During the Second World War, Black men and women in Halifax volunteered for the Civil Emergency Corps, a local "Home Guard" that served as the air raid precaution (ARP) group for their community in the north end of the city.
Key Details
- Organization and Purpose: The Civil Emergency Corps was a civilian defense force formed to provide essential services in the event of an attack, including police, fire, first aid, rescue, and demolition services. One of their main responsibilities was enforcing city-wide blackouts to prevent enemy aircraft from identifying targets at night.
- Volunteers: Dozens of African Nova Scotian residents, with names such as Downey, Adams, Talbot, and Johnson, protected their neighbourhood near the naval shipyards. Due to racial segregation at the time, this unit was entirely Black.
- Equipment and Training: Volunteers trained to use special firefighting equipment, like hand-operated pumps for incendiary bombs, and learned how to deal with chemical weapons. They often wore armbands and Mark II helmets for identification.
Citizens with names such as Downey, Adams, Talbot and Johnson, residents of Creighton, Maynard, Gerrish and Cunard streets, not far from the naval shipyards, stepped up to watch and protect their neighbourhood from harm in the form of bombs, fire and crime, adversities usually handled by municipal police and fire departments.
Home Guard Platoon 7E was made up entirely of blacks, representing the population of what was then a predominantly black neighbourhood.
Home guard volunteers were trained on the Garrison Grounds by military personnel and were responsible for keeping a myriad of supplies on hand for emergencies, ranging from sandbags to firehoses.