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.

Excerpt from Michael Palmer's book: Dark Side of the Sun

Horror. There was no other way to describe the situation for the Canadian defenders as the Japanese military machine cut a swath down the middle of Hong Kong Island separating east from west. They were relentless in their advance and unmerciful with their savagery in so many cases.

Every defender had his/her own unique timeline and horrendous circumstances to contend with during the assault. My grandfather was no different.

Regarding weaponry, Platoon 2, the unit Palmer served in, had four twin Bren light machine guns for anti-aircraft defence. Each section of a rifle platoon was allotted one rifle per man and one Bren and one machine carbine. Around December 19th, two sections of Platoon 2 were ordered to reinforce Platoon 5 on Mount Parker, the second highest peak on Hong Kong Island at 532 meters.

Corporal Palmer, a section Commander at this point, and his friend, Graham Boudreau, were embedded within the two sections that began their trek up Mount Parker. Amid the chaotic battle scenes, plans were changing all the time, hour to hour. At some point their role had changed from shoring up the position to offence - they were tasked with ejecting the Japanese already digging in on the hill.

And then Palmer was reassigned again. Never a dull or static moment. He was told to lead some men in shoring up a defensive line nearby. Eventually his group got into a skirmish with the enemy but were overwhelmed by superior Japanese numbers and firepower. George and his men pulled back. During the engagement Palmer got lucky - a bullet glanced off his water canister as he tumbled down a hill. Chaos was everywhere. Men went missing and were getting injured or killed. Communication lines were hit or miss because the Japanese were cutting them in various places.

After gathering his wits, George doubled back through the confusing battle lines and managed to save a comrade by helping him back to friendly lines which were constantly being overwhelmed by Japanese forces. There was no let up despite the tenacity of the defenders. Their only hope was a faint one - that the British would come ashore eventually with ships to rescue them. But that was never in the cards.

Despite exhaustion, hunger and dehydration, Palmer continued helping out his group by carrying heavy ammunition containers up and down the hills from various positions while bullets flew all about. The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, currently the Canadian Federal Minister of Veteran Affairs and who was a dear friend of Palmer’s (was his co-worker for many years) told me, “George just happened not to die. He was a man of great strength.” War is often dictated by luck and probabilities, and one's attitude on endurance and perseverance. Palmer was digging heavily into all these buckets during the battles in Hong Kong.

More and more men were getting incapacitated during the skirmishes around Mount Parker. On December 19, Palmer and his group decided to get the wounded to a hospital. They scavenged the area, trying hard to avoid roving Japanese units. They came across a lorry. The wounded were loaded onto the back of the truck and the rest filled the front cab including medical personnel. George jumped into the driver’s seat and drove the truck toward St. Albert’s—the nearest hospital. 

Driving westward along a pathway, they reached Wong Nei Chung Gap which had roads cutting north and south down the middle of the island. At the time, this area was being infiltrated by the enemy. They encountered some advance Japanese scout patrols resting on the side of the road and who were above in the nearby hills. The truck attracted small arms fire. George hit the gas hard, accelerating through the enemy hotspot, evading capture. Some of the men, including Palmer, were hit with bullets and/or shrapnel. Despite being shot in the leg’s calf muscle, a superficial flesh wound, George continued on, driving west onto Stubb’s Road until they arrived at St. Albert’s convent which had been converted into a hospital.

All the men were assessed, including Palmer. Aside from his leg wound he was also suffering from a swollen gland. They all remained at St. Albert’s because the Wong Nei Chung Gap soon fell into enemy hands. The door had closed - there was no chance of a return to his Royal Rifles unit on the East side of the island. He was officially listed as a patient although his injuries were not life-threatening. He began helping out with various day-to-day operational duties until a few days later when the combat lines would, once again, be upon him.

As the Japanese advanced toward St. Albert’s, all patients who could walk or hobble and who could hold a rifle were asked to man a defensive line in the outlying area. My grandfather explained to MacAulay that by the early morning hours of December 23rd, he was involved in this defensive perimeter. With the Japanese closing in quickly and because the watchman within Palmer’s group fell asleep on duty, they all awoke, surprised, to the sounds of Japanese voices all around them. At that point, they had no other choice but to surrender. Sleep might've been George’s saving grace. As MacAulay stated, “If George was awake, he probably would not have gone down without a fight”.