1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Warrant Officer Class II | William | Nelson |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Ville-Marie QC | Eastern Quebec | 1896-09-06 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant | Bn 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
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 | 43 Jan 19 | ||
| JP-To-3D | Tsurumi | Yokohama-shi, Tsurumi-ku, Suyehiro-cho, 1-chome, Japan | Nippon Steel Tube - Tsurumi Shipyards | Variety of jobs related to ship building | 43 Jan 19 | N/A |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3A | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Boarded train, arrived in Tokyo on 43 Jan 24 at 0700 hrs, boarded electric train for 10 mile ride to camp | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Ozark | SF | 1945-10-02 | Manila to San Francisco 950 British and CDNs |
Ottawa Area Troops Returning From Japan
Seventeen Canadian soldiers from Military District No. 3, prisoners of the Japanese for several years, are returning to Canada. They docked at San Francisco on the U.S.S. Ozark on Tuesday, and are now en route to their homes.
They include: Rfn.. Clarence F. Bevan, Cobourg; Rfn: George Clarke, Arnprior; Rfn. Wendell F. Coughler, Aultsville; Rfn. William H. Gagne, Brighton; Pte. Richard N. Grieves, Haliburton; RQMS. William N. Henderson, Ville-Marie; Rfn. Thomas G. Jones, Pembroke; Rfn. Gordon J. Lalonde, Martintown; Rfn. Walter R. Lançour, Chalk River: Rfn. Clayton K. MacPherson, Cornwall; Rfn. Wilfred Maloof, Noranda; Rfn. Harold E. Maynes, Plainfield; Rfn. Lee E. Porterfield, Noranda; Rfn. Samuel Shane, Cornwall; Rfn: William G. Tainsh, Lindsay; Rfn. Clarence W. Thompson, Port Hope, and Rfn. Percy T. Weaver, Fenelon Falls.
Post-war Photo
William HENDERSON- 1953 Schefferville, Quebec
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1955-11-11 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Montreal Quebec Canada | Mount Royal Cemetery | ||
Gravestone Image
William HENDERSON Graveyard info: St. James Church Cemetery, Gracefield At the back of the Henderson/Johnstone tombstone: Buried elsewhere: W. Nelson 1896-1955 (Montreal - Mount Royal); Audrey (M. Acornley) 1912-1967 (Toronto); Gerald 1910-1972 (Aylmer/Gatineau); G. E. Walker 1917-1988 (Newcastle, Ont)
Obituary / Life Story
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
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
William HENDERSON Brother of E30096 Gerald Henderson
Globe and Mail, Jan 4, 1943 New Year's Honor Comes to One of the Fighting Henderson Family: The little lumbering town of Maniwaki nestling in the Gatineau Hills 90 miles north of Ottawa, is the home of the Henderson family, six of whose members are on active service. Fiver others are doing their war bit in other ways. The New Year's honors list contained the name of one of the Hendersons, Lieut. (Nursing Sister) Ida Henderson, R.C.A.M.C., somewhere in England. Left to right: Pte. Gerald Henderson, Royal Rifles, and RQMS, Nelson Henderson, Royal Rifles, both prisoners at Hong Kong; Lieut. Ida Henderson, R.C.A.M.C.; Pte. Walker Henderson. S. Sgt. Kenneth Henderson and Cpl. Jack Henderson, all of No. 1 Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, in Scotland. See other photo for rest of article titled: Six Hendersons in Service. Globe and Mail Article, January 4, 1943 synopsis: Six of eleven of the Maniwaki Henderson's are in active service. New Year's honor conferred upon one of their number, Lieut, Nursing Sister Ida Henderson: the Royal Red Cross (second class).Two brothers, Gerald and Nelson were taken prisoner by the Japanese at Hong Kong. Nelson also served in WW1, in the Royal Rifles Corps, the only family member old enough to serve at the time. He couldn't serve in the RCAF in WWII because of his age. Both Gerald and Nelson were with the Royal Rifles in Newfoundland and then went onto Hong Kong. Beryl and Bessie Henderson are civilians, one in stores, the other in parachutes at No. 1 Air Observers School, Malton. Mary is a nurse at the International Paper Company, Gatineau and Dorothy is the head telephone operator at Maniwaki. Cpr Jack, S. Sgt. Kenneth and Pte. Walker were in the Quebec unit of the Canadian Forestry Corps in Scotland. Nursing Sister Ida trained at the Montreal General Hospital, was on staff for a period at Medicine Hat Hospital and then returned to Montreal at the Western Hospital. She has spent 3 Christmases in England.
End of Report.
Report generated: 30 Nov 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.
- 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.