Individual Report: B74350 Gordon KELLAWAY

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Rifleman	Gordon	Garnet
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Lansing ON	Central Ontario	1923-03-13
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	Gunshot wound to leg and rectum	17

Hospital Information

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

POW Camps

No POW camp record found. Member may have been a battle casualty, or our records may be incomplete.

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
1942-03-18	Septicaemia	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. C. 18.	NA

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Canadian Soldier dies at Hong Kong
TORONTO, June 23- 201 Bogart Ave, Lansing Ontario Private Gordon Kellway, 19 year old soldier of the Canadian Army at Hong Kong, "died of illness" while a prisoner of war there, his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Garnet Kellaway of suburban Lansing, were informed through the Red Cross, Monday. Mrs. Kellaway said the message gave the date of her son's death as March 18 but did not disclose the nature of his illness.
Unknown Newspaper clipping

From another newspaper article (submitted by Elaine Archer): "Died of Illness while a prisoner at Hong Kong." That is the word sent by the Red Cross to Mr. and Mrs. Garnet Kellaway of Lansing regarding their son Pte. Gordon Kellaway. "The wire," stated the mother, "said he died on March 18 and that more details would be sent when they were available." Kellaway enlisted in the Canadian active army Sept. 22 last. He was sent to Camp Borden. "On the 27th of October" Mrs. Kellaway said, "he was on the boat on his way to Hong Kong." The 19-year-old soldier is survived by his parents and one sister, Evelyn. He attended school at Willowdale.
Unknown Newspaper clipping

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

Gordon Garnet Kellaway - Cause of Death: Japanese Prisoner Index Card: Gunshot wound of waist & blood poisoning. (JA/77). (see photo to left). Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Died at the age of 19. Son of Garnet and Edith Florence Kellaway, of Lansing, Ontario. Enlistment: September 19, 1941 Toronto, Ontario

"42. A little Indian ghee on our bread this morning. It's a sort of dripping, it seems more filling than butter. An Indian artilleryman died of his wounds today after lingering for months. He was buried in the steep hillside. Kellaway of the Rifle who died here was just 19 the day before he died. Sgt. Pellor just came in with tonsillitis." From https://www.hkvca.ca/historical/accounts/Forsyth_diary.pdf

Facebook Comment March 2018 Philip Cracknell - Gunshot wound (Source: List of Patients unlikely to become fit enough for further military service- Signed by Lt Col C O Shackleton) "was wounded by a bullet on 25th Dec 41 which entered right thigh and exited in back. Initially treated at QMH then transferred to BRMH. Deteriorated and died of wounds 18th March 1942" (Lt Col Bowie Report on BRMH). Wounded most likely during 'D' Coy assault across cemetery and staff bungalows at St Stephen's College on 25th Dec 1941.

From Bill Calder via Facebook:
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?"
----One more mention here.----
"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.

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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.
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