Museums team up to remember the No. 2 Construction Battalion

by Sylene Argent

The stories and lives of those who served in the all-black volunteer No. 2 Construction Battalion during WWI were widely untold, until efforts have taken place over the past few years – including an official apology from the Canadian Government in 2022 – resurrected interest.

The Kingsville Military Museum hosted a presentation about the No. 2 Construction Battalion on Saturday, which invited Barbara Porter, a descendent of three of the servicemen who served on the No. 2 Construction Battalion, and Lorene Bridgen-Lennie, Assistant Curator at the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, to speak about this service group.

In a previous presentation, Porter noted that in August of 1914, there was a call for men to enlist. At least 200 black men applied and were rejected. They were told it was a white man’s war.

Starting July 5, 1916 in Nova Scotia, this service group, comprised of black men from Canada and the US, built roads, laid barbed wire, dug trenches, and cut down trees to make ammo boxes and other necessities needed to support the war effort.

The No. 2 Construction Battalion was around 700 men strong; of which around 100 were from Windsor-Essex County. Many were from Nova Scotia. There was also a recruitment operation in Windsor from September 1916 to around the following March. Using old newspaper articles for research, Porter stated in a presentation she made previously as an educator with the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, that a meeting was held at Central Grove Church in Harrow and at the Essex Centre Fair in an effort to get enlistment.

This was the first and only all-black Battalion in Canadian military history, she said. They sailed from Halifax to England on March 28, 1917 on ships that transported only African-Canadian soldiers.

The ages of these men ranged from 18-45, and they were farmers, labourers, painters, elections, molders and plasterers, before they joined the War.

Though the No 2. Construction Battalion existed, black men did participate in military combat as part of other service groups, Bridgen-Lennie said.

She noted that often, those in the No. 2 Construction Battalion were not believed if they were ill or injured. Some of those men, “Actually died in the military hospital because no one believed them.”

The goal, Porter said, is to educate individuals on this unit. The men in the No. 2 Construction Battalion were segregated into their own unit, because of racism. Despite being segregated into their own unit, these military individuals still served their country.

On Sunday, March 28, 2021, the Department of National Defence hosted a virtual meeting, noting of the federal government’s intent to apologize for the treatment of No. 2 Construction Battalion Members.

During the announcement, Hull-Aylmer MP Greg Fergus said those who served faced significant barriers and resistance in their efforts to serve the country. “Even though many of their fellow soldiers refused to serve shoulder-to-shoulder with them on the frontlines, and yet they were unwavering in their commitment to protect and defend Canada and Canadians.”

Porter’s Grandfather, Alfred August Tudor, and two of her great uncles – her Grandmother’s brothers – Jerome and James Lockman, served in the No. 2 Construction Battalion, so educating the public on this, in addition to all African-Canadian history, is important to her.

Tudor, according to his enlistment papers, spent three-years in the 10th cavalry, which would also make him a Buffalo Soldier.

The Lockman brothers, with their other siblings, studied at the Mission for Coloured Children, which was established by Reverend James Theodore Wagner of Windsor in 1887, where Windsor Regional Hospital (Ouellette Campus) is located now.

Jerome was part of the recruitment efforts, Porter noted. She found that through an old newspaper article. She found a document that noted he had a back injury after falling several feet off some lumber.

She said when he did seek medical help for that injury, he was told he was being hysterical, according to records she found.

Bridgen-Lennie, to date, has created over 50 family histories for the Amherstburg Freedom Museum. One of them outlines the history of the Lockman family.

For the past year, the Amherstburg Freedom Museum has been trying to connect with area Legions to hang a framed photo of the No. 2 Construction Battalion taken in Windsor. So far, a picture has been presented to the Metropolitan Branch 594 of the Royal Canadian Legion in Windsor and to the Amherstburg Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 157). In addition, one is placed at the Kingsville Military Museum.

On February 22, one will be presented to the Tecumseh Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 261). On February 28, another framed photo will be presented to the Windsor Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion (Branch 644) for display.

The idea is that when people think of military personnel, they think of the Legion, and that is why there is a desire to get a copy of these photos to these facilities. It also shows representation of African-Canadian servicemen in WWI, and urges people to ask about that history.

Every month, the Amherstburg Freedom Museum hosts a Black History Series Presentation. One last year was with guest Anthony Sherwood, who acted in and directed the film “Honour Before Glory,” on the No. 2 Construction Battalion. This segment can be found on its YouTube page. Porter also hosted a presentation a few months ago on the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

March’s segment will be with Moraa Stump, an artist, on the history of quilting with African-Canadian women.

Bridgen-Lennie noted it is important to recognize black history not only just in February, but throughout the year.