No. 2 Construction Battalion Interpretive Panel

An updated No. 2 Construction Battalion Interpretive Panel was unveiled on 5 July 2022. Activist, author, and Order of Canada recipient, Calvin Ruck and his granddaughter Lindsay Ruck, a descendant of one of the Battalion members, worked hard to help the No. 2 Construction Battalion receive recognition and have the memorial site established.

Lindsay attended the unveiling as well as Sergeant Gavin Crawford of the 36 Service Battalion, Halifax. Several members of his family were part of the No. 2 Construction Battalion and some were part of the Canadian Forestry Corps. The No. 2 Construction Battalion Plaque was also unveiled and is located next to the No. 2 Construction C.E.F. Memorial. 

The new interpretive panel shows more depth of the story. The original panel was completed in 1993 and was very basic. So much history and new information was uncovered and this panel commemorates that. 

After considerable lobbying by Black Canadians and white supporters, Canada fielded one Black battalion during the First World War — but they had to fight with shovels, not rifles. No. 2 Construction Battalion was authorized on 5 July 1916 in Pictou, Nova Scotia and was composed of Black men from across Canada, the United States and the British West Indies. Its officers were white, with the exception of the unit’s chaplain, Honorary Captain The Reverend William Andrew White. The unit moved to nearby Truro after two months in Pictou. 

On 9 July 2022 the Government of Canada officially apologized for the appalling way these patriots were treated.

needs further research/recherche incomplète