1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Bruce | Courtney |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Bougainville QC | Eastern Quebec | 1921-12-21 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| HQ Coy | 4 Carrier | |
Transportation - Home Base to Hong Kong
Members of 'C' Force from the East travelled across Canada by CNR troop train, picking up reinforcements enroute. Stops included Valcartier, Montreal, Ottawa, Armstrong ON, Capreol ON, Winnipeg, Melville SK, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Vancouver, arriving in Vancouver on Oct 27 at 0800 hrs.
The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the local soldiers that were with Brigade Headquarters from Winnipeg to BC travelled on a CPR train to Vancouver.
All members embarked from Vancouver on the ships AWATEA and PRINCE ROBERT. AWATEA was a New Zealand Liner and the PRINCE ROBERT was a converted cruiser. "C" Company of the Rifles was assigned to the PRINCE ROBERT, everyone else boarded the AWATEA. The ships sailed from Vancouver on Oct 27th and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16th, having made brief stops enroute at Honolulu and Manila.
Equipment earmarked for 'C' Force use was loaded on the ship DON JOSE, but would never reach Hong Kong as it was rerouted to Manila when hostilities commenced.
On arrival, all troops were quartered at Nanking Barracks, Sham Shui Po Camp, in Kowloon.
Battle Information
We do not have specific battle information for this soldier in our online database. For a detailed description of the battle from a Canadian perspective, visit Canadian Participation in the Defense of Hong Kong (published by the Historical Section, Canadian Military Headquarters).
Wounded Information
| Date Wounded | Wound Description | References |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/23 | a piece of shrapnel in my foot and some little bit in my back | 36 |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-SSC | N/A | N/A |
POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-SM-01 | Stanley | Fort Stanley, Hong Kong Island | Capture | 41 Dec 30 | ||
| HK-NP-01 | North Point | North Point, Hong Kong Island | 41 Dec 30 | 42 Sep 26 | ||
| HK-SA-02 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 42 Sep 26 | 43 Jan 19 | ||
| JP-Fu-5B | Omine | Kawasaki-machi, Fukuoka pref., Kyushu Island, Japan | Furukawa Industries Omine | Coal mining | 43 Jan 23 | 45 Sep 22 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3B | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Glory | Esquimalt, BC | 1945-10-27 | Manila to Esquimalt, BC 37 CDNs sick and 119 fit |
From a 1997 interview:
We were just there [Nagasaki] a few hours when we went aboard a ship, British aircraft carrier, “Speaker.” They took us to Okinawa. There we transferred to an American troopship, “Renville”.(?) They took us to the Philippines and we stayed in the Philippines for about a week in Manila. The Americans had all the streets laid out like Quebec City. Like Grande Alley and all these names laid out and streets for us. They really were good. They gave us 100 dollars and American uniforms, cigarette, beer - whatever you wanted. We had nice tents.
From there we got on another British aircraft carrier, “ The Glory”. They were supposed to bring us back to Vancouver. After we got on the ship, the old captain decided we were going to work every day. He'd get up on a box on the flight deck each morning and name out all the sections and what your duty was for the day. That didn't go over good. When we got to Hawaii, it was supposed to be twenty-four hours, but it was forty-eight before he got everybody back aboard the ship. They didn't want to come back. From then on we didn't work anymore till Vancouver. Spent a week in Vancouver and then on to Gaspe.
Post-war Photo
Other Military Service
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Death and Cemetery Information
| Date of Death (y-m-d) | Cause of Death | Death Class | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-10-20 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Napane Ontario Canada | Riverside Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
CADORET, Bruce - Peacefully at Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015. Bruce Courtney Cadoret of Cobourg at age 93. Beloved husband of the late Rena Cadoret (Doody). Dear father of Anne (Greg Walsh) and Richard Cadoret of Port Hope and the late Bruce Blair. Brother of Malcolm (Lillian) of Whitby and Connie Carra of B.C. Lovingly remembered by many nieces and nephews. Friends may call at the MacCoubrey Funeral Home, 30 King St. E., Cobourg on Friday, Oct. 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. Service in the Chapel on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 11:00 a.m. Interment Riverside Cemetery in Napanee on Monday. Memorial donations made to the Alzheimer Society or Canadian Cancer Society would be appreciated. Online condolences at www.maccoubrey.com
E30538 Bruce Cadoret and E30678 Irvin Doody were son-in-law and father-in-law. They were from the same small town. So my Dad must have known who he was But my Dad had never met my mom. They were introduced after they returned from POW camp by her Dad. Provided by daughter Anne Cadoret May 2021
Links and Other Resources
Interview with Bruce Cadoret, July 21, 1997
Facebook has proven to be a valuable resource in the documentation of 'C' Force members. The following link will take you to any available search results for this soldier based on his regimental number. Note: results may be contained within another related record. Facebook Search Results
→ Related documentation for information published in this report, such as birth information, discharge papers, press clippings and census documents may be available via shared resources in our HKVCA Vault. It is organized with folders named using regimental numbers. Use the first letter of the individual's service number to choose the correct folder, then scroll to the specific sub-folder displaying the service number of your interest.
General Comments
Memories of Bruce Cadoret by Anne and Richard Cadoret December 2016
Our Dad, Bruce Cadoret, did not speak of his nearly 4 years of torture in a Japanese prison camp. Though haunted by nightmares he preferred to spare us the heinous details of what he endured. We feel it is his optimistic outlook and sense of humour which kept him alive against all odds.
As children, he told us the light side of imprisonment. Asking guards for permission to use the outhouse, “benjo” in Japanese had soldiers in agony as they searched their memory banks for the right musical instrument and yelled “bango” for relief. He had no grudge against the Japanese. He liked to tell a story about a guard taking some of the prisoners to his own home for dinner after the war was over and explained that the guard “was just doing his job”.
Government posts were offered to many soldiers after they returned to Canada. In the small town of Bougainville, Quebec the only government position was “postmaster” and though he was offered this he just couldn’t take his neighbour’s job. Instead he went to Toronto (without his new bride and son) to look for “work”. He did odd jobs for room and board and money to send “down home”. He finally moved the family to Toronto after he got steady (shift) work in maintenance for a seniors’ home where he stayed until he was 60.
Our Mom and Dad travelled extensively during their golden years and were known for their generous hospitality. Their door was always open to family and friends and there was a party almost every weekend. That was yet another facet of dad’s joie de vivre: every birthday was a full-blown celebration of gifts and food and wine. Christmas was always a truly beautiful holiday with guests, jubilation and piles of wrapped gifts that dwarfed our 8 ft. tree. Mothers’ day, Father’s Day…Even Easter was a time for great celebration and presents.
Every day Dad thanked the “Bon Dieu” and his cheerful “attitude of gratitude” touched everybody (and animal) he met. His motto was from an old poem called Solitude:
Laugh, and the world laughs with you; Cry, and you cry alone.
End of Report.
Report generated: 23 Nov 2024.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers are locally generated for reporting only. During World War II officers were not allocated service numbers until 1945.
- 'C' Force soldiers who died overseas are memorialized in the Books of Remembrance and the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, both sponsored by Veterans Affairs Canada. Please use the search utility at VAC to assist you.
- Some birthdates and deathdates display as follows: 1918-00-00. In general, this indicates that we know the year but not the month or day.
- Our POW camp links along with our References link (near the bottom of the 'C' Force home page) are designed to give you a starting point for your research. There were many camps with many name changes. The best resource for all POW camps in Japan is the Roger Mansell Center for Research site.
- In most cases the rank displayed was the rank held before hostilities. Some veterans were promoted at some point prior to eventual post-war release from the army back in Canada. When notified of these changes we'll update the individual's record.
- Images displayed on the web page are small, but in many cases the actual image is larger. Hover over any image and you will see a popup if a larger version is available. You can also right-click on some images and select the option to view the image separately. Not all images have larger versions. Contact us to confirm whether a large copy of an image in which you are interested exists.
- In some cases the References displayed as part of this report generate questions because there is no indication of their meaning. They were inherited with the original database, and currently we do not know what the source is. We hope to solve this problem in future.
- We have done our best to avoid errors and omissions, but if you find any issues with this report, either in accuracy, completeness or layout, please contact us using the link at the top of this page.
- Photos are welcome! If a photo exists for a 'C' Force member that we have not included, or if you have a higher quality copy, please let us know by using the Contact Us link at the top of this page. We will then reply, providing instructions on submitting it.