Individual Report: C63078 Norman SMITH

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Rifleman	Norman	Alfred
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Clayton ON	Eastern Ontario	1920-08-19
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:

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
Unknown	N/A	36

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-UNK	N/A	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
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong			42 Sep 26	43 Aug 15
JP-To-5B	Niigata-Rinko	Niigata-ken, Nakakambara-gun, Ogata-mura, Japan	Marutsu, Rinko Coal, Shintetsu	Stevedore labor at port of Niigata (Marutsu), primarily foodstuffs; mining coal (Rinko Coal ) and labor at a foundry (Shintetsu)	43 Sep 03	43 Dec 09

Transport to Japan

Draft Number	Name of Ship	Departure Date	Arrival Date	Arrival Port	Comments	Reference
XD4B	Manryu Maru	43 Aug 15	43 Sep 01	Osaka, Japan	Brief stopover in Taihoku (Taipei), Formosa (Taiwan); then 2 day stopover at northern point for stool tests	Tony Banham

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
1943-12-09	Beri Beri	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Jido-Yuenchi-Dori Hodogaya Japan	Yokohama War Cemetery	Cdn. Sec. B. B. 2.	NA

Gravestone Image

C63078 Norman SMITH memorial on the Clayton ON Cenotaph

Obituary / Life Story

CLAYTON BOY DIES AS JAP PRISONER

Norman Smith Was One Of Those Captured At Hong Kong

Mr. Alfred Smith of Clayton Village, received the following telegram on Tuesday, Feb. 9, from the Director of Records, Ottawa: “Regret deeply C 63078 Rifleman Norman Alfred Smith officially reported by Tokyo through International Red Cross, Geneva, to have died of illness Feb. 9, 1943, while prisoner of war Tokyo camp—cause death Beriberi — further Information follows when received.”

Rifleman Smith was 22 years of age and enlisted in the Quebec Rifles iIn Ottawa in 1940. He was reported a prisoner of war In 1941.

He is survived by his parents and two brothers and five sisters, namely: Robert, R.C.M.P.. Fredericton. N.B.; Margaret, Mrs. A. Lararmie, Ottawa; Isobel, Mrs. Arnold Craig, Almonte; Mabel, Mrs. Wm. Kelly, Toronto; Ruby, Mrs. Archie Murdock, Ottawa; Gunner William of Hamilton and Bernice of Carleton Place. Mr. and Mrs. Smith and family have the sincere sympathy of this district. Like so many others they have lived In daily expectation of some word. The only previous information received was In October, 1942, when he was listed as a prisoner. Their many friends will regret that their long vigil of anxiety did not have a happier ending.

or information of readers who may not be familiar with the word Beriberi, it is a nervous disease peculiar to the far East and Is caused by a diet of polished rice which is wholly lacking In Vitamin B.

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

Norman Alfred Smith. Age at death 23 Born in Ottawa, Ontario. Enlistment: July 27, 1940 Ottawa, Ontario

Son of Alfred and Euphemia Smith, of Clayton, Ontario.

Photo 1 Norman and sister Ruby

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.