using the old mess silver. In preparation for the formation of the revived WIR, the West Indian federal government began to maintain the local units of the various islands from April 1, 1958, including the Jamaica Regiment which was intended to be the nucleus of the new WIR. On December 15, 1958, the federal legislature passed the Defence Act, 1958 which gave the legal basis for the formation of the new WIR and detailed its structure and mandate. The West India Regiment then came into existence again on 1 January 1959, absorbing the greater part of the Jamaica Regiment (which simultaneously ceased to exist) with the officers and men of the Jamaica Regiment being transferred to the new WIR. The new WIR was headquartered in Jamaica at Harman Barracks in Kingston. In September 1960, plans were announced to raise two full battalions for the WIR, the 1st Battalion to be based in Jamaica and the 2nd Battalion in Trinidad and Tobago. The total strength of the regiment was to be 1,640, giving a total of 730 soldiers for each battalion. The WIR was intended (like other regional institutions) to promote a sense of common pride and shared heritage and would be recruited from the various islands and serve throughout the region. It would be a means of introducing the troops to islands other than their own and to build friendships between the Caribbean public and their soldiers. The recruiting for the Regiment, which was the main fighting component of the Federal Defence Force, had been carried out on a federal basis with men from all the islands being recruited on a percentage basis related to the population of each territory. By September 1961, some 200 Trinidadians were serving in the Regiment. A total of 14 Antiguans and 12 Kittitians served, though none emerged as officers. In 1960, the 1st Battalion of the WIR was organized into four companies, one of which was a Headquarters Company, and had a depot with administrative staff. Its strength was about 500 men, half of whom were Jamaican, and about 40 seconded British officers and men. The proportion of non-Jamaicans in the battalion increased to two-thirds during 1960 and 1961 although the majority of the officers remained Jamaicans. The 2nd Battalion was formed as planned in 1960 as was a 3rd Battalion. In preparation for eventual West Indian independence, some bases previously used only by