1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | James | Cecil |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Bury QC | Eastern Quebec | 1917-05-04 |
| 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 Jan 19 | ||
| JP-Fu-5B | Omine | Kawasaki-machi, Fukuoka pref., Kyushu Island, Japan | Furukawa Industries Omine | Coal mining | 43 Jan 23 | 45 Sep 22 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3B | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| HMS Glory | Esquimalt, BC | 1945-10-27 | Manila to Esquimalt, BC 37 CDNs sick and 119 fit |
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
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967-05-01 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Bury Quebec Canada | Bury Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
After a lengthy illness the death occurred at the Hotel Dieu Hospital in Sherbrooke on May 12 of James Cecil Royer of Bury.
The deceased was born in Bury on May 12, 1917, the son of the late Joseph Royer and his wife, Lottie Taylor. He had spent his entire life in Bury receiving his education at the high school here.
Early in 1940 he enlisted in the Royal Rifles of Canada, serving at Valcartier, Sussex, N.B., and Newfoundland, before going to Hong Kong in October 1941. Wounded during the battle of Hong Kong, he became a prisoner of war of the Japanese. During the fall of 1942 with other prisoners he was transferred to Northern Japan and remained in the prison Camps there until liberated by the American force in September 1945.
On his return to Canada he again settled in Bury and on Oct. 7, 1947, married Margaret McHardy, of Cookshire, who, with their five children, Mary, George, Elaine, James Jr. and Allen, survive him.
Until entering hospital the week of January he was employed as a fireman by the Department of National Defence.
Also left to mourn his loss are four sisters, Bessie, Mrs. D. Keiper, Gertrude, Mrs. Walter Snyder, Verna, Mrs. Harrison Moyer. Ruth, Mrs. Nelson, all of Pocono Pines, Pennsylvania, who had visited him shortly before his death, and three brothers, Thomas, of Bury, Albert, of Dixville, and Cliff, of Sherbrooke. A sister Mary predeceased him on Feb. 27, 1947.
Following prayers at the Bury funeral home the funeral services were held at St. Paul's Anglican Church, Rev. M. Jones officiating. The service was largely attended by fellow comrades of the Royal Rifles and members of the Bury branch of the Canadian Legion.
The bearers, all old friends, were George Smiley, of Lennoxville, Donald Saunders, George Everett, Allen Kelso, Maurice Latulippe and Beck Lowe, of Bury.
Interment was in the family lot of the United Cemetery.
Relatives and friends from a distance attending were from Montreal, Sherbrooke, Lennoxville, Bishopton, East Angus, Danville, Asbestos, Rock Forest, Scotstown and Sawyerville.
Unknown newspaper clipping
From the pens of ET writers
A FALLEN SOLDIER
A Guard of Honor is forming,
Each man takes his place.
They come to do him honor
And to lay to rest,
A fallen friend and comrade,
One of the very best.
I see the flag draped casket
Each bearer takes his place,
Now the casket is moving
To it's final resting place.
Our old friend and comerade (sic),
James Royer, was laid to rest.
Mrs. Alice-Margaret Alden, Sawyerville.
Unknown newspaper clipping
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.
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.
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General Comments
JAMES ROYER. Youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. James Royer joined the Royal Rifles going to Hong Kong where he was a Prisoner of War. He died May 12, 1967 after a lengthy illness.
Brother to Clifford Royea E29813. Note the history of the spelling of the last name.
’C’ Force Family Connections:
- Brother of E29813 Clifford Royea
End of Report.
Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.
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.
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