Pre 1940 Barbados Volunteers cap badge by Gaunt. London

The badge depicts Britannia riding a seahorse, an iconic device taken directly from the Barbados colonial coat of arms, set within a six-pointed starburst. Beneath is a scroll with the title BARBADOS VOLUNTEERS. This pattern is well recorded as the standard cap badge of the Barbados Volunteers before the force was reorganised in 1939 into the Barbados Volunteer Force (BVF) under the new Defence Act.

The Volunteers functioned similarly to other British colonial auxiliary units: part-time soldiers raised for local defence and internal security. During WWII the BVF provided home defence, coastal watch duties, and manpower support for the British Caribbean garrisons, although only a small number of Barbadians served overseas within wider West Indian formations.