Allan Selwyn Bundy was the first Black Canadian combat pilot. Born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Bundy was a talented athlete who excelled in track and field. He attended Dalhousie University to study chemistry as a scholarship student. When the Second World War began he applied to join the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) but was rejected due to his race. In 1942 he received a notice of conscription from the Canadian Army, which he did not accept; he informed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, when they arrived to follow up on the notice, that he wanted to serve in the RCAF. He was accepted and trained as a Flying Officer, an occasion which received media attention from as far away as Pittsburgh.