ABOUT THE BARBADOS CADET CORPS
The Barbados Cadet Corps is the oldest Cadet Corps in the region. The first unit of the Barbados Cadet Corps was formed at the Lodge School in 1904 and this was followed by the formation of companies at Harrison College and Combermere School.
In August 1978, cadets from Ellerslie Secondary were taken on strength as No 4 Company and by 1982 the Corps was expanded to 18 companies.
By 2010, companies were established at Deighton Griffith School, Lester Vaughan, Queen’s College and Alexandra School. Today the Corps comprises 24 units, 21 of these are in public secondary schools and one unit caters to private schools.
The Barbados Cadet Corps also has an Air Wing, a Sea Cadet Unit, a Cadet Corps Band, a Medical and a Shooting Unit.
Cadets may join the Corps as early as 13 years old and can remain until they are 20 years old, provided that they are in an educational institution. In that regard, there are cadets who attend the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, the Barbados Community College and the University of the West Indies.
The mission of the Barbados Cadet Corps is to “use challenging activities and military discipline to create model citizens among a wide cross-section of young Barbadian boys and girls in educational institutions”. In addition to developing qualities of good citizenship, the Corps strives to give cadets an opportunity to learn skills that are useful throughout their adult life.
Command Element
Commandant
Lieutenant Colonel
Errol Brathwaite
Lieutenant Colonel. Errol Livingstone Brathwaite was appointed Principal of the Ellerslie Secondary School on September 1, 2011, and Commandant of the Barbados Cadet Corps on Saturday, October 1, 2016. In August of this year (2017) he was appointed as Chairman of the Caribbean Commandants’ Association at the Commandants’ Conference held in Dominica…
Deputy Commandant
Lieutenant Commander
Carl Farley
Carl Farley has spent more than thirty-one (31) years in various capacities in the petroleum industry. A former Science Teacher (Chemistry, Mathematics & Physics), Carl joined the staff of the Mobil Oil Barbados Refinery as Laboratory Supervisor in July 1986. To date, he has progressed through various positions in three (3) major petroleum organizations, namely the former Mobil Oil Corporation now ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell and presently the Sol Group. In these organizations, major positions held included Planning and Production Manager (Mobil Oil), Health, Safety & Environment Advisor…
Corps Warrant Officer
Master Chief Petty Officer 1
David Knight
Master Chief Petty Officer Class One (MCPO1) David Anderson Knight is a proud student of the Foundation School. He began his military career in the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) as a reserve infantry soldier in 1987. He transferred to the regular element in 1989 and served as a mess steward for a short period before moving into the Motor Transport Troop in 1990 where he was promoted to the rank LCpl and nominate to be the chauffeur/bodyguard of the Deputy Chief of Staff. He was also deployed to Trinidad and Tobago in 1990 in support of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force as a bodyguard of the contingent commander and to perform peacekeeping duties after an attempted coupe. MCPO DA Knight’s military posting includes: Catering Staff 1989 – 1990 Mess Steward; Motor Transport 1990 – 1994…
Master Chief Petty Officer Class One (MCPO1) David Anderson Knight is a proud student of the Foundation School. He began his military career in the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) as a reserve infantry soldier in 1987. He transferred to the regular element in 1989 and served as a mess steward for a short period before moving into the Motor Transport Troop in 1990 where he was promoted to the rank LCpl and nominate to be the chauffeur/bodyguard of the Deputy Chief of Staff. He was also deployed to Trinidad and Tobago in 1990 in support of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force as a bodyguard of the contingent commander and to perform peacekeeping duties after an attempted coupe.
Commodore (Cdre) Errington Ricardo Shurland was appointed Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 1 September 2021. He enlisted in the BDF in February 1984 and in a military career spanning over 33 years, has served in various operational and administrative appointments.
Colonel Glyne Grannum joined the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) on 18 October 1985 and underwent career development training at the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School, Chilliwack and the Combat Training Centre, Gagetown New Brunswick, Canada. He subsequently attended the Infantry Training Centre and the Signal Wing in Warminster, UK (PCBC and RSO Courses respectively), the International Institute of Humanitarian Law in San Remo, Italy; the Lester Pearson Canadian Peacekeeping Centre, the Canadian Land Forces Command and Staff College, Kingston, the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College, Toronto, the National Defence University of the People’s Liberation Army People’s Republic of China and the Centre for Hemispheric Defence Studies, National Defence University, Washington. He also attended a Defence Resources Management programme at National Defence Headquarters, Ottawa, Canada. In addition to being a qualified infantry officer, Col Grannum is a qualified Regimental Signals Officer and a former Operations Officer and Finance Officer of the BDF.
Colonel Banfield joined the Barbados Battalion of the South Caribbean Force in 1941 having just left the Cadet Corps at Combermere School, and was granted a commission as a Second Lieutenant in 1942. He was a Platoon Commander and a Company Commander during the war and served in Barbados, Dominica (as part of the Gale Force), St Lucia and St Vincent.
Warrant Officer Class 1 Colin Marshall is a graduate of the St Michael, and was born on the 5 November 1969 and enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force on 16 August 1994. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in August 1997, Corporal in 1999, Sergeant in 2007, Color Sergeant in 2014, Warrant Officer Class Two in 2017 and Warrant Officer Class One in 2020. He was Most Outstanding Student on Junior Leadership Course in 1998, the Most Outstanding Student on Junior Non Commissioned Officer Cadre in Jamaica in 2000, best at Leadership on the Search Adviser Course in Jamaica in 2007 and the Most Outstanding Student on the Warrant Officer Course in Jamaica in 2015.
