Our Brothers’ Keepers
BDF Media Release| 28 October 2020
Photography and Story credit: Pte Straker K
The Barbados Defence Force (BDF) wishes to acknowledge the efforts of the Barbados Legion in maintaining its objective to provide assistance to our veterans, our unsung heroes. Such assistance was recently granted to Private Samuel Clarke with the refurbishment of his home.
Private Clarke has offered twenty – seven (27) committed and gratifying years of service to Barbados. During these years, he was a member of Alpha Company Platoon 1, serving under Company Sergeant Major (CSM) Carter. Clarke made it clear in an interview that he is thrilled to have spent his youth in the military and especially thanks CSM Carter for bringing him up the right way. “I would advise any young man to go and join the BDF right after school, you will learn a lot and enjoy your time in service. I even tell the young men from my neighbourhood to sign up”, he said in his time you didn’t have to worry about food or accommodation, and it was the best place for a young man to be. Clarke would have spent the majority of his military career at the Drill Hall and remembers the times he had the privilege to go to the St. Lucy Naval Base.
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Clarke, though he did have any overseas deployments, said, “if I was called to be deployed I would have gladly gone”. In his 27 years, Clarke says he has had the opportunity to pledge allegiance to the British and the Barbados National flag after being raised at the Garrison Savannah, and also paying his compliments to the Prime Minister of Barbados at the time Sir Errol Walton Barrow. He says one piece of advice for anyone joining the military is to “ensure to follow the command of senior persons and you will be ok, your duty as a soldier is to follow the Queen’s law”.
Garrison Secretary Warrant Officer Class 2 (Ret’d) Winfield Boyce, indicated that this project was made possible due to the kind donations of Barbadians during the 2019 Poppy Appeal Campaign. The Barbados Legion and the Barbados Poppy League is encouraging more Barbadians to donate during this year appeal so that they can continue to render the much-needed assistance to our veterans.
Commodore (Cdre) Errington Shurland enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force in February 1984.
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.
