© 2026, Christian Cassidy. Please respect my research.
Hewburn Nathaniel "Hubert" Greenidge made Manitoba history three times. Once in 1913, when he became the first Black student to enroll at the Manitoba Medical College, again in 1920 when he became the first Black student to graduate from any of the University of Manitoba's colleges. As a medical graduate, he also became Manitoba's first Black doctor.
Greenidge was here for a short time, and sadly had a short life, but he relied on a network of friends, family, and expats from his home country to achieve his goals.
Here's a look back at his story. For more of my Black History Month posts.
A small item in the Winnipeg Tribune of October 13, 1913, noted that earlier that day, the "Manitoba Medical College has its first negro student, H. J. Greenridge (sic), a native of British Guiana." A couple of days later, the Winnipeg Free Press said he was the first Black student to enroll at any of the U of M's colleges, though the present-day U of M does not claim the first to enroll, just the first to graduate.
The Manitoba Medical College building he attended still stands on Bannatyne Avenue, now known as the Medical Services building.
Greenidge was born in Georgetown, the capital of British Guiana (known as Guyana since 1966), on November 1, 1893. This family post on Instagram says he was the eldest of seven children and that the "four oldest were sent to Canada to live with their mother’s sisters who had emigrated from Barbados in the 1890s."
It is unclear when the Greenidge children came to this country. That last name cannot be found in Canadian census records of 1906 or 1911.
As a young man, Greenidge traveled to England, where he attended extension lectures at the Cambridge College of Preceptors. He opted to enroll at the Manitoba Medical College to "see what Winnipeg had to offer".
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Greenidge's name appears for the first time in Winnipeg in the 1913 edition of Henderson's Street Directory, the data for which would have been compiled in 1912. His occupation is listed as a shoe shiner at the Sterling Bank Barber Shop. It was owned by E. L. Doerr and located in the basement of the newly opened Sterling Bank Building on Portage Avenue.
As for his place of residence, Greenidge is renting a room in a duplex located at 526 Simcoe Street in the West End. The owner of the house was Norman B. Lewsey, who also worked as a shoe shiner at Sterling and lived there with his wife and two children.
Lewsey was a former sergeant in the British Guiana police force who came to Winnipeg in 1908. At whatever house the family lived at, they always took in boarders to help pay the bills and be a welcoming presence for new immigrants. (Read more about Lewsey here.)
936 Alexander in the 1916 Census of Canada (Library and Archives Canada)
In the 1915 street directory, which would have been compiled in 1914, we find Greenidge renting a room at 936 Alexander Avenue with the occupation of carpenter. His brother Arnold, a tailor, also lived there.
This was the home of William Haynes, his wife Frederica, and their five children. William came to Canada in 1910 from British Guiana, followed by his wife and what was then three children in 1911. He was a carpenter by trade, so Greenidge likely worked for him.
Greenidge lived at this address until 1916, went to war, and returned here in 1918 when he was discharged.
It must have been a packed house, as a 1920 for sale ad describes it as a "5 room cottage". The house and an adjacent one burned down in 1997, but they likely looked similar to the neighbouring ones still on the street.
The Haynes family moved in 1920 to a much larger property at 257 Lulu Street, where William set up a workshop. One of their sons, Percy, carried on the family business, and with his wife Zena converted it into Haynes Chicken Shack in 1952.
Greenidge enlisted on November 21, 1916, and was assigned to No. 2 Construction Battalion CEF, which was based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was the first and only all-Black battalion-sized formation in Canadian military history. (For more about its history, see here and here.)
In his attestation papers, Greenidge listed his brother Arnold at 936 Alexander Avenue as his next of kin, though he would relocate to Toronto before the war ended. Another name that appears in his file is Viola Greenidge, who rented a room at the home of Mrs. A. A. Cole at 812 Banning Street.
According to his military service file, Greenidge left Halifax on March 25, 1917 aboard the S. S. Southland (formerly the Vanderland) and disembarked in Liverpool on April 7. The battalion arrived in France on June 4, 1917.
No. 2 Construction Battalion spent most of its time in the forested area of south-east France to establish a series of logging camps. They felled trees and supplied raw lumber and finished wood products that were shipped by rail to allied forces for use in trenches, camps, and other infrastructure.
Greenidge served for 2 years and 12 days before he was discharged back to Winnipeg on December 2, 1918. It was noted on his discharge papers that he had reached the rank of corporal and that his conduct as a soldier was "very good".
The reason for the discharge was the Canadian government's order that all medical and dentistry students who had completed at least one year of their education before enlisting be sent home. This was to combat alarmingly low enrollment levels at medical schools across the country.
Greendige returned to 963 Alexander, but by then his brother had relocated to Toronto.
The Winnipeg Tribune said that he was planning to attend the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in the fall before returning to his home country to practice. (An Oliver Campbell Greenidge graduated with a diploma in tropical medicine from there in 1904 - perhaps he had a family connection to the institution?)
The news of his graduation was picked up as a wire story and reprinted in several Canadian and American newspapers.
Dr. Greenidge opted to stay in Winnipeg for another year, as he can be found in the 1921 census living upstairs at the Harris Block at 267 Selkirk Avenue with his occupation listed as doctor. Street directories do not indicate where he was practicing.
Also living on his floor were three men who all worked for the CPR: William Smith from the USA, Clifford Davis from the British West Indies, and another American.
Sadly, Dr. Greenidge never made it to Liverpool.
Not long after the census was taken, he returned to Georgetown to see his parents. There, he fell ill for five months before he died on November 20, 1921 at the age of 28.
A cable was received by friends in Winnipeg with the news, and the Winnipeg Free Press posted an obituary.
Footnote:
(City of Windsor Archives)
The No. 2 Construction Battalion was officially disbanded in September 1920 without ceremony or official recognition.
In July 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an apology to the descendants of battalion members for the racism they faced during and after the war. It was awarded the France and Flanders Battle Honour 1917-18, and $2.25 million from the Veterans Affairs Canada Commemorative Partnership Program to tell the stories of the Battalion and other Black veterans. (Here's a related CBC news story.)
A descendant of Greenidge was on-hand at the ceremony to receive the No. 2 Battalion Apology Medal.
For more about Greenidge and other Black veterans, see the website Canadian Black Veterans
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