In Brest Kerfautras Cemetery are over twenty soldiers from the British West Indian Regiment, casualties from 1917. Over 15,000 men from across the Caribbean colonies served in the BWIR during the war. Early research shows that Brest was the main point of disembarkation for the British West India Regiment (BWIR) as well as Commonwealth troops coming from Africa and Australasia.
A moving extract from the BWIR 7the Battalion “War diary” of July 1917 records that “While marching to the railway station accompanied by a French band, the inhabitants of Brest gave a great reception throwing flowers and sweets to the men”
In November 2022 Souvenir Français and the Brest Municipality organised a “Rendez-vous Mémoire et Citoyenneté́ du Finistère” In which over 1,000 students from local schools spent a day learning about remembrance and their heritage. Royal British Legion Brittany was invited to join them for the formal Commemoration Ceremony.
brittanyremembers.com 