The Colours
THE ORIGINS
THE ORIGINS OF THE COLOUR
In military organisations the word ‘Colour’ is used to describe the regimental flags of infantry battalions. ‘Colours’ are large brocade and embroidery flags which were originally carried into battle so that soldiers of a particular unit could see where the rest of their unit was located at all times. Also, Colours were often used as a rallying point during the course of the battle.
Although the Colours are no longer carried in battle, they constitute the symbol of the Regiments’ honour and represent its devotion to duty. As such they are held in the greatest esteem by the soldiers and officers. They are brought out on important parades and regimental occasions and are escorted by a ‘Colour Party’.
The infantry units of the British army normally have a ‘stand’ or pair of Colours which comprises of : the Queen’s Colour, which is a union flag and symbolises the regiment’s loyalty to the Crown and the Regimental Colour, which has all the unit’s battle honours inscribed on it.
The Regimental Colour is carried on all ceremonial parades by all Regiments who have been granted Colours. The Queen’s Colour is carried only when a guard is mounted over Her Majesty The Queen, His Royal Highness Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, or a member of the Royal Family and the Governor-General.
Her Royal Highness Princess Mary, Princess Royal presented the Barbados Regiment with their first stand of Colours on 23 February 1953.
The Queen’s Colour was trooped in Barbados on 19 February 1975 in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen. It was also trooped on Saturday 21 November 1987 to mark the celebration of the twenty-first Anniversary of the Independence of Barbados and again on Monday 4 June 2012 on the occasion of commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Accession to the Throne.
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.
