The Fall of Hong Kong December 25, 1941

The Fall of Hong Kong - December 25, 1941 As part of the defence force of the British Colony of Hong Kong, the Royal Rifles of Canada and the Winnipeg Grenadiers sailed from Vancouver on October 27, 1941. In addition to the 1878 men from the Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers, the Canadian contingent, known as C Force, included 97 members from other units which included the Canadian Chaplain Services (3 members), the Canadian Dental Corps (7), the Canadian Provost Corps (8), the Corps of Military Staff Clerks (5), the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (7), the Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps (7), Royal Canadian Army Service Corps (17), Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (33), and the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (10). In total, 1975 Canadians participated. The Canadians arrived in Hong Kong on November 16th. On December 8, 1941, some 14,000 British and Canadian troops defended the Island against the attacking Japanese Army. “The Japanese were getting closer and there was no significant air or naval defence. The RAF was a small crowd, seven officers and sixty men with ten aircraft, five of them obsolete. The navy had one destroyer, ten motor boats and a few gunboats. Hong Kong did have Canadian and British troops and four thousand Europeans, Portuguese, and Chinese but the Japanese were battle hardened and they outnumber us. After the first air attacks the RAF had but one plane intact. They joined the land defenses, some dug in just above the Canadians who tried to be helpful ... took them up some hot tea and helped them with the digging. There was also heavy bombing of the harbour, and there were many casualties. The navy ordered all ships scuttled and took up land defence. The Japanese landed on the island....and the defenders failed to drive them out. What a Christmas day! ... Empty stomachs, tired out, and only heaven knew what was going to happen next ... The Japanese were pushing against what remained of the defence.” (dialogue as presented in Echoes of the Forties - Wartime Heritage Association 2008) The battle for Hong Kong lasted from the 8th of December until the 25th. At 3:15 on the afternoon of Christmas Day, the British Governor surrendered to the Imperial Japanese Army. In the seventeen and a half days of battle 290 Canadians were killed and 493 wounded. For the next three and a half years, the Canadian and British POWs were imprisoned in Hong Kong and Japan. They endured brutal treatment and near-starvation. In the Prisoner of War Camps they would often work 12 hours a day in mines or on the docks in the cold. Many did not survive. In all, more than 550 of the 1,975 Canadians who sailed from Vancouver in October 1941 never returned.

Yarmouth and Shelburne Counties of Nova Scotia - Casualties/Prisoners Private Percy Atwood (Shelburne Co., NS) Private Hercules Buchanan (Shelburne Co., NS) Private George R. Churchill (Yarmouth Co., NS) Private Kenneth Gates (Yarmouth Co., NS) Private Angus John Jacquard (Yarmouth Co., NS) Private Gilbert G. Jacquard (Yarmouth Co., NS) Private Ferdinand Lloyd (Shelburne Co., NS)

The following 21 Casualties with ties to Nova Scotia died during the Battle of Hong Kong, or later in the war as Prisoners of War captured at Hong Kong Royal Rifles John Murdock Acorn Percy Coleman Atwood Howard Norman Bent Leo Abbey Cormier Wellington Culleton Angus John Jacquard Thomas MacLaughlin Charles Lewis McLean William Joseph McGrath Joseph McIsaac Walter Leslie Moore James Richard Patterson Irvin Kirwin Ray Lloyd Logan Roblee Perry Sarty Henry Andrew Surette Frederick Arnold Wyrwas Royal Canadian Army Pay Corps Lyle Leonard Ellis Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Frank Charles McGuire Winnipeg Grenadiers Archibald Roy Rutherford Merchant Navy Joseph Victor King