The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Corporal | James | Garton |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| St. Thomas ON | Western Ontario | 1907-02-22 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Brigade Headquarters | ||
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
No wounds recorded.Hospital Information
No record of hospital visits found.POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-SA-02 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 42 Sep 26 | 43 Jan 19 | ||
| JP-To-3D | Tsurumi | Yokohama-shi, Tsurumi-ku, Suyehiro-cho, 1-chome, Japan | Nippon Steel Tube - Tsurumi Shipyards | Variety of jobs related to ship building | 43 Jan 19 | 45 Apr 16 |
| JP-Se-4B | Ohashi | Iwate-ken, Kamihei-gun, Katsushi-mura, Ohashi, Japan | Nippon Steel Company | 45 Apr 16 | 45 Sep 15 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3A | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Boarded train, arrived in Tokyo on 43 Jan 24 at 0700 hrs, boarded electric train for 10 mile ride to camp | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATS 39143 | Oakland | 1945-10-08 |
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Post-war Photo
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Other Military or Public 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965-02-25 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| St. Thomas Ontario Canada | Elmdale Memorial Park Cemetery | ||
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Links and Other Resources
There may be more information on this individual available elsewhere on our web sites - please use the search tool found in the upper right corner of this page to view sources.
Related documentation
- Our HKVCA Vault (Google Docs) may contain additional information, newspaper clippings, and documents which have been saved for this soldier. To access this information, click on the vault link and a Google Docs folder list will open in a separate tab. Use the first letter of the soldier’s service number, found at the top of this report, to open the correct folder. Each sub-folder is identified by service number. Scroll down until you reach the one of your interest.
- 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
- Find a Grave® is a valuable resource that may contain additional information on this 'C' Force member. When you arrive at the site search page, fill in as much detail as you can for best results.
General Comments
Birth Place: Elgin, Ontario, Canada
Father's name: Joseph B Axford and Mother's name: Lilian Garton
Age at Death: 58 Death Date: 1965
Windsor Soldier Held Prisoner Says "Hello" From Tokyo
From a recent broadcast over a short wave radio station in Tokyo came a broadcast that went something like this: "Hello friends and relatives in Windsor and St. Thomas, Ontario."
The message was prepared by Cpl. James G. Axford, a former Windsor Hydro worker and whose sister, Mrs. J. W. McDonald, resides at 1281 Windermere road, and delivered by the radio announcer. The Windsor soldier was captured by the Japs after the fall of Hong Kong and is now a prisoner of war.
The radio message was picked up by a Hopkins, Minn., listener, R. P. Reed, who took notes of the broadcast and forwarded them on to the soldier's father, Joseph B. Axton of 35 Elm street, St. Thomas. As a matter of fact, the soldier's father had been informed of the report in four different letters from US. radio listeners.
The message included greetings from the prisoner of war and an expression of remorse of the death of his mother, news of which he received while in the prison camp. The message also stated: "I send love and best wishes to my dad and hope he is in good health... also to my brothers, Kenneth in St. Thomas and Sam in Ottawa, and my sister, Mrs. J. W. McDonald of Windsor. I am in good health."
The Hopkins radio fan is reported to have picked up as many as 1,174 similar messages over short wave since Christmas, 1942. He stated in his letter that every day messages from Canadian and American prisoners of war are broadcast over the Tokyo radio. The Axford message was received on May 10.
The Windsor Star 19 May 1944, Friday Page: 3
Canadians Liberated At Guam Navy Base
By William Stewart, Canadian Press War Correspondent
Guam, Sept. 26. (Delayed)CP Cable)- A contingent of 426 Canadians liberated from prison camps in Japan was at Guam navy base today, awaiting transportation home. An additional 340 Canadians already have passed through Guam, homeward bound by sea and air. All in this large group and 28 more who came from Japan to the northerly Marianas outpost of Saipan have been handled by the United States Navy, receiving generous and complete care. Another 150 Canadians who left Nagasaki in Japan a few days ago by ship may also be brought to Guam, although a possible alternative destination is Manila.
With hundreds of other liberated prisoners of war, the Canadians are accommodated here in navy hospitals where those who need it get the best medical care and all have everything they want in the way of food. One navy officer on the hospital staff said by the time the prisoners get home they probably will be as fit as they ever were.
There are plenty of magazines through which the prisoners are catching up on the news, generous issues of cigarettes, soft drinks and beer. The hospitals are surrounded by palm trees on a peninsula looking out on the sea. They are within two or three miles of airfields from which Superfartresses struck at Japan.
A REAL WELCOME
The prisoners have nothing but good words for their reception, which is really a welcome. They all have been able to send cables to their next-of-kin, although unfortunately they have received no mail, which has been directed from Canada to the Manila reception organization for released prisoners. It is likewise impossible for them to draw money, distribution of which is centred in Manila, but the Americxan Red Cross is giving every prisoner $5.
Those awaiting transportation include Cpl. James Axford, who says he is the only person from St. Thomas, Ont., who knows what the Japanese are like.
Guam, Oct. 1-(CP Cable) Most Canadian prisoners of war on the way home from Japanese camps know of the outstanding conduct of Wing Cmdr. Leonard Birchall, St. Catharines, Ont., and Saint John, N.B., and hope the R.C.A.F. officer will be rewarded.
The prisoners also have expressed amazement that Birchall came out alive because they say his performance under the Japanese probably would have resulted in death for anyone else.
The flier was captured when his plane was shot down over the Indian Ocean in April, 1942, after giving warning that a Japanese fleet was nearing Ceylon.
Birchall defied Watanabe, a notorious Japanese official at Tokyo headquarters. He once lined up a group of 100 Canadians, then walked down the row, flooring them one after another.
At Ohashi mining camp north of Tokyo there was a Japanese medical sergeant at whom none of the prisoners could look without delight because he carried a broken nose. It was the result of an encounter with Birchall, who caught him mistreating another prisoner.
NOT OUT OF TOUCH
Guam, Oct. 1-(CP Cable)- Canadians imprisoned in Japanese camps were not entirely out of touch with affairs in the outer world and they even were able to follow sketchily the progress of Canadian forces in Europe. Liberated prisoners told how Japanese newspapers were smuggled into the camps and, said Company Sergeant-Major George MacDonnel of Stamford, Ont., they gave Canada "quite a buildup." He said some Japanese news stories called the Canadian forces in Europe "shock troops" and said they always were given difficult jobs to do. At Ohasi, the prisoners got allied news by means of a radio smuggled from Java.
FED JAPANESE
Canadian prisoners liberated from Thashi mining camp in Japan described how they fed the hand that bit them despite conditions so bad they felt they could not have survived another winter. They concluded that Allied service men are too soft-hearted.
Three Canadian servicemen - Sgt. Maj. Stanley Wright, Lachine, Que.; L/Cpl. Jim Mitchell, Sudbury, Ont., and Pte. Nick Berzenski, Russell, Man - told how Canadian and American prisoners in the camp waited a month after Japan's surrender for release. During that month they gave cigarettes to Japanese guards who had abused them during confinement and shared their meagre rations with hungry Japanese civilians. The Canadians were at Ohashi, near Kamaishi, for four months. They said they had to hike five miles into the hills, frequently through rainstorms, to work up to their knees in water 2,000 feet underground in a mine, the walls of which threatened to collapse. They worked by the light of carbide lamps which the slightest draught of air blew out.
End of Report.
Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers ("X") 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.
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