1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Leo | William |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| New Richmond QC | Eastern Quebec | 1919-09-03 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| D | 16 Plt | |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/25 | N/A | 36 |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-QMH | 12/28/1941 | 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
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-06-21 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| New Richmond Quebec Canada | Notre-Dame-des-Saints-Anges Cemetery | ||
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Leo Murphy, son of Walter Murphy and Emily Cormier of New Richmond, Quebec, was born 3 September 1919. He grew up on a farm with five brothers and three sisters. Before enlistment, he was a day laborer working in sawmill construction, excavation, farming and a lumberman. Mr. Murphy enlisted 25 November 1940 with the Royal Rifles of Canada and took his basic training in Newfoundland and in Val Cartier, Quebec. He served overseas for four years, spending all but the first three months as a POW in Hong Kong and Japan. The emotional impact of the Hong Kong deployment started early for Mr. Murphy when on the same day his brother was killed beside him, he took the life of a Japanese soldier. He was wounded at Stanley Point during an attack on 25 December 1941 and was taken to Hospital where he stayed until 23 January 1942. At the time of his liberation, he was mining coal in Omini, Japan, as a slave laborer. Mr. Murphy arrived back in Canada in October 1945. For his service, he received the 1939-1945 Star, the Pacific Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal & Clasp and the War Medal 1939-1945. Leo was discharged 5 February 1946. From 1947 to 1960, he was employed as a brakeman with the CNR. Mr. Murphy married Yvette Savoie 1 September 1947 in New Richmond, Quebec where he lived with his family until his death 26 June 2001. He is buried in New Richmond Catholic Cemetery. (Picture and biography courtesy of Jeannie Murphy.)
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
Leo Murphy, (E30638) son of Walter Murphy and Emily Cormier of New Richmond, Quebec, was born 3 September 1919. He grew up on a farm with five brothers and three sisters. Before enlistment, he was a day laborer working in sawmill construction, excavation, farming and a lumberman Mr. Murphy enlisted 25 November 1940 with the Royal Rifles of Canada and took his basic training in Newfoundland and in Val Cartier, Quebec. He served overseas for four years, spending all but the first three months as a POW in Hong Kong and Japan. The emotional impact of the Hong Kong deployment started early for Mr. Murphy when on the same day his brother was killed beside him, he took the life of a Japanese soldier. He was wounded at Stanley Point during an attack on 25 December 1941 and was taken to Hospital where he stayed until 23 January 1942. At the time of his liberation, he was mining coal in Omini, Japan, as a slave laborer. Mr. Murphy arrived back in Canada in October 1945. For his service, he received the 1939-1945 Star, the Pacific Star, the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal & Clasp and the War Medal 1939-1945. Leo was discharged 5 February 1946. From 1947 to 1960, he was employed as a brakeman with the CNR. Mr. Murphy married Yvette Savoie 1 September 1947 in New Richmond, Quebec where he lived with his family until his death 26 June 2001. He is buried in New Richmond Catholic Cemetery.
All five brothers enlisted in the army/air force during the 1939-1945 Second World War.
Pictures and biography courtesy of Jeannie Murphy (daughter of Robert Murphy)
This veteran was interviewed by Veterans Affairs. To view, visit the VAC Video Gallery page and use the search tool. Note: VAC moves pages around constantly, so you may have to work to find the video. Currently the best way to access the Hong Kong veteran interviews is to select the "Heroes Remember" category, then use the advanced search option and click on the "Hong Kong" campaign option.
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.