Not Just Numbers
Case 7 Conclusion: Arthur Seymour Tyler
Fifteen Minutes
Did you find anything surprising about this person’s life?
Did you make any assumptions that were later challenged?
Is there anything specific about this person that you would like to know?
Details
Born in Saint John, New Brunswick in February 1897.
At 5’4″, he began his professional journey as a horse trainer before enlisting in the military.
He was one of the 20 soldiers who were rejected from enlistment in 1915.
He was able to enlist and join the No. 2 Construction Battalion on September 14. 1916, the only unit composed entirely of Black Canadians in WWI.
In WWI he departed Canada March 28 landed in England on April 7, 1917, and to France in May 1917, serving near the Jura Mountains.
He built and maintained logging roads, not on the frontlines or in immediate danger, as part of the No. 2 Construction Battalion.
He suffered influenza in France, leading to significant hearing impairment in his right ear, limiting his ability to hear beyond three feet.
He played trumpet and cornet in the battalion band, contributing to the morale of his comrades.
He was discharged on February 18, 1919 after WWI.
He married his wife Lenetta in 1929 and had seven children.
He served again in WWII as Bugle Sergeant with the Carleton and York Regiment, New Brunswick.
He played the Royal Salute for King George VI during the 1939 inspection of the 1st Canadian Division, earning personal recognition from the King.
He was injured in 1941, breaking his ankle during the bombing attacks in the Battle of Britain, ending his active military service .
He worked as a porter for the Canadian Pacific Railway, spending time in Toronto, until his retirement in 1959.
The federal government formally apologized for the way Black soldiers of No. 2 Construction Battalion were treated during the First World War. on July 9th, 2022.
For more information:
Black Canadian Veterans Stories. “Our Legacy Voices Project Is Pleased to Bring the Story of No2 Construction Battalion Soldier Arthur ‘Seymour’ Tyler into Classrooms This Fall. Two Years Ago We Journeyed to Nova Scotia for National Apology and Spoke with His Daughters Delores and Beaulah.: Black Canadian Veterans Stories.” Facebook, September 1, 2024. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=393092020484881.
Black Canadian Veterans Stories. “Tyler, Arthur ‘Seymour.’” Black Canadian Veterans Stories, August 13, 2024. https://www.blackcanadianveterans.com/post/tyler-arthur-seymour.
Canadian Great War Project. “Private Arthur Seymour Tyler.” C.G.W.P – Canadian Great War Project. https://canadiangreatwarproject.com/person.php?pid=76428.
Fredericton Region Museum. “Arthur ‘Seymour’ Tyler.” Our Black Heritage: Early Black Settlers of York-Sunbury Counties (New Brunswick) 1783-Present, May 4, 2023. https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/black-settlers-york-sunbury_colons-noirs/gallery/an-honoured-member-of-new-brunswicks-black-community-for-the-work-he-did-to-promote-the-pride-unity-and-dignity-of-his-race-through-education-arthur-seymour-tyler/.