Teachers, historians look to ensure First World War — and Windsor's role — aren't forgotten

Whether it's a story about the first Canadian to die in the First World War or a construction battalion of all Black men, Windsor played a historic role in the Great War.

"Black soldiers weren't allowed to serve at the front in a fighting role in the First World War. So they put together this construction battalion, trained here, trained in England and then we're in France," said Rob Nelson, the head of the History Department at the University of Windsor.

Nelson is hosting an international convention of academics on the history of the First World War at the School of Creative Arts at the University of Windsor at the downtown old Armouries building.

On Saturday, the public is invited to a series of talks entitled Learning about the First World War.

It will feature presentations from John Conlon, a teacher at Assumption High School, who will talk about teaching Canadian history, including the First World War, to new Canadians.

Barbara Porter, from the Amherstburg Freedom Museum, will speak about the No. 2 Construction Battalion and Matt Pritchard, the co-ordinator of education at Museum Windsor, will talk about Windsor's war veterans, including Cpl. Charles Raymond. He was born in Windsor but was fighting for Britain when he became the first Canadian to die in the war on Sept.14, 1914.

Pritchard will also speak about the artifacts on display at the Chimczuk Museum, such as the Canadian-made Ross Rifle.

"It's a very good rifle for hunting, but it has a lot of very exposed parts and components to it. So it quickly would fill up with mud and grime and stuff in the trenches," said Prtichard.

The keynote speaker will be Detroiter Robert Burgoyne, a retired professor from the University of St. Andrews, who will discuss the Peter Jackson film, They Shall Not Grow Old. It's a colourized documentary featuring First World War footage.

"Peter Jackson... recently took a bunch of footage from the First World War of British soldiers, Colourized it, put sound to it, got people to speak, kind of copied the mouthing of the silent films and actually figured out what they were saying and created this incredible documentary called They Shall Not Grow Old," said Nelson.

Nelson said the First World War has its parallels with the war in Ukraine, so learning about it can give a person more insight into the war in Ukraine.

"And that war is classic 1914. It's about nationalism and territory and building up propaganda to make you hate the other side. All that stuff we've seen over the last couple of years," said Nelson.

The event runs from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and admission is free.