1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Philip | |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| New Richmond QC | Eastern Quebec | 1922-04-02 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Company Clerk | D | Coy HQ |
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
Wounded Information
| Date Wounded | Wound Description | References |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/22 | cut on right temple | 36 |
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 Admiral Hugh Rodman | Vancouver, BC | 1945-10-07 | Manilla to Vancouver, BC |
Boarded Empress of Australia, sailed to Manila, then on to San Francisco on the US ship Admiral Hugh Rodman after a five day stopover. Train to Seattle, ferry to Victoria, then to Montreal by special train five days later.
Read more details of the trip home in Mr. Doddridge's memoirs.
Post-war Photo
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-10-05 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| New Richmond Quebec Canada | St. Andrews United Church Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful passing of Philip Doddridge, aged 100, surrounded by his loved ones at his home in New Richmond on October 5th 2022.
Predeceased by his wife Edwina and two sons, Hugh and John.
He leaves behind his beloved daughter Nancy (Luc Martin), many nieces and nephews and many close friends and neighbors.
Visitation will be held at the Henri Thibodeau Funeral Home, 221 Chemin Cyr, New Richmond on Thursday, October 13, 2022. Visiting hours are from 6 pm to 8 pm.
A Church Service will be held on Friday, October 14 at 1 pm at St. Andrew's United Church in New Richmond. Please take note that there will be no visitation at the funeral home on that day.
Donations can be made in Memory of Philip Doddridge to the C.L.S.C. Home Care Department of Caplan.
The management and staff of HG Division offer their deepest condolences to the family and thank them for their trust.
A Veteran of the Battle of Hong Kong (D Company, Royal Rifles of Canada) and former prisoner of war, Philip dedicated his life to the service of others, particularly in the field of education as a teacher, principal, and as Director General of the Regional School Board of Gaspesia.
He also served as the last National President of the Hong Kong Veterans Association.
Links and Other Resources
Memories Uninvited - Phil's Story
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.
- 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
General Comments
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End of Report.
Report generated: 28 Jan 2025.
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.
- 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.