Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a moment of silence to honour and remember the men and women who have served, and continue to serve Canada during times of war, conflict and peace. We remember the more than 2,300,000 Canadians who have served throughout our nation’s history and the more than 118,000 who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Among the many who have served is one of our founding fathers, Sam Estwick. A coal miner in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Estwick’s initial application to serve as a fighter pilot was rejected by the Royal Canadian Air Force because of the colour of his skin. Even after writing his member of parliament who brought the matter up in the House of Commons, the recruitment office in Halifax would not budge from its position.
While rejected as a pilot, Estwick was accepted into the RCAF as a radar technician where he was top of his class. Estwick was sent overseas in 1942 where he saw active service in England, Africa and India and worked the radar for the planes on bombing runs. His daughter Leslie would told the Ottawa Citizen that crews would say, ‘I want him on board, in case anything goes wrong’.
After the war, Estwick decided to remain in the air force’s telecommunications branch. That was good for the service, because Corporal Estwick was the “only radar mechanic still available in the RCAF who is thoroughly familiar with the maintenance of radar equipments. [He] is exceptionally well qualified,” Group Captain Walmsley wrote on Jan. 28, 1946.
Over the next decade, he instructed at Clinton, Ont., and worked at various radar sites, besides climbing the promotion ladder to Warrant Officer Class 1 – making him possibly the first black man to achieve the RCAF’s highest non-commissioned rank. In 1955, he was finally commissioned as an officer. He retired in 1963 as a flight lieutenant, the RCAF equivalent of captain.
In addition to his service to Canada, Sam Estwick was a Community volunteer who joined the East-Ottawa Lions Service Club in the early 1970’s and through his involvement with their sports committee, became the driving force for the creation of the East Ottawa Lions Track & Field Club. When he served as Club President, he introduced management principles to the Club and built an administrative organization, with parents and other volunteers doing the business-type functions so the coaches could devote their time to coaching. He is one of the few lifetime members of the club. After stepping down as President, he continued to officiate at meets and promote participation in the club. Throughout his life, Sam struggled with and surmounted adversity. In 1982 an award was created in his honour presented each year to the outstanding athlete with a disability.
Samuel Malcolm Estwick was born Oct. 8, 1915, in Padmore Village, Barbados. He died in Ottawa of natural causes on Feb. 13. He was 92.