The Great War and Black Hockey in the Maritimes

Members of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

by Bob Dawson,

OTTAWA, Ontario – November 9, 2021 – Historically speaking, the tradition of military service by Black Canadians goes back long before Canadian Confederation (1867). Indeed, many Black Canadians can trace their family roots to Black Loyalists who emigrated North in the 1780s after the American Revolutionary War. African American slaves had been offered freedom and land if they agreed to fight on the side of the British. Thousands seized this opportunity to build a new life in British North America in places like Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Ontario and parts of Western Canada.

This tradition of military service did not end there, with some Black soldiers seeing action in the War of 1812, helping defend Upper Canada against American attacks. A number of volunteers were organized into the “Company of Coloured Men,” which played an important role repelling American forces in the Battle of Queenston Heights, near Queenston, Ontario. Black militia members also fought in many other significant battles during the war, helping drive back the American forces. Black soldiers also played an important role in the Upper Canadian Rebellion (1837–1839). In all, approximately 1,000 Black militia men fighting in five companies helped put down the uprising. Additionally, Black soldiers were the first to be mobilized in the British Colony of Vancouver Island in 1856 in order to prevent an American annexation of the region following the discovery of gold in the interior of British Columbia.

Eager to Serve

Like so many others swept up in the excitement and patriotism that the First World War (1914-1918) initially brought on, Black Canadians, including players from the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes (CHLM), were eager to serve their country. At the time, however, the prejudiced attitudes of many of the officials in charge of military enlistment made it very difficult for these men to join the Canadian Army. Despite the barriers and challenges, some Black Canadians did manage to join up and serve during the opening years of the war.

Black Canadians, however, wanted the chance to do their part on a larger scale. Leaders in the Black communities and federal politicians were willing to take the necessary action to enlist Blacks. Three Nova Scotia Members of Parliament (MP) led the way Sir Robert Borden (Prime Minister of Canada, who as a MP represented Halifax), John Stanfield, MP for Truro, and Fleming B. McCurdy, MP for Shelburne and Queens. In 1915, Sir Sam Hughes, the Minister of Militia and Defence directed that Black volunteers be permitted to join any battalion.

Military officials, especially the Chief of General Staff, Major-General Willoughby Gwatkin, had reservations about Black men serving in the militia. He questioned their ability and desire to fight as well as their acceptance in white units. However, pressured by members of government, Gwatkin agreed to support the enlistment of Blacks, but was not prepared to support their full integration in the ranks.
Formation of No. 2 Construction Battalion In February 1916, the British Colonial Office asked the Canadian Government to form a few labour battalions to serve overseas. Shortly after the formation of the No. 1 Construction Battalion, Gwatkin recommended the recruitment of Blacks to form a second construction battalion lead by white officers to meet the needs of the British. The government and the militia, in the urgent need of recruits, favoured the solution. Black leaders supported the idea and did much to create awareness of the plan in the Black community.

The first two men offered the appointment of Lieutenant Colonel of the all-Black No. 2 Construction Battalion declined. Daniel H. Sutherland, a white Nova Scotian from River John, Pictou County accepted the honour. Reverend William White, a central figure in pressing the case for the enlistment of Blacks and who was the Pastor of the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church in Halifax, was appointed the chaplain of the battalion with the rank of honorary Captain. With this he became the first Black commissioned officer in the British Empire.

On July 5, 1916, the No. 2 Construction Battalion, the first and only Black unit in Canadian military history, was officially authorized as part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. The noncombat battalion was first headquartered in Pictou, Nova Scotia for recruiting and training purposes. Eventually, it was relocated to Truro.

Recruitment Efforts

Recruitment for the Black Battalion began shortly after the move to Truro. Recruitment posters were sent across Canada and even parts of the United States where Black populations resided.

Initially, recruitment efforts did not go as well as hoped. Some potential recruits were opposed to the segregation of units. They wanted full integration within the militia. Others, who had been denied enlistment in other battalions resented the offer to join an all-Black unit, saw it as an insult to their pride. Moreover, the idea of only being used as labourers, trench diggers and builders of fortifications didn’t appeal to many of the young men.

Recognizing this issue, Lieutenant Colonel Sutherland had requested that his unit be designated as a railroad-construction battalion, but his request was rejected.

When the recruitment drive had finished, the battalion numbered about 1,049 men of all ranks. Geographically speaking, the demographics were interesting. Black Canadians and Americans from seven provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) and thirty American states such as Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania had responded to the call to enlist. The largest group of recruits was from Nova Scotia.

To search the Nominal Roll for men of the No. 2 Construction Battalion click on https://archives.novascotia.ca/2construction/results/?Search=

Recruits from the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes

Among the 600 Blacks from Nova Scotia, there were a number who played in the CHLM that were eager to serve and defend their country. The league, through its style of play and pioneer innovations (e.g., the butterfly style of goaltending and slap shot) that predated the formation of the NHL in 1917, helped revolutionize the game of hockey, as we know it today. Due to the war, the league suspended play from 1914 to 1919. Although records are incomplete, below is a list of some of the known players that were in the No. 2 Construction Battalion.

– George Brown (Dartmouth, NS), Halifax Eurekas, 1922

– Joseph Palmer Clyke (Truro, NS), Truro Victorias, 1922

– Al David DeLeon (Halifax, NS), Halifax Diamonds, 1921

– Wallace Dixon (Halifax, NS), Africville Sea-Sides, 1899-1904, CHLM Co-Champs 1901 and 1902

– Harold G. Lambert (Halifax, NS), Halifax Diamonds, 1922

– Gilbert Richard Lattimore (Halifax, NS), Dartmouth Jubilees, 1902-1904

– John Mansfield (Dartmouth, NS), Halifax Eurekas, CHLM Champs, 1904

– Horace Francis Mintis (Truro, NS), Truro Victorias, 1922-1927 and Truro Sheiks, 1928

– Joseph Alexander Paris (Mulgrave, NS), Truro Victorias, 1903-1904

– James Paris, Jr. (Halifax, NS), Africville Sea-Sides, 1922

– William Laurence Paris (Truro, NS), Truro Victorias, 1926

– Adolphus Francis Skinner (Halifax, NS), Halifax Eurekas, 1902-1904, CHLM Co-Champs, 1903 and Amherst Royals, 1905-1906

– James Ivan “Tude” Talbot (Truro, NS), Truro Victorias 1922-1927

– George Washington Tolliver (Halifax, NS), Halifax Eurekas, 1899

– George G. Whalen (Sydney, NS), New Glasgow Speedboys, 1928

Of the above men, all but John Mansfield had returned home after the War. On January 14, 1918, he had been killed in France at the age of 48.

Not surprisingly, former officials and several players of the CHLM had sons that also served with the No. 2. Below is information on the fathers followed by the names of their sons.

– James Borden, Pastor of Dartmouth Lake Baptist Church and organizer of the 1894-1895 Dartmouth Jubilees hockey team – George Borden (Goldenville, NS)

– Albert R. Tabbe, manager of the Africville Sea-Sides – Harold Coleman Tabbe (Halifax, NS)

– Charles Johnson, Dartmouth Jubilees (1898-1904) – Melvan Johnson (Lapeer, Michigan, USA)

– Edward Johnson, Dartmouth Jubilees (1898) – Frank Johnson (Newport Station, NS)

– William Harry Flint, Halifax Eurekas (1898, 1902-1903) – Stanley Flint (Halifax, NS)

– Embru Mantley, Africville Sea-Sides (1922) – Henry Mantley (Halifax, NS)

– George “Charlie” Tolliver, Halifax Eurekas (1899-1906) – William Tolliver (Halifax, NS)

Deployment Overseas

On March 25, 1917, the No.2 Construction Battalion embarked from Halifax aboard the SS Southland. After a 10-day voyage through submarine-infested waters, the unit arrived in Liverpool, England. As it was 300 men under strength, the Battalion was reorganized into a construction company and detailed into working parties where they were digging trenches for the troops in training in England and repairing roads.

While in Britain, the Battalion was subject to British policy concerning units composed of “subject races” of the empire. These policies included confinement to camp, denial of leave and discouragement of association with white people.

To avoid the unjust British policies, the Canadian government moved the Battalion, which was attached to the Canadian Forestry Corps, to France on May 17, 1917. Upon arrival, it was posted in La Joux in the Jura Mountains near the Swiss border. The men assisted in logging for railroad construction, milling and shipping operations as well as repairing roads and relaying water pipes. While there, the men were well received. The French unlike the British didn’t draw the same distinction between the race of its own forces and those of its allies.

Demobilization

The No.2 Construction Battalion remained in France as part of the Canadian Forestry Corps for the duration of the war. While most of the men remained with the unit, a few were assigned to combat units and fought in the trenches with their white compatriots.

The commander of the Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Sutherland, received a letter from the commander of the Canadian Forestry Corps commending his Battalion for its valuable and faithful service during the war. Following the Armistice of November 11, 1918, the unit returned to Canada, where it was officially disbanded along with other units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force on September 15, 1920.

The all-Black Battalion remains Canada’s only segregated military unit in post-Confederation history. More importantly, the Battalion, its members and the Black leaders who fought for its creation are primarily responsible for breaking down the doors of discrimination in the Canadian Military.

Life After the War

Despite their service in the First World War, the men of the No. 2 Construction Battalion from Nova Scotia on returning to civilian life continued to face racism and discrimination in their communities. According to Elsie Harding-Davis, an African-Canadian heritage consultant, “Not many got a veterans’ pension…While many of the white men who came back became teachers or got government jobs, that didn’t happen for Black men. A few were given medals, but a medal doesn’t feed your family.”

In the 1920s, Black hockey players would make their return to the Nova Scotia ice arenas. The CHLM in 1921 re-emerged with the addition of new teams like the Africville Brown Bombers, Halifax Diamonds, New Glasgow Speedboys and Truro Sheiks (formerly the Truro Victorias). Other teams in the reformed league included the Africville Sea-Sides, Amherst Royals and Halifax Eurekas. Once again the league would be recognized in the local media. However, with the gradual decline in attendance at games this would change. No games were reported in 1923 and only two games would be mentioned the following year involving the New Glasgow Speedboys. From there, the league would eventually fade into history.

Closing Thoughts

The Black military heritage in Canada is still generally unknown and unwritten. Many Canadians may still have no idea that Blacks served in the First World War all in the name of freedom. The fact that approximately 600 Blacks from Nova Scotia, including hockey players from the Colored Hockey League of the Maritimes, served in a segregated non-combatant labour battalion during the war has been up to now one of the best-kept secrets of Canadian military history.

The story of the overt racist treatment of Black soldiers is a shameful chapter in the history of Canada. It does, however, represent an important part of the Black experience.

Finally, after 104 years of the Construction Battalion’s deployment overseas, Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of National Defence, announced on March 28, 2021 that Canada would formally apologize for the treatment that the men in this unit faced at home and abroad. The long overdue apology is to take place in Nova Scotia in 2022.

Bob Dawson is a former hockey player, diversity management consultant and a senior writer for the Boxscore World Sportswire. For additional information, you can visit his website http://thebobdawsonway.weebly.com.