Individual Report: B40795 Robert FORSYTH

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Rifleman	Robert
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Pittsburgh, PA USA	Central Ontario	1911-12-17
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	D	18R Plt

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
41/12/25	Gun shot wound - the wound never healed	36

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-QMH	12/28/1941	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

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
1942-11-09	Faucial Diphtheria	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. B. 15.	NA

Gravestone Image

2nd gravstone marker - Highwood Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA. PLOT Section 7

Obituary / Life Story

Baptized Robert Forsythe. Son of Robert Forsyth Sr. and Mary Livingstone, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Father enlisted April 27th, 1942, in the U.S. Army, regimental number 1034, without having fought in World War II.
Enlisted in The Lincoln and Welland Regiment, he served in Ontario, British Columbia, transferred on October 18th, 1940 to the 18Re Platoon, D Company, 1st Battalion, Royal Rifles of Canada to serve in Hong Kong with Force C. He had 847 days of service, including 378 overseas.
Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial

This SAI WAN MEMORIAL honours over 2000 men of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. The SAI WAN MEMORIAL is in the form of a shelter building 24 metres long and 5.5 metres wide. It stands at the entrance to Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery, outside Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. From the semi-circular forecourt, two wide openings lead to the interior of the building. The names are inscribed on panels of Portland stone. The dedicatory inscription reads:

1939 - 1945 The officers and men whose memory is honoured here died in the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941 and in the ensuing years of captivity and have no known grave.

The northern side of the Memorial is open and four granite piers support the copper roof. From a commanding position 305 metres above sea level, it looks out over the War Cemetery where some 1,500 men lie buried, and across the water to Mainland China - a magnificent view of sea and mountains.

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.

General Comments

An Oliver High School graduate who joined the Quebec Royal Rifles in Canada two years ago, today was listed as a prisoner of war, taken by the Japanese at Hong Kong last Christmas. Robert Forsyth, Jr., 26, of 4019 Cambronne Street, North Side, was one of 19 Canadian prisoners whose names were announced by the Canadian Active Army, the Associated Press reported today.
The names were understood to have been supplied by persons reaching Portuguese East Africa aboard a diplomatic exchange ship last week.
Robert's father, an insurance agent, said the family had been awaiting word of his son since the fall of Hong Kong.
Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph 04 Aug 1942, Tuesday

End of Report.

Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.

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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.
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.