First African-Canadian career flying officer Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Jacobs
Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Jacobs
National Military Cemetery - Section 103, Grave 1262B
Kenneth Barnell Jacobs was born on September 16, 1923 in Windsor, Ontario, to Anna Walker and James, a WWI veteran. Growing up, Jacobs attended Prince Edward Public School and Kennedy Collegiate Institute in Windsor.
He then graduated from Assumption College with a Bachelor of Arts degree and followed that by attending the University of Toronto where he earned his Master of Social Work degree. He would go on to become the first Black front line social worker at the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto.
In an interview with the Government of Canada Heroes Remember Project, Jacobs says:
“When the war broke out, black people, as they did in the First World War, black men went to the recruiting units and they were told that it was a white man's war, and that they were not accepting them. They tried to join the RCAF, the RCAF had a policy that was printed right in its recruiting advertisements in the newspaper. You had to be of European extraction. With a tremendous amount of political pressure applied to the government of the day by people on the east coast, black people on the east coast and also black people in the community of Buxton, you know that community. Letters were written to the Prime Minister, and as a result of this communication the RCAF did loosen up its recruiting policy. As a result of that there were, in my home town about seven guys who were accepted into the Air Force.”
After a day or so moving to Vancouver in the Royal Canadian Medical Corps unit, a sergeant approached his group and asked if anyone can type. Upon raising his hand, he was put to work in the admissions, better known as the orderly room, of the hospital. Jacobs worked there three to four months before the Vancouver Military Hospital opened, where he was then trained to be an operating room assistant. Jacobs spent majority of the war working there as an assistant in operating rooms but also offered his piano skills during parades. It should be noted that during this time, Jacobs enlisted as a Private and concluded the war as a Private.
Following the war, Jacobs completed more schooling before he joined the Royal Canadian Air Force, becoming a commissioned Pilot Officer with simultaneous promotion to Flying Officer in October 1954. Jacobs combined his expertise in the field of Social Work with his military training when he was transferred to 5 Air Division Headquarters, Vancouver, B.C. As part of this new Social Work Branch of the R.C.A.F., his duties extended to include service to all of British Columbia. He continued in this role when transferred to Air Defense Command Headquarters in St. Hubert, Quebec. During this time, he also attained a level of fluency in French.
"I was the first person to go to British Columbia and bring a social work service, a military social work service to the Air Force. And it was my responsibility as a social worker to go to these units and to work with the families because most of these units were set up in such a way that families, a person could bring his family there. Postings were normally 18 months to two years without family and with family, three to four years. Sometimes people would extend or they might have to extend because there was no replacement. But the average length of time that a person would stay on a station like that with his family would be about three and a half years. As I say they were isolated. You really didn't have anything going on outside of the station. There was no community. The community was the station. The station was self contained. There was recreation hall with all kinds of activities and so on. The recreation specialist was as important as the commanding officer."
Jacobs military career is filled with many prestigious accomplishments. In 1961, he was promoted to the rank of Flight Lieutenant. In 1968, he was promoted to the rank of Squadron Leader/Major. As Regional Social Work Officer at Mobile Command Headquarters, he was responsible for providing Social Work service to the combined Navy, Army and Air Force. In 1972, Major Jacobs became the second-in-command or DSDS2 of the Social Development Services at National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa.
On April 1, 1975, Kenneth Jacobs became the first Canadian of African descent to be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.
LCOL Jacobs retired from the Armed Forces in September 1978.
He continued to serve as an active role model in the community. He served as pianist at the Baptist Church and Sunday school teacher in the British Methodist Episcopal Church. He was also a Troop leader in the 12th Scout Troop, a Junior leader in the YMCA, a baseball coach and community council president. In 1997, Jacobs was honoured by the North American Black Historical Museum at their gala.
LCol Jacobs passed away on August 19, 2016.