Black Canadian Veterans Stories

Kandahar International Airport

Myth Information Day event June 24th, 2026 in Ottawa .
Save the date

Remembered. Today my FB friend Stephen J. Thorne popped up in my memory. Stephen engaged me to gather stories about our veterans and used his Legion platform to provide these stories to a wider audience.
June 24th I journey to Ottawa to commemorate Stephen and July 5th, his articles shall be on display at the River John Legion in Nova Scotia. LWF.

Caribbean born veterans who volunteered to fight for Canada in the Second World War meet for a 20th Anniversary reunion at my father “Owen Rowe’s” office in April 1964. They are holding the red ensign flag (Colourized)

Mark Graham .. Remembered today . Five years ago today I held a workshop and used Afghanistan Fallen dogtags to have students research and learn about these soldiers.

Spring 1918.. These six conscripts signed up in London, Ontario. Four served overseas if Forestry units

Archival Photo of young WWI soldiers who were conscripted as "reinforcements". This picture was taken in London, Ontario.

All smiles.. today we remember Toronto born Second World War veteran John “Jack” Riley.

Pausing new posts till tomorrow as I am recovering from my hometown “HABS” advancing to the next round yesterday.

All smiles, meet WWII soldier William George Whims of Salt Springs Island BC. Whilst stationed in Petawawa and on leave, he journeyed to Rockhead’s Paradise nightclub in Montreal and fell in love with Bernice Jordon ( one of the dancers) . They got married the following year and she retired. Ain’t love grand?

During the Second World War, William G. Whims arrived at Camp Petawawa as a young soldier carrying the weight and pride of a family already marked by service. His uncles had served in the First World War; one had died in France. William stepped into uniform knowing the cost of duty, yet also knowing the strength that came from the Whims name. What he did not know was that love—unexpected, luminous, and life‑altering—was waiting for him far from the barracks.

While on leave in Montreal, William visited the legendary Rockhead Paradise, the Black‑owned nightclub that pulsed with music, elegance, and the electricity of possibility. Under its bright stage lights, he saw Berenice “Bunny” Jordan, a dancer whose grace commanded the room. She moved with confidence, artistry, and a warmth that drew people toward her. For William, it was as though the world briefly stilled.

Their connection was immediate—two lives meeting at the crossroads of war and music, discipline and artistry, duty and joy. In a time defined by uncertainty, they chose each other with clarity. They married, binding the Whims family story to the vibrant cultural heartbeat of Montreal’s Black performing arts community.

Their love reminds us that even in wartime, life insists on beauty. It insists on laughter, on tenderness, on the courage to build a future when the world feels unsteady. William and Bunny’s story stands as a testament to the truth that has carried families through generations: ain’t love grand.

James Douglas Whims and Robert Clark Whims stepped forward to serve in No. 2 Construction Battalion. Descendants of the free Black settlers who arrived in British Columbia in 1858, they carried with them a legacy of determination shaped by land, community, and the hard‑won dignity of their forebears.

James’s death in France in 1918 marked the first great sorrow in the family’s military lineage, a loss felt deeply on Salt Spring Island. Yet the call to serve did not end with him. Another brother, George Harim Whims, enlisted soon after, continuing the family’s wartime contribution through the Forestry Draft.

A generation later, the tradition carried forward once more. William G. Whims, joined the Canadian Army during the Second World War and was stationed at Camp Petawawa, where thousands trained before deployment.

Together, the Whims men form a lineage of service that stretches from the battlefields of France to the training grounds of Ontario. Their legacy is one of perseverance—of men who stepped forward not for recognition, but because honouring their family’s history meant answering the call whenever it came.