No. 2 Construction Battalion
They were led by Captain Anderson, who eventually resigned his command over how poorly the battalion was treated by local military establishment.
[3] With the outbreak of the First World War, Canadians were excited to serve their country and many flocked to recruiting stations from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.
This time was no different and Black people attempted to enlist in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, but most were rejected and were told that it's a "White man's war.
"[4] The Department of Militia and Defence's policy towards recruitment was to defer to the judgement of the individual commanding officer, and since many held deeply ingrained beliefs about the inferiority of Black people, very few were accepted.
By November 1916, the recruiting situation had improved little, leading Lieutenant Colonel Sutherland to propose raising a company in the British West Indies.
While nothing came of this (it was claimed that troops from the West Indies would be unsuitable for France’s cold weather), the battalion did manage to obtain about 165 men from the United States.
The unit departed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, on board the SS Southland on March 28, 1917 and arrived at Liverpool, England, ten days later.
2 Construction Battalion, CEF, was designated an event of national historic significance by the government of Canada, and a commemorative plaque was placed in Pictou, Nova Scotia, the following year.
In February 2007, the Black Cultural Centre for Nova Scotia successively acquired a Victory Medal for a former member of the unit, Sapper PR.
[11] The awarding of this long-overdue battle honour serves as a means to celebrate and highlight the significant and distinguished efforts of all members of No.
This honour also highlights National Defence’s commitment towards culture change by correcting this long-standing historical injustice and addressing systemic racism.
[12]The 2001 documentary film Honour Before Glory, produced by Anthony Sherwood,[a] is based on White's wartime diary, which recorded the hardships faced by the Black soldiers, such as lack of proper clothing and medical care.
[13][14] In July 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologized for the "blatant anti-Black hate and systemic racism" endured by the battalion's soldiers.
