No 2 Construction Battalion - Battle Honours and Perpetuation Awarded to 4 ESR

[rmc_wannabe]

Just saw this CANFORGEN come out:

CANFORGEN 079/22 CMP 40/22 011355Z JUN 22​

NO. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, CEF / HONOURS AND PERPETUATION​

UNCLASSIFIED

REFS: A. GENERAL ORDER 6 OF 1928, CONDITIONS OF AWARD OF BATTLE HONOURS FOR THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919
B. THE PRINCIPLES AND ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR THE AWARD OF CANADIAN FORCES BATTLE HONOURS, 18 OCTOBER 2011

1. THE PURPOSE OF THIS CANFORGEN IS TO RECOGNIZE NO. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, CANADIAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCE (CEF) FOR ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR. A REVIEW OF HISTORICAL RECORDS HAS DETERMINED THAT THIS BATTALION IS ELIGIBLE FOR BATTLE HONOURS IAW REF A AND CAN BE PERPETUATED IAW REF B. RAISED ON THE INFANTRY LIST, IT IS DEEMED TO BE COMBATANT, THEREFORE ELIGIBLE FOR BATTLE HONOURS AND TO BE PERPETUATED BY A COMBATANT UNIT
2. IAW WITH REF A, THE CHIEF OF DEFENCE STAFF (CDS) HAS APPROVED THE ALLOCATION OF THE BATTLE HONOUR QUOTE FRANCE AND FLANDERS, 1917-18 UNQUOTE TO NO. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, CEF
3. IAW WITH REF B, THE CDS HAS APPROVED THE PERPETUATION OF NO. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, CEF BY THE BRANCH OF CANADIAN MILITARY ENGINEERS AND BE PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED BY 4 ENGINEER SUPPORT REGIMENT
4. THE AWARDING OF THIS LONG OVERDUE BATTLE HONOUR, SERVES AS A MEANS TO CELEBRATE AND HIGHLIGHT THE SIGNIFICANT AND DISTINGUISHED EFFORTS OF ALL MEMBERS OF NO. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, CEF DURING THE GREAT WAR. THIS HONOUR ALSO HIGHLIGHTS NATIONAL DEFENCE S COMMITMENT TOWARDS CULTURE CHANGE BY CORRECTING THIS LONG STANDING HISTORICAL INJUSTICE AND ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC RACISM. THE PERPETUATION OF NO. 2 CONSTRUCTION BATTALION, CEF WILL ENSURE THAT IDENTITY AND HONOURS GAINED BY THIS UNIT WILL ENDURE IN THE CAF AND DND
5. QUESTIONS CONCERNING THE DISPLAY OF THE BATTLE HONOUR AND PERPETUATION CAN BE DIRECTED TO THE DIRECTORATE OF HISTORY AND HERITAGE BY EMAIL AT DHH6HERITAGE-DHP6PATRIMOINE AT FORCES.GC.CA

 

[mariomike]

Thank-you for posting.

My grand-father was in No. 1 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force ( C.E.F ).
Joined at Sudbury, Ontario 27 July, 1916. The unit embarked from Halifax on the S.S. Northland on 12 Sept., 1916.
He was wounded at Passchendaele.

No. 1 and No. 2 Construction Battalions were authorized under General Order 69 of July 1916 anddisbanded under General Order 149 of 15 September 1920. Both units were raised in April 1916 from skilled but experienced building labour. The 1st Canadian Construction Battalion arrived in France in October 1916 where effective November 11th was converted and designated as the 1st Canadian Railway Construction Battalion. In February 1917 the designation was changed to the 1st Battalion Canadian Railway Troops. This unit being disbanded under General Order 196 of 1920.

 

[NavyShooter]

One of the Junior Officers in my Unit is a part of this - his Grandfather was a soldier in #2.

NS

 

[Kilted]

Can they even be awarded battle honours as a construction battalion? Were they considered to be infantry for some reason? Engineer regiments cannot be awarded battle honours.

 

[dapaterson]

Can they even be awarded battle honours as a construction battalion? Were they considered to be infantry for some reason? Engineer regiments cannot be awarded battle honours.

That is custom, not encapsulated anywhere in regulation.

And, in fact, 31 CER does have battle honours (as does 42 Fd Regt RCA).

 

[Kilted]

That is custom, not encapsulated anywhere in regulation.

And, in fact, 31 CER does have battle honours (as does 42 Fd Regt RCA).

Those units received them when they were Infantry regiments. This is going to open a faint can of worms. They would have been better giving some type of honourary award. Personally, I feel that some units may have been passed over for some battle honours, but now they are giving them to units that weren't/aren't entitled to them.

 

[dapaterson]

The history of battle honours is rife with politicking, gaming the rules, changing the rules... see: recent CANFORGEN.

 

[TangoTwoBravo]

Can they even be awarded battle honours as a construction battalion? Were they considered to be infantry for some reason? Engineer regiments cannot be awarded battle honours.

You should read the CANFORGEN. It explains in para 1.

 

[OceanBonfire]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1541474280373878791

No. 2 Construction Battalion Awarded ‘France and Flanders, 1917-18’ Battle Honour / Black Battalion to be perpetuated by 4 Engineer Support Regiment - Canada.ca

The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) awarded of the ‘France and Flanders, 1917-18’ Battle Honour to No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) in Ottawa, on June 1, 2022.

www.canada.ca

 

[Kat Stevens]

You should read the CANFORGEN. It explains in para 1.

Someone better get sewing up the colours then, all CERs and their predecessor units were "combatant". Ubiquitously so, in fact.

 

[Remius]

Someone better get sewing up the colours then, all CERs and their predecessor units were "combatant". Ubiquitously so, in fact.

No colours if I am not mistaken. So no sewing required.

UBIQUE covers it all.

 

[Kat Stevens]

No colours if I am not mistaken. So no sewing required.

UBIQUE covers it all.

My point. Battle honours are useless without colours to display them on. I'm aware of both definitions of UBIQUE, artillery and the correct one.

 

[rmc_wannabe]

Someone better get sewing up the colours then, all CERs and their predecessor units were "combatant". Ubiquitously so, in fact.

Did No. 2 Construction Battalion fall under the RCE or were they an infantry Battalion they didn't trust with guns...because... racism reasons?

I am certain that DHH did their homework on this one, so as to keep the Combart Support arms at bay. The RCCS has been watching with forlorn hope for a Ubiquitous honour for the past century, seeing as we have been on ground in every major and minor operation Canada has participated in since 1903.

 

[PuckChaser]

Shut up and wear your blue hat.

 

[rmc_wannabe]

Shut up and wear your blue hat.

But...But...

 

[OceanBonfire]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1541799830309199875

https://twitter.com/x/status/1541799839666692100

 

[FormerHorseGuard]

That is custom, not encapsulated anywhere in regulation.

And, in fact, 31 CER does have battle honours (as does 42 Fd Regt RCA).

42 Fd displays the former Colours and Honours over the parade square. The Colours are part of their history.

 

[Kilted]

If they are retroactively considering them to have been an infantry battalion shouldn't No. 1 Construction Battalion receive it as well?

 

[Kilted]

Here is a bit of a detailed history:

Canadian Military Journal Vol. 16, No. 3

They were reduced from a Battalion to a Company in Britain and then attached to the Canadian Forestry Corps. They served in France but did not see combat, other than a detachment that was in the general area of an artillery attack, which was then withdrawn.

 

[Kilted]

42 Fd displays the former Colours and Honours over the parade square. The Colours are part of their history.

The Battle Honours that those two units hold are from their time as Infantry and armoured regiments.