By Richard Lawrence
This year, militaries around the world are celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. War, in itself, is bad but one that involves the entire world is almost unimaginable. Yet it happened twice. The scope of a world war, along with the deaths and atrocities, both military and civilian, is impossible to comprehend as a whole so we take snippets and analyze and remember them. For Canada, there’s Vimy Ridge, Hill 70, the Last Hundred Days, Dieppe, the Rhineland Campaign, Ortona, Kapyong, and anyplace that Canadians fought. There were individuals that had greatness thrust upon them such a Hampton Gray, Andrew Mynarski, Paul Triquet, and John Osborn who were awarded Victoria Crosses, as well as thousands whose small acts of bravery went unnoticed but saved countless others from harm. Some of their contributions have faded from the collective consciousness to be remembered only by their descendants.
One such group are the Canadians that died or were captured during the defence of Hong Kong which surrendered Christmas Day, 1941, after fighting an overwhelming Japanese force for 18 days in an unwinnable contest. They were remembered this weekend as the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association (HKVCA) recalled the group of men generally known as “C” Force, the 80th Anniversary of the end of the war with Japan, those who died in the defence of Hong Kong, and the repatriation of those captured in that defence who survived three years and eight months of hellish treatment in Japanese prisoner of war camps and work camps on the Japanese Home Islands.
The defense of Hong Kong is a story of Canadians who were undertrained sent to a foreign outpost that Churchill had once described as indefensible. Its sole purpose, as an outpost, was to be a delaying action should the Japanese attack so British High Command would gain time elsewhere. These men were written off before the attack even began. Notwithstanding, the Canadian government sent a battalion of the Royal Rifles of Canada, a battalion of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, and a headquarters for a total of 1975 members, which included two nursing sisters and over 100 indigenous soldiers (plus a dog if you consider Gander, a Newfoundland dog who was the mascot of the Royal Rifles and died in battle at Hong Kong. He was awarded the Dickin Medal [a.k.a. the animals Victoria Cross] posthumously in 2000 for his deeds in that battle. His name is engraved in the Defence of Hong Kong Memorial Wall in Ottawa along with all the other soldiers that perished in the defence at the insistence of the survivors.).
The numbers don’t tell the true story of what these men went through. Of the 1975 members of “C” Force, 290 were killed in the battle, 1685 captured of which 264 would die as prisoners of war. A total of 100 decorations were awarded to “C” Force including a Victoria Cross (Osborn) for their exceptional bravery and persistence. Some of those captured were used as forced labour in Japan, living in squalid conditions under cruel supervision with less than starvation rations. There is not enough time or paper to go over the Hong Kong defence and subsequent events but it is interesting and moving and readers should visit the HKVCA Website ( https://HKVCA.ca ), Report No. 163, Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters, “Canadian Participation in the Defence of Hong Kong” (https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/Canada/CA/163-HongKong/index.html ), or search out other resources.
Instead, I will concentrate on the 80th anniversary reunion organized by the HKVCA. HKVCA now consists of descendants of “C” Force for the last survivor died in 2024. The reunion was a weekend of fellowship along with breakout sessions exploring aspects of the battle, Gander the dog, and other topics of interest. There was the Remembrance Ceremony at the National War Memorial for the 80th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War, a wreath laying ceremony at the Defence of Hong Kong Memorial Wall, a visit to the Canadian War Museum, and a Gala Dinner to close the reunion. There is too much to cover with four events combined into one article but certain fragments stood out for me so I will recount those starting with the 80th Anniversary of the End of the Second World War Remembrance Ceremony held at the National War Memorial.
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The National War Memorial (NWM) ceremony was a large affair with over 400 people in attendance on August 15th, a bright and sunny day, hot really. All the HKVCA attendees were on the west side of the NWM or seated facing the monument on the south-west side. All were in direct sun but some had thought to bring umbrellas for shade. The ceremony followed the prescribed remembrance sequence but there were a couple of additions that should be mentioned. The first was when Randy Wing and Julie Carver came up to recite “the Prisoner’s Prayer” which I had never heard before. The second addition was when Shelley Babin came forward to read excerpts from memoirs or diaries written after the war of Japanese prisoners of war which added a more personal note to the event and provided a view into the hope these men and women (two Canadian nursing sisters were amongst the captured) maintained during their internment.
Saturday, August 16th, started with a morning ceremony at the Defence of Hong Kong Memorial Wall. It was also a bright, sunny, and hot morning, although it was early and there was a gentle breeze. Because of the number of attendees, most people wound up standing, which was good really, as there is a copse of trees just off the Memorial site which provided some shade cover. Those who were seated took the full brunt of the morning sun on their backs. Before the ceremony, many people spent their time taking rubbings on the wall of the names of loved ones on paper provided in the programme.
The normal remembrance programme was dispensed with because of the ceremony held at the NWM the day before and because of the large number of wreaths to be laid. Instead, there were some opening remarks and then right into laying wreaths. Again, the sheer number (over 50 wreaths) precluded laying them all on the east (sunny) face of the monument so people had the choice of laying at the front or the rear of the monument. I think this added a nice touch as this is the first year I remember seeing any wreaths on the Winnipeg Grenadiers side (west) of the monument. The main wreaths were laid first (government, CAF, etc.) after which the Master of Ceremonies started reading out names and people approached mostly with wreaths for family members who had passed (i.e. Russell, Hunt, Ross). There were also flower tributes instead of wreaths and many people had put tape on the back of poppies and affixed them onto the monument next to their ancestor’s name.
The Reunion attendees were then bused to the Canadian War Museum (CWM) for lunch and a talk from author Tony Banham, an expert on the Hong Kong battle. Now, I’d never heard of Banham before but I must say he is an excellent speaker. Firstly, he declined to go into the battle as troop movements and the battle itself are covered in many learned texts. Instead, he concentrated on the personal stories and anecdotes gleaned from all the interviews he has done with survivors over 20 years: Canadian, British, and Japanese. These were interesting in themselves but also humanized the people that some of us have only read about. His presentation manner was easy, he walked the stage referencing slides and spoke for about 45 minutes without, it appeared, using any notes. Anyway, if you get a chance to see him personally, take the time.
Banham did bring up one interesting point in that the Japanese high command realized that they needed to make one fatal blow on the United States, the Netherlands, and Britain as they could not sustain a war of attrition. Japan did not have raw materials such as steel, oil, and rubber nor the people for the army for a sustained war so they needed to take it from countries who did. This is why the December 7th/8th attacks were so important as they needed to make the allies sue for peace on their terms as quickly as possible and an all-out single-blow devastating attack could do that, especially with the allies busy with the war in Europe. Unfortunately, the Japanese did not get the American aircraft carriers in Pearl Harbour allowing America to continue the war. Also, smaller defences and resistance, such as the defence of Hong Kong and Burma meant that the Japanese were going to have to face a war of attrition against larger, more industrialized, countries, and that this type of war they could not win.
After lunch, the attendees were welcomed to tour the CWM as there were four areas that referenced the Canadian/Japanese experience. The one that stood out for me was a special exhibit named “Last Voices of the Second World War” where there was an exhibit with a picture of a soldier who had just been repatriated from Hong Kong and had lifted a six year old girl into the air. While there, a lady rolled up in a wheel chair, and said, “That’s me and the first time I remember meeting my father”. It turned out that Shelagh Purcell (name now) was the little girl in the picture and she said that her father, Leonard Corrigan, left when she was two, was wounded/captured in Hong Kong, and didn’t get home until she was six. There was also a picture of a band on an adjacent wall and in the band were her mother on piano and her father on the saxophone. She was there with a lot of family, including three sisters, so a picture of them with the exhibit had to be taken.
The last event on Saturday’s calendar was the Gala Dinner which was held in the Governor’s Ballroom at the Westin Hotel. It started with a reception and everyone arrived at a relaxed pace because of the many previous events of the weekend. Some were more red coloured than they had been on Thursday after spending Friday and Saturday mornings in the direct sun at the NWM and the Memorial Wall. People talked, exchanged their views on the reunion, and shared family histories.
Once the dinner started, there was a line of speakers including retired Senator Vivienne Poy, Vice-Admiral (ret’d) Larry Murray, and Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Paul Ledwell, all speaking of their experiences with veterans and the importance of what the Hong Kong defenders accomplished. Once they finished, Mike Babin took the opportunity to present Derrill Henderson an award in recognition of his lifelong commitment and dedication to the HKVCA which both surprised and pleased Derrill.
After the dinner, Mr. Mark Sakamoto took to the podium to speak of his experiences and memories of his grandfather, a Hong Kong POW survivor. He was both passionate and emotional as he spoke of the deprivations and hardships suffered by the POWs in general and his grandfather specifically. Following Mr. Sakamoto, the Norman Chief Memorial Dancers took to the floor to liven things up a bit.
The Norman Chief Memorial Dancers are a troupe of dancers whose style is Métis jigging and square dancing and they were named in memory of the late Norman Chief, a Métis singer, musician, and entertainer. The music was supplied by Métis fiddler Oliver Boulette with Gerald McIvor on the guitar. Boulette explained to the audience how the fiddle was an integral part to the Métis culture, much like the bagpipes are to the Scots, and then proceeded to give a master class in handling the violin as he accompanied the Dancers with their demonstration of Métis style dancing. The dances were very reminiscent of Ottawa Valley clogging paired with square dancing and are very athletic and exciting to watch. I wouldn’t recommend anyone attempt it without first seeing your doctor. That pretty much ended the evening other than a few group pictures and some stragglers still trading stories.
Overall, the weekend was a huge success both for the participants and for the remembrance of those who fought and died in Hong Kong and those who suffered through the internment afterwards.
