Some stories take a long time to return home. This year we are learning that the story of the No. 2 Construction Battalion is one of them.
Authorized on July 5, 1916, the No. 2 Construction Battalion was the first and only all-Black battalion in Canadian military history. They served in France during the First World War building roads, rail lines, and infrastructure essential to the war effort, contributions too often left out of Canada’s historical record regardless of racial heritage.
Twelve of the men who enlisted with the “Black Battalion” came from British Columbia, and of those, three travelled overseas from Salt Spring Island. The youngest was James Douglas Whims, only 18 years old, who did not return.
The BC Black History Awareness Society presents The Bugle Called & Forth They Went, a multimedia performance written and performed by BC folklorist, playwright, poet, and singer shayna-adjowa jones. Drawing on African and Afro-Diasporic oral storytelling traditions, shayna combines history, performance, and spoken word to bring these stories vividly to life.
This event is made possible through the Commemorative Partnership Program of Veterans Affairs Canada and presented by the BC Black History Awareness Society in collaboration with the Salt Spring Island Historical Society & Archives.
Entry is by donation, with $5-$20 a suggested amount.
