarce after the war and later returned to the United Kingdom in search of work. The West Indian Association of Service Personnel was set up to support ex-servicemen and to commemorate those who fought.
SECOND WORLD WAR CONTENTS:
COMING SOON!
Profiles People
Living through Conflict
Commemoration and Legacy
Artistic Responses to Conflict