C Force Reports - About this Site

Sources

The information contained in the various unit reports is taken from official DND Casualty Lists given to the General Public on 26th December 1941 following the capture of Hong Kong. Some of the information such as the individual's rank may have changed while they were overseas.

The information on the Winnipeg Grenadiers is taken from official DND Lists when the 1st Battalion landed in Hong Kong on 16th November 1941. Nathan Greenberg has graciously provided the list. Evidence indicates that there was a redistribution of the Battalion once they settled in Hong Kong.

About the 'C' Force Web

This HKVCA site deals with the details of 'C' Force, focused on the individual members.

Thanks to the dedication and research by our tireless group of volunteer researchers, we have developed a resource library here. It shares as much as we know about the members of 'C' Force, from deployment to Hong Kong in 1941, the battle, time as POWs, until the survivors returned in 1945, and beyond.

We're working to provide more elements as we find them, including gravestone information, photos and other details. You can help us improve our library - just use the Contact Us link at the top of any page to let us know what information or materials you have.

This site, like all HKVCA sites, is dedicated to the memory of our brave 'C' Force members.

The existence of this 'C' Force site is due to the work of many interested volunteers who contributed their time, expertise, advice, memories and photos.

  • Vince Lopata who created the original 'C' Force site, was the inspiration for this project. Over the years, his efforts and research produced the definitive reference on the lives of the members of 'C' Force. Click on the thumbnail to read his dedication that was part of the photo galleries he created. Over the years, Vince continued to work tirelessly on this project, and could be found commanding the HKVCA colour party at events, and also supervising the Memorabilia Room.
  • Lori Atkinson-Smith, daughter of Hong Kong veteran Harry Atkinson, has spear-headed our Gravestone Marker project, the aim of which is to place a Hong Kong badge on each and every Hong Kong veteran's gravestone. She has contributed her efforts and research to this site in order to ensure that the Individual Report for each soldier is as complete as possible.
  • Mike Babin, son of Alfred Babin, RRC - who dedicated a significant part of his visit to Hong Kong to photograph all gravestones at Sai Wan and Stanley cemeteries, and the memorial wall at Sai Wan as well.
  • Eugene Labiuk - who has provided clippings, photos, and data on the journey home for the repatriated 'C' Force members. He has published several articles regarding the repatriation of 'C' Force liberated POWs which have been made into an online collection: They Came Home Via the Phillipines. Gene was also instrumental in the creation of panels titled "'C' Force the Hong Kong Story" displayed at the Niagara Military Museum.
  • Lillian Randall, niece of George T. McCarthy, Winnipeg Grenadiers - who has worked tirelessly in researching all members of 'C' Force and has published a treasure-trove of photos and textual information on our Facebook Group "Hong Kong Veterans Tribute. Much of this information has, or will, find its way into our 'C' Force reports.
  • Barbara Andres, daughter of Kenneth MCCULLEY, has taken on the transcribing of articles of interest and puts them on the 'C' Force individual report. She updates details and assists in the redo of older transcriptions or errors brought to the webmaster's attention. Her ongoing suggestions are invaluable to developing our content and propelling us forward.
  • David Peebles is one of our programmer-developers who converted some amateur web code into pages that actually worked.
  • Many, many others who have contributed stories and photos over the years. You are too many to mention individually, but please know that your contributions have found the light of day on this site, to the benefit of all.

We hope you're happy with our progress, so far. Please contact us with your questions, concerns, suggestions, and above all, your contributions to add to our reports. There is a lot of work yet to be done.

 

Jim Trick
HKVCA
Webmaster and Amateur Programmer
(son of Charles Richard Trick, WG)

Created: August 2015 (updated December 2024)