The Wartime Diaries of Canadian Baptist Military Chaplain William A. White, 1917–1918

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article focuses on Rev. William A. White’s experience as a black Baptist chaplain for the No. 2 Construction Battalion (Coloured). More specifically, its focus is almost solely on his wartime diaries and what they tell us about his experiences, convictions, joys, and struggles. These details provide a unique glimpse onto the daily life of a military chaplain at the front. They also reveal attitudes and responses to prejudice and patriotism. In that regard White’s diary illustrates a commitment to nation and empire that was striking when one considers the prejudice and hostility directed towards blacks in Canada and in the military. This research not only fills a lacuna in regards to research on White, it is also fitting because of the centenary of the formation of the No. 2 Construction (Coloured) and subsequent appointment of White, the first black chaplain in the British Empire.