Black History Ottawa honours veterans at the 2023 Remembrance Day ceremony
Saturday 11 November 2023
Black History Ottawa continued its tradition of laying a wreath at the city of Ottawa’s Remembrance Day ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National War Memorial. The association was represented by Robert Downey Jnr. , whose paternal grand father George Alexander Downey had served with honour in World War 1 with the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
Thirty seven years ago, Senator Calvin Ruck wrote that the No. 2 Construction Battalion was “Canada’s best kept military secret.” The Nova-Scotia based battalion was the first militia unit in Canada made up largely of black personnel.
Photos by Ruth Aman, Black History Ottawa Project Officer
For more information on Black Canadian veterans, visit: Black History | Black Canadian Veterans Stories