By Jody Jewers, Editor, The Sport Section
Remembrance Day held extra meaning for the Town of Truro as the Truro Amateur Athletic Club Grounds was renamed the No. 2 Construction Battalion Athletic Facility during a ceremony to honour the legacy of Canada’s first and only Black battalion to serve in the First World War.
The ceremony, which took place on November 8, was the culmination of a promise made more than three years ago, when then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Defence Minister Anita Anand delivered a National Apology at the Grounds. At that event, Mayor Bill Mills also announced that Truro Town Council would be renaming the venue. The Grounds were a training and drilling site for the No. 2 Construction Battalion after it was headquartered in Truro following its initial establishment in Pictou.
Revitalization of the facility, which has hosted sports including cricket, lacrosse, baseball, football, rugby and track and field among many other events, had been planned for roughly a decade, with a primary goal being the installation of an all-weather surface and rubberized track that could be used year-round. A three-storey clubhouse that offers meeting spaces, washrooms, locker rooms and kitchen facilities was also built, as well as a separate nearby baseball facility.
“We’re in a soft opening right now,” says Ashley Simms, director of parks, recreation and culture for the Town of Truro. “There’s still some little things that need to be done and we’re planning a grand opening in the spring, but Football Nova Scotia has used the field for its provincials and track and field has been doing some training, and soccer teams have used it as well.”
In January 2025, a public renaming contest received 45 submissions, with a subcommittee of the African Nova Scotia Community Strategy Committee selecting the winner. A Grade 7 class at Truro Middle School and the Afrocentric Aspiring Leaders Youth Group at Cobequid Educational Centre were the winners having each submitted names celebrating the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
David Paris’s grandfather was a member of the No. 2 Construction Battalion. He has several other relatives who also served in the military.
“It’s good that their service has been recognized, although it took a long time. But it means a lot,” says Paris, who is retired but still works part-time for the Town of Truro. “It’s good that it’s local and hopefully it’ll help younger African Nova Scotians and African Canadians to see that they are represented and that those lives meant something, and that it will inspire them to carry on and to stay strong. A lot of things like this are forgotten and younger people never get to know about it, so it feels good to see the names up there and to know we have a place.”
