Yarmouth Black Soldiers of the No. 2 Construction Battalion of Canadian Expeditionary Force (1916-1920) Names: Service No. Pte. Freeman Berry 931406 Pte. Freeman Leslie Berry 931012 Pte. Gordon Berry 921216 Pte. John Brown 931213 Pte. Bowman Crawford 931214 Pte. Percy Fenton 931309 Pte. Luke Francis 931297 Pte. Clarence Johnson 931333 Pte. Pannell, Chester 931187 Pte. Aubrey Simmons 931296 Pte. Charles, N. M. Smith 931215 Pte. Arthur Stevens 931174 Pte. John Stevens 931310 Pte. Leslie H. Stevens 931217 Pte. Benjamin Wesley 931175 Captain Samuel Hood (Officer) Captain Samuel Clifford Hood was the only white member of the Battalion from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia All officers in the No. 2 Construction Battalion were white except for Reverend William Andrew White, the Chaplain of the Battalion.

The No. 2 Construction Battalion was created on July 5th, 1916. Black volunteers for the No. 2 Construction Battalion came from across Canada, and included recruits from the United States, and the West Indies. Around 800 men enlisted with the unit in Canada, and 600 were ultimately accepted. Their training began in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and was later continued in Truro, Nova Scotia. In March 1917, the Battalion, which consisted of about 600 men, sailed from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to England. The Battalion was stationed in Seaford, East Sussex, England, starting on April 18, 1917. After a ten-day quarantine, a standard procedure for new arrivals, they were assigned to work parties digging trenches for troops in training and helping with road maintenance as the base expanded. On May 17, 1917, approximately 500 men, including enlisted men and officers, left England for France, landing at Boulogne. They traveled east to the Lajoux area in the Jura mountains (known as the Jura District), a wooded region at the base of the Alps, where they joined No 5 District of the Canadian Forestry Corps. The Battalion's duties included the construction and upkeep of waterworks, road maintenance, and overseeing the district’s shipping and receiving operations. Wilfrid Jones Davidson (1898-1931) of the No. 2 Construction Battalion (Service No. 931158) also had ties to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, after World War I. Originally a carpenter, Wilfrid Davidson was discharged in February, 1919 and returned to his mother’s home at Halifax. After his marriage in 1920, he began theological studies, and served as Pastor of the Disney Chapel in Yarmouth for five years from 1923-1928. Two other men, brothers Austin Trevoy Wilson and James Arlington Wilson, were born in Shelburne Co., Nova Scotia. Austin enlisted in Yarmouth and James enlisted in Halifax. Both brothers listed their next of kin as their sister Mary (Wilson) Kelly who married Henry Kelly. Their sister resided in Greenville, Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia. Service No. Enlistment Date of Death Cemetery Austin Trevoy Wilson 931176 August 14, 1916 April 30, 1933 Pine Grove Cemetery, Shelburne, NS James Arlington Wilson 931169 August 17, 1916 December 18, 1951 Pine Grove Cemetery, Shelburne, NS Other Reading on the “Black Battalion” No. 2 Construction Battalion: Black Cultural Centre of Nova Scotia – No. 2 Construction Battalion Canadian Encyclopedia – No. 2 Construction Battalion

Yarmouth Memorial No. 2 Construction Battalion