1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Jack | |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Oshawa ON | Eastern Quebec | 1905-05-31 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Bn HQ | Band | |
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 Rescue | SF | a US hospital ship |
Jack left Japan on the hospital ship USS Benevolence from Tokyo to San Francisco
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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-03-25 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Picton Ontario Canada | Glenwood Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
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.
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
- Find a Grave® is a valuable resource that may contain additional information on this 'C' Force member. When you arrive at the site search page, fill in as much detail as you can for best results.
General Comments
Picture- Remembering Jack (John) - Teresa Stevens and Robert Ryan were among those who gathered at Glenwood Cemetery Sunday to remember their relative Jack (John) Arthur. The County native survived internment in a Japanese Prisoner-of-war camp after he and Allies laid down their arms at Hong Kong in 1941. From The Picton Gazette by Jason Parks on August 17, 2017. Page 6
Two years ago Robert Ryan (HKVCA member of Plainfield, near Belleville, Ontario) began his search for the grave of Jack Arthur, RRC, who died in 1952. Robert believed Jack Arthur was a cousin. Memorabilia belonging to Jack Arthur had been given to Robert, his cap and RRC badges. Robert knew only that Jack had been in the Battle of Hong Kong and had been a prisoner of war, later shipped to Japan. Finally locating Jacks grave in Glenwood Cemetery, Picton, Ontario, Robert notified the cemetery managers about the HK grave marker he wanted to be put on the gravestone and left his name in case there were any problems. He also notified the Picton Gazette newspaper about the story and pictures were published in the paper.
Shortly after, Robert got a call from the daughter of Jack Arthur who was still living but had become separated from the family, neither side knowing about the other. Robert and his wife decided to go to Whitby to meet his new cousin, the daughter of Jack Arthur and to learn more of what had happened. What they found was that Jack Arthurs brother in law had taught Jack how to be a barber and Jack moved with his family to Quebec to see if he could make a better living there. When volunteers were called for, Jack signed up and was sent to Newfoundland where the RRCs were stationed. His wife and young daughter were then left to make their way back to Bloomfield, Ontario. His wife left to work at GM in Oshawa, Ontario. His young daughter was brought up by her maternal grandparents in Bloomfield. What Jacks daughter learned later was that her father was often asked to be the barber for the Japanese in camp (always with a guard close by). She was 18 when her dad passed. She had only seen him a few times after his return from war.
Robert Ryan had found his great-uncle (Roberts grandmother had been Jacks sister). And because of the newspaper story the connection was made. Jacks daughter also decided to check Jacks military records and discovered that her mother was entitled to the sum of money given to the Hong Kong POWs as compensation, paid by the Canadian government, not the Japanese, as well as Jacks pension which had never been claimed. It has been a good ending to this family story.
But is it an ending? Jack Arthur has relatives living in Ottawa and Robert introduced them to the HKVCA Memorial Wall.
Note from Robert: His given name is John P. Arthur. It is identical to his Dads name, so he went by Jack which I do not think was out of the ordinary. I assume the middle initial may be a name he was not fond of but am not sure.
Written by Shelagh Purcell and Robert Ryan. November 2017
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.
- 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.