1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Lloyd | William |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Perce QC | Eastern Quebec | 1921-12-02 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| A | ||
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 Passenger List A | SF | 1945-10-02 | evacuated from Japan via USS Ozark |
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
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-01-12 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
Gravestone Image
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Obituary / Life Story
Loved, honoured, and needed, Lloyd William O'Leary, age 91, passed away on Saturday, January 12, 2013 at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre in spite of his family's hopes to bring him home in better health. Lloyd was the last remaining Hong Kong war veteran between Winnipeg and Toronto. Possessing uncommon strength and stamina, Lloyd survived the battle of Hong Kong, and three years and eight months as a prisoner of war, starved and beaten as a slave in the work camps of China and Japan. Lloyd was born on December 2, 1921, to Daniel and Agnes, the eldest son of a family that grew to seventeen children over the years in the picturesque town of Perce, Gaspe, Quebec. Families worked hard, and all held a strong belief in the Roman Catholic faith. By age sixteen, he enlisted and served with the Royal Rifles of Canada, an amalgamation of several militia units from Gaspe, the Eastern Townships, Northern Ontario and the maritime provinces. The motto of the Royal Rifles was "Volens and Valens", "Able and Willing". Together with a second Canadian militia, the Winnipeg Grenadiers, they were shipped from Vancouver to Hong Kong in November, 1941, and by December, they were engaged in a battle for their lives. More than 550 proud Canadians died in battle and the years of captivity. Today, less than 50 Hong Kong War Veterans are still living. Lloyd returned to Canada in 1945, and unable to find work in Quebec, he worked in the bush camps around Neys outside Thunder Bay. There he met his love, Yoshiko (Joyce), a Japanese Canadian forced to live and teach in the Japanese internment camps that were moved from BC to Ontario. Lloyd helped the Japanese and Germans held in the area. Lloyd held no ill feelings towards anyone, and prejudice was never part of this man with a twinkle in his eye and the leprechaun smile. Lloyd worked over 35 years as a CN locomotive engineer in Thunder Bay, retiring in 1984. After the death of Yoshiko in August of 1967, Lloyd raised four children on his own, taking afternoon shifts to make sure that supper was ready in the oven. Lloyd still cooked roast beef dinners for the family every Sunday, and he continued to worry that his family would not eat while he was in hospital. Lloyd is survived by his son, William (Winnipeg), and his daughters Pat, Carlie (David), and Constance his grandchildren; Patrick, Stephen, and Melanie O'Leary, Nathan, Dallas, and Chase Sulyma, and Candra Anttila and his great grandchildren; Emily, Faer, and Sunday O'Leary. Besides devoting his life to his family, Lloyd loved a monthly trip to the casino, and passing "the plate" at Saturday mass at St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church, where he always said a few words to each and every person in attendance. Lloyd looked forward to his phone calls from his sisters in Montreal and the Toronto area. News from "down east" sparked many a remembrance of friends and relatives that he had grown up with, and he could still recite poetry from his childhood. Cremation has taken place, and a private Mass was celebrated by Father Luigi Filippini in the Chapel of St. Andrew's Roman Catholic Church for the family. Lloyd was the best part of each of his children, and he was reunited with Yoshiko on Thursday, January 17, 2013. An Honour Guard from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #5 played the Last Post during the committal service at the cemetery for this fallen soldier. The family wishes to thank the Harbourview Funeral Centre for their assistance, Lorna Akervall, our cousin, who Dad always enjoyed seeing at church, the Branch 5 Legion honour guard, Father Luigi, and to those who showed such kindness to us in this past week of unending grief.
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
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General Comments
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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.