Barbados
MILITARY HISTORY
BARBADOS MILITARY HISTORY
1902
The Barbados Volunteer Force came into existence.
1904
June | Barbados Volunteer Force’s first Ceremonial Parade with the troop from Leicester for the King’s birthday.
1905
English Leicester Regiment left Barbados.
1906
January | West Indian Regiment left Barbados for service abroad
1907
Barbados Volunteer Force provided aid in St Lucia.
1911
Two officers and eight sergeants attended King George’s Coronation.
1927
1937
1948
1953
1955
1957
February | First Trooping of the Colours.
1959
16th April | Trooping of the Queen’s Colour.
1961
1st January | Barbados Regiment was reorganized.
1962
3rd May | Colonel of Regiment Parade
2nd June | Queen’s Birthday Parade
27th October – 3rd November | Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of the Barbados Regiment
1963
March | First Barbadian appointed Adjutant of the Barbados Regiment; Major Leonard C Banfield.
1966
29th November |Major Banfield courageously climbed a flagpole to free a stuck halyard, after the fire and police could not ascend.
30th November | First parade as an Independent Country, Garrison Savannah.
1979
The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) was established August 15, 1979, and has responsibility for the territorial defence and internal security of the island. The headquarters for the Barbados Defence Force is located at St. Ann’s Fort base at The Garrison, Saint Michael.
1983
Barbados Regiment called to assist with the Greneda Intervention. Brigadier Rudyard Lewis led the assisting troops.
1984
July | Decompression Chamber was commissioned into service. It was the only one in the English speaking Caribbean at the time.
1988
THE BDF aided in relief for Hurricane Gilbert relief aid to Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and St Lucia
1995
THE BDF aided in relief for Hurricane Luis relief aide to Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and St Lucia
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 34 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.
