Transportation - Home Base to Hong Kong

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Battle Information

Killed in action at Repulse Bay. 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 Service

No related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

Death and Cemetery Information

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

The 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

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General Comments

Oscar Brother of Louis Robertson E29942

Wife- Margaret Robertson

Facebook comment February 2018- Philip Doddridge- Oscar was my boyhood friend. Singer and guitar player. Killed at Repulse Bay, HK. 1941.

The following Submitted via FB December 2017 great nephew Ted Thomas

I never knew him, but he was my mother's older brother and one to whom she looked up. He was, as were so many young men in those depression pre-war years, not educated to the completion of formal schooling. He did, however, have a very high intelligence. He was, as Philip mentioned, a talented musician, and had performed all over New Richmond. He could play the guitar and fiddle, and I believe also the banjo and mandolin. He had an affinity for things mechanical, and he was making windmills to re-charge car batteries (and probably power some of his home) in the 1930s way before it was in vogue as today. He built and flew a home-built aircraft, and supposedly all the New Richmond school kids skipped class the day he flew it on its only flight. He would have been one of those young men who hunted and knew their way around a gun or rifle long before he got any military training. My mother always suspected he was the mysterious RR soldier who was seen singing as he walked down the steeet towards the end of the battle, however some reports have him killed December 23. So far as we know, he was killed by sniper fire while running dispatches after he volunteered near Repulse Bay, or the Repulse Bay hotel. Prior to Hong Kong, he had volunteered to guard the downed plane in which Doctor F. Banting was killed. I will post this story in a separate comment.

This document is one I copied from a copy of his own manuscript. I have copied it to the best of my abilities leaving in place any spelling or grammatical errors, to best preserve the entire spectrum of his message. It was a sort of 'diary entry' tho we know of no other parts of this. Most likely he composed this to send on to his father, William Robertson of New Richmond. They were very close. The Doctor Banting mentioned was the discoverer of the uses of Insulin in the human body and was during the war involved with Air Force research in flight medicine. Here is the document:

A Special Guard Duty

I was a member of the Royal Rifles of Canada which was stationed at Nfld airport. I am a batman for Capt. E.E. Denison 2 i/c of 'A' Coy in this regiment. A regiment if which, moreover, I am justly proud.

On Feb. 21st 1941 there left from this airport a plane bound for England carrying as one of its passengers Sir Frederick Banting who was killed a little more than half an hour later when the plane crashed while making a forced landing. A few evenings later Lieut. Bradley, much to my surprise, asked me whether I would volunteer to do guard duty at the crashed plane.

I immediately said yes for indeed I welcomed the opportunity to help out in this special guard duty. As ordered, I quickly packed my kit and was transported by one of the army trucks to the waiting plane which was to carry me to the great disaster. The plane went by the name of The Flying Goose. Compared to the big bombers which we see every day it was a very small plane. We took off at once from one of the numerous runways. This new way of looking at Nfld was a great sensation for me.

Nearing our destination we crossed a lake, close to which I sighted a herd of caribou, the native animal of this country. I counted not less than thirty six of these great beasts. It was a magnificent sight to view from the air. The mechanic informed me that it was on the shore of this lake that the bomber had crashed. Looking down below I tried to locate the crashed plane. A moment or so later I recognized it by the red white and blue colors on the rudder. The pilot circled the plane looking around for a suitable landing place. While he was doing so, I imagined that the earth was leaning over when really all the time it was the plane. The pilot leveled off to land and the earth immediately resumed its proper position. We made a perfect landing and it was not long till I had assumed my job of guarding the wreck.

As soon as the plane had taken off on its return trip I set about making myself a bite to eat. My stomach had told me it was lunchtime. I made a fire and boiled myself some tea to go with the provisions that I had brought along with me. While taking my after lunch smoke I began looking over the wreck. One of the first things to catch my attention was a smoking pipe which was laying on the floor of the plane. I went forward and picked it up for a closer examination. On the bottom of the bowl I spied the initials F.G.B. carved, and along from them on the stem the date 1931. I, of course, jumped to the conclusion that these initials must be those of the late Sir Frederick Banting. I will always cherish it as a souvenir of my interesting experience. You can be sure I am going to take great care of it.

As the shadows began to lengthen I spread out my sleeping bag on a mat of boughs to have some well-deserved rest after my exciting day. However, the surroundings being strange to me, I could not rest, so I got up and moved around all night and kept on a steady fire until morning. The day was spent doing my job of guarding. It passed without incident. My restlessness of the previous night was not experienced by me on the second night. I went right to sleep. You may be sure that before crawling into my sleeping bag I had made a fire of birch wood. I awoke about four o'clock in the morning to find the fire black out.

Around ten o'clock the same morning I sighted the Flying Goose heading in my direction. On landing they told me to pack my equipment as my guard duty was over. It did not take me long to gather together my few belongings and the plane was soon carrying me back to camp.

Soon after I landed my friends gathered round me to find out all about the trip and to ask if I had obtained any souvenirs. I told them that I hadn't gone there to collect souvenirs but to do guard duty. If I had bothered to answer all the questions that were put to me my head would still be aching yet.

Thus comes to an end my interesting duty as a special guard at the crashed plane. Being a good soldier I'm always ready to do anything that is required of me. Signed, E29946 Rfmn. Robertson, Oscar

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End of Report.

Report generated: 27 Jun 2024.