1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
Red River Métis
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | James | Alfred George |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Kenville MB | Manitoba | 1915-06-27 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| D | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/24 | N/A |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-BMH | 09/23/1942 | N/A | 118 |
POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | Reference | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-NP-01 | North Point | North Point, Hong Kong Island | N/A | N/A | |||
| HK-AS-01 | Argyle Street | Kowloon, Hong Kong | N/A | N/A | |||
| HK-SA-01 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | Capture | 42 Jan 22 | |||
| HK-NP-02 | North Point | North Point, Hong Kong Island | 33 | 42 Jan 22 | 42 Sep 26 | ||
| HK-SA-02 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 42 Sep 26 | 45 Sep 10 |
Transportation: SE Asia to Home
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Post-war Photo
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Other Military Service
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Death and Cemetery Information
| Date of Death (y-m-d) | Cause of Death | Death Class | Death Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000-10-01 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Crane River Manitoba Canada | Crane River Cemetery |
Gravestone Image
No related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Obituary / Life Story
JAMES A. MOAR (JIMMY GOOSE) Peacefully, with his family by his side, James Alfred Moar passed sway on October 1, 2000 at St. Anthonys General Hospital in The Pas. MB after a lengthy battle with diabetes at the age of 85 years. James leaves to mourn his passing and to cherish many fond memories his loving wife of 53 years, Alice of The Pas, MB; his daughters, Dorothy of The Pas, MB, Bev and husband Orville of The Pas, MB. Judy and husband Robert of Brandon, MB; his brother Ernest and wife Ida of Crane River, MB; his sisters; Bella and husband Ernie of Crane River, MB, Gladys and husband Walter of Crane River, MB. There are 17 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren; along with numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his two infant daughters, Eileen and Marie; his parents, John and Louisa Moar; his brothers, John, Billy and Frank; his sisters, Mary and Hattie and his son-in-law Jack Peterson. James was a member of the Royal Canadian Legion for 25 years. He was a member of the Hong Kong Veterans Association and the Aboriginal Veterans Association. James enlisted in the army in July of 1941 with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles. He transferred to the Winnipeg Grenadiers and was shipped to Hong Kong in September of 1941. On December 25, 1941 he was captured and became a Japanese P.O.W. for 1,343 days. James received six medals for his service in the army. He was discharged on April 2, 1948 in Winnipeg and returned to Crane River where he married and raised his family. James was very involved in the community of Crane River. He served as mayor, fire chief and as a school board committee member. He was a board member for the Dauphin Friendship Centre and a member of the Manitoba Metis Federation. James was a fisherman, a trapper and a farmhand. He loved the outdoors and enjoyed hunting, fishing, digging seneca root and picking berries. He also enjoyed dancing. Many of his friends and relatives will remember his calling for square dancing. James always expected everyone to know how to square dance and not make any mistakes. He was a very serious card player. James loved his children and grandchildren. His face would light up everytime one of them would come to visit. He was a kind and generous man who would lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. He will be sadly missed. Prayers and wake service were held on Wednesday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. from the Crane River Holy Family Roman Catholic Church. Funeral Service will be held on Thursday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. from the Crane River Holy Family Roman Catholic Church. Fr. Reynold Omictin will officiate with the interment to follow in the Crane River Cemetery. Members of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 20. Dauphin will conduct a poppy tribute in conjunction with the service. Active pallbearers will be his grandsons, James Bruce, Pat Morrisseau, Elmer Moar, Carl Nabess, Clayton Nabess and Conrad Nabess. Honourary pallbearers will be his grandsons, Clint Nabess, Kevin Nabess, Mike Moar; his granddaughters, Lorna Sanderson, Sherry Moar, Pam Bruce, Rena McLeod; sons-in-law, Robert Bignell and Orville Morrisseau; his nephews, Davis Dumas, Brian McKay, John Moar and John Morrisseau; and his friend Ken Mayor. All of his granddaughters, nieces, nephews and friends are to consider themselves as honourary pallbearers. Should friends so desire, donations may be made in memory of James to the Canadian Diabetes Association. Ste. Rose Memorial Chapel, Ste Rose du Lac, MB have care of arrangements, (204) 447- 2444.
Winnipeg Free Press October 05, 2000Links 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.
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→ Related documentation for information published in this report, such as birth information, discharge papers, press clippings and census documents may be available via shared resources in our HKVCA Vault. It is organized with folders named using regimental numbers. Use the first letter of the individual's service number to choose the correct folder, then scroll to the specific sub-folder displaying the service number of your interest.
General Comments
PRIVATE JAMES "JIMMY" MOAR
After Jimmy enlisted, he trained for two months before shipping off to Hong Kong in September 1941 with the Winnipeg Grenadiers. Shortly after Jimmy's arrival, the forces of the Empire of Japan began to bomb Hong Kong. On December 19, he was wounded by a piece of shrapnel. Then on Christmas Day, only six days after Jimmy's injury, Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese forces. Jimmy and all the other Allied Forces on the island became prisoners of war.
During his nearly four-year imprisonment, Jimmy and his comrades were set to work removing a mountain to make space for an airstrip. The main equipment they had to remove the dirt and rock were wicker baskets. As a result of this physical labour and the very slim food rations he was given, Jimmy dropped from 160lbs to 80lbs.
After the war ended, Jimmy began the long journey back to Canada. He was initially sent to Honolulu where he stayed for 3 months to rebuild his strength. He then went on to Vancouver before finally returning to his hometown in Manitoba. The years of imprisonment, labour, and near starvation had changed Jimmy's appearance so severely that his mother only recognized him by the sound of his voice.
Jimmy reintegrated himself in his community, becoming a volunteer firefighter, and later, Fire Chief. He sat on the local school board, served as Mayor, and held memberships with the Royal Canadian Legion, Hong Kong's Veteran Association, and Aboriginal Veteran's Association.
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: 18 Apr 2024.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers 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.