1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Lance Corporal | James | Graydon |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Danville QC | Eastern Quebec | 1905-10-26 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Company Clerk | ||
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-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 | 45 Sep 10 |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Gosper | Victoria | 1945-10-12 | Manila to Victoria, BC 1936 British and CDNS |
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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-01-02 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Danville Quebec Canada | Danville Protestant Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
JAMES GRAYDON HEATH passed away at the Sherbrooke Hospital on January 2, 1983, in his 78th year. The funeral was held from the Stuart L. Lockwood Funeral Home, Danville, Que., at 2 p.m., on January 5. The Reverend Watson Glover of Danville United Church, a close friend of Graydon, and the Reverend James Jack of Melbourne Presbyterian Church officiated. Bearers were two nephews, Albert Gillam and Lloyd Findlay, grandson Stephen Heath, and three Hong Kong veterans, Kenneth Muir, Kenneth Frost and Lionel Hurd. An Oddfellows' service and a Royal Canadian Legion service were held on the evenings preceding the funeral. A group of Hong Kong veterans formed an honour guard as the family left the funeral home. A son of the late George Heath and his wife the late Caroline Ingham, Graydon was born at Compton, Que., October 26, 1905. Most of his adult life was spent in the Danville-Richmond area. In 193f he married Leila Findlay of Asbestos, and they became the parents of two children, Margaret and George. Graydon served with the Royal Rifles and was for four years a prisoner of war at Hong Kong. He leaves to mourn his loss, his wife, Leila; daughter Margaret and husband Ross Sells of Kingston, Ont., son George and wife Joyce of Petawawa, Ont.; six grandchildren, Marjorie, Lani, Cindy, Donald and James Sells and Stephen Heath; one brother, Harold Heath and wife Helen of Sechelt, B.C.; and four sisters, Mary Louise Thompson and husband Bert of Lennoxville, Elsie Reed of Brampton, Ont., Phyllis Reed and husband Stanley of Stanstead, Harriet Healy and husband Kenneth of Ottawa, and many nieces and nephews. A devoted husband and father and an attentive grandfather, Graydon will be missed by his family and all who knew him. Remains resting in the vault of Danville Cemetery for spring burial.
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.
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
→ Related documentation for information published in this report, such as birth information, discharge papers, press clippings and census documents may be available via shared resources in our HKVCA Vault. It is organized with folders named using regimental numbers. Use the first letter of the individual's service number to choose the correct folder, then scroll to the specific sub-folder displaying the service number of your interest.
General Comments
The Eastern Townships can take justifiable pride in the number of families who have contributed two or more sons to the Canadian active army and pictured here are brothers from two Asbestos families who took part in the gallant defence of Hong Kong until that British garrison fell Christmas Day.
Standing at right are Rifleman Lorne C. Findlay (left), and L/Cpl. George K. Findlay, sons of Mr. And Mrs. Clifton Findlay, of Asbestos. Rifleman Lorne Findlay is twenty years of age and enlisted with the Royal Rifles of Canada just five weeks before that unit left Canada for Hong Kong. Lance Corporal George Findlay joined the Royal Rifles in July, 1940. He was married in September, 1941 to Miss Laura Heale, of Saint Johns, Newfoundland.
Pictured at top are, at left, L/Cpl. J. Graydon Heath, and at right L/Cpl Harold S. Heath, sons of Mr. and Mrs. George heath of Asbestos.
L/Cpl. Graydon Heath enlisted with the Royal Rifles in July, 1940. He was married in March, 1934, to Miss Leila V. Findlay, of Asbestos, and they have two children, Margaret, age 7, and George, age 5.
L/Cpl. Harold Heath, who joined the Royal Rifles in July, 1940, was married to Miss Helen Gallup, of Asbestos, in September 1941.
They are brothers of Mrs. J. Reed, Minto Street, Sherbrooke.
End of Report.
Report generated: 02 Dec 2024.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers 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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- 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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