1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Harvey | Reginald |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Thorold ON | Central Ontario | 1920-01-01 |
| 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
No wounds recorded.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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941-12-25 | Killed In Action | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China | Sai Wan War Cemetery | VIII. C. 20. | NA |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Pte. Harvey Lafferty Was Well-Known in This District
THOROLD, Jan, 11. Pte. Harvey Reginald Lafferty, who was reported last week to have been killed in action at Hong Kong, was well-known in this district.
The son of Mrs. Ethel Johnston, 13 Patricia street, he was born in Merritton 22 years ago. He attended Thorold Park school and worked in St. Catharines before joining the Lincoln and Welland Regiment at the
outbreak of war. When the regiment was demobilized he transferred to the Quebec Regiment which he accompanied to the far east. A report which his mother received some time ago stated that Pte. Lafferty had
been in Hong Kong only four days before the island surrendered to the Japanese on Christmas Day, 1941. The last she had heard directly from her son was a letter posted before he embarked from Canada. Besides his sorrowing mother, Pte. Lafferty is survived by a brother, Earl Lafferty of Merritton; a sister, Mrs. F. Grainger, Hamilton, and a half-sister, Reta Johnston.
St. Catharines Standard January 1943
Son of Ethel Lafferty, of Thorold, Ontario; she married Jacob Johnson, on 26 January 1924, in Hamilton, Ontario.
Enlisted with the Lincoln & Welland Regiment in Niagara, Ontario, he was deployed to the 1st Battalion, Royal Rifles of Canada, on 23 October 1941 in camp Valcartier, Québec. Killed in action, he was buried in Stanley cemetery, grave 1.B.32 then reburied in Sai Wan cemetery.
Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp.
Ref: Canadian Virtual War Memorial
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.
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General Comments
Harvey Reginald Lafferty- Birth Place: St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Residence Place: Merritton, Ontario, Canada
Next of Kin: Ethel Johnston, Relationship: Mother
From Facebook Bill Calder
I remember reading that name in my Uncles story so I went back to read it. Not much but info but at least we know how he was killed. Here is what my Uncle said... " On October 18, our C.O., Major Rollinson, called for volunteers to go overseas and about 150 men fought to get on the list. For instance, a Pte. Kelloway gave $150 plus a case of beer (it has a little humour, hasn't it?) for his place. He died of wounds in Hong Kong. Pte. Lafferty (Lincoln and Welland regt.) gave up his furlough papers and train ticket in order to go. He was killed in action on December 25, 1941 at 6:15 P.M., in the only recorded bayonet charge in Hong Kong. Just the fortune of war, isn't it?"
"A Hong Kong volunteer defence corps captain, a vet. of WW1, later told me it was the finest bayonet charge he had ever witnessed. Of course, everyone didn't have a rifle and bayonet, some had only one or the other, and others had Brens or tommy guns. If you had 25 rounds of ammo, you had a lot more than some. I saw one kid who had been a ball player back home, carrying 10 hand grenades and when he threw them, he didn't miss a target. He was killed in the attack. We lost more men there than any other 3 battles combined. Pte. Lafferty died in that charge and Rfmn A.J. McKay, another swell guy, and I buried him. McKay was one of the best mortar instructors in the army."
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.
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