1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Peter | |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Jardinville QC | New Brunswick | 1918-12-25 |
| 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 Dec 15 | ||
| JP-Os-11B | Narumi | Aichi-ken, Aichi-gun, Narumi-machi, Arimatsu Mura 114-3 | Nippon Rolling Stock Company and Daido Electric Steel Company | Men employed as slaves for Daido Electric Steel Company and made wheels at the Nippon Wheel (Vehicle) Mfg. | 44 Jan 06 | 44 Feb 05 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD5A | SS Soong Cheong / Toyama Maru | 43 Dec 15 | 44 Jan 04 | Moji, Japan | Arrived at Takao, Formosa, 43 Dec 20; Transferred to Toyama Maru, 43 Dec 30, went to Narumi | Tony Banham |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944-02-05 | Colonic Catarrah; beaten severely by interpreter Nimori on voyage to Japan | Died while POW | |
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Jido-Yuenchi-Dori Hodogaya Japan | Yokohama War Cemetery | Cdn. Sec. B. C. 10. | NA |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Peter Doucett was born in Jardinevile, upper Kent County, on Christmas Day 1918, to Alexandre and Caroline Doucett. Peter, along with his friend Thomas Thompson of Richibucto enlisted in the army on May 21, 1940. On 28 November after Infantry training with the Carleton and York Regiment, Peter and Thomas were posted to A Company of the Royal Rifles of Canada (RRC) and travelled to Newfoundland with that unit in January 1941, as part of "W" Force.
The RRC returned to Canada on August 18 and were assigned to "C" Force that sailed for Hong Kong on October 27. Rifleman Peter Doucett fought in the Battle of Hong Kong and became a prisoner of war (POW) on Christmas Day - his 22 birthday. His family did not know he was dead or alive until October 1942, when they received notice of his POW status. The harshness and cruelty of being a prisoner, under the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA), has been well documented. Peter would suffer all of the horrors associated with that terrible time in history.
His 1943 POW camp medical records note: he suffered from pellagra in January; beriberi in July; malaria in September; and dysentery in November. On December 15, Peter was amongst the 400 Canadian and British POWs forced into the hold of the freighter SS Soong Cheong that sailed for Formosa. Upon arrival in Formosa, after a two-week voyage in squalid conditions, they were transferred to the freighter Toyama Maru which sailed for Osaka on December 30 and arrived on January 4, 1944. According to RRflsC veterans accounts of the voyage Peter was "beaten severely by Interpreter Nimori on voyage to Japan". Nonetheless Private Peter Doucett survived the passage, albeit in a much weaken condition. He was put to work in a steel factory.
Peter died a month later on February 5, 1944. Flight Lieutenant Waiter Riley, a RAF doctor and POW, recorded the cause of death as colonic catarrh (aka dysentery). The IJA controlled what was written in all medical documents and dealt out served beatings for any entry that was not "agreeable". After the war CQMS Colin Standish of Cookshire. Quebec, testified that he had heard that Peter died of dysentery and malnutrition, but that he did not witness the death. Private Algee Pelletier of Edmundston NB. testified that he witnessed the beating death of Private Peter Doucett by guards of the IJA.
Peter's body was cremated and placed in the Canadian niche of a mausoleum. In January 1947. Rifleman Peter Doucett's ashes were interred grave BC10 of the Yokohama War Cemetery, Japan.
Submitted by Gary Silker. www.ahlegian.ca NEW BRUNSWICK COMMAND The Royal Canadian Legion Légion Royale Canadienne DIRECTION NOUVEAUBRUNSWICK New Brunswick MSRB Vol 18 Pg 95
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.
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