North America and West Indies Squadron
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The North America and West Indies Squadron of the UK's Royal Navy was maintained at varying strength throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It had a base at Bermuda where there was a dockyard until 1951.Reasonable facilities and a great fortified harbour were available at Halifax, Nova Scotia. During World War II, Canada developed Sydney, Nova Scotia as an alternate convoy port.
British ports in the Caribbean, such as Kingston, Jamaica and Port of Spain, Trinidad were available for rest, refueling and supplies as was St. John's, Newfoundland in the far northeast, the closest port in North America to the British Isles.
The main role of the squadron was to keep the trade routes open to North America and the Caribbean. Generally, several cruisers and smaller ships were kept on this station. During war time the squadron operated in cooperation with the Canadian Navy.
