Canada’s Black Battalion: The No. 2 Construction Battalion in World War I
When Britain and Canada declared War on Germany in 1914, the Canadian government started an active campaign to recruit men to join the military. The posters didn’t say “Blacks need not apply”. However, that was the attitude of many in the military establishment.
This didn’t sit well with Black Canadians. In 1915, George Morton, a letter-carrier and civil rights activist wrote to the Minister of Militia and Defense: “… there still remains this cold and unexplained fact that the proffered service of our people has been refused.”
No. 2 Construction Battalion, 1916
Credit: Museum Windsor
In 1916, two years after the start of the war, the Canadian military decided to create the No. 2 Construction Battalion, a segregated Black Battalion. All of the officers were white men, with the exception of the Chaplain, Captain Rev. William Andrew White.
The men of the No. 2 served valiantly in France and Belgium, assisting the Canadian Lumber Corps in providing much-needed lumber to build trenches, bridges, and housing. However, after the war, they returned home to face continued racism and little recognition of their contributions to victory.
In 2016 Annemarie Hagan had the honour of working with Kathy Grant of Legacy Voices to curate an exhibition at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archives to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
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