Individual Report: H6055 Donald MCLEOD

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Private	Donald	Alexander
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Glen Robertson ON	Manitoba	1920-07-13
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	C

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	Shell wound to the forearm	36

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-QMH	12/24/1941	N/A	Transferred to BMH
HK-BMH	01/20/1942	08/30/1942		118; 26

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	Arrival Date	Departure Date
HK-SA-01	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	Capture	42 Jan 22
HK-NP-02	North Point	North Point, Hong Kong Island	42 Jan 22	42 Sep 26
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	42 Sep 26	45 Sep 10

Transportation SE Asia to Home

Transport Mode	Arrival Destination	Arrival Date	Comments
USS Admiral CF Hughes	Victoria, BC	1945-10-09	Manila to Victoria BC 141 CDNs

Extracted from Donald McLeod's account.

It was nearly ten days before the first Canadian warship arrived, the H.M.S. Prince Robert. She was the escort ship when we went to Hong Kong. In 1945, the ship docked at the Old Peninsula Hotel in Kowloon and the ship's M.O. Dr. McLure came to camp with his staff to give us a medical. (Phillip: Dr. McLure brought you into the world in Mission City.)

Then we were given Canadian K.D. shorts and shirts to wear. The medical crew weighed us and I weighed 95 lbs. In a few days we were invited to have our meals on board the Robert. That was the first bacon & egg meal we had in years.

The next ship in was the Australian carrier. They rounded up all the guards and their arms. They decided that we should be taken on board The Empress of Asia to Manila. Waiting for The Empress of Asia was the longest two weeks of the P.O.W. time. We were free and couldn't go any place, except downtown in Kowloon and visit the Robert and the carrier. The Doctor said no alcohol. There was none anyhow.

We sailed on The Empress of Asia to Manila and was transported to Camp 5 Military Camp out near General MacArthur's holdings, where we stayed and were issued American military clothes and had another medical, also our shots.

The trip home was on the Admiral Hughes. That brought us to Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt. The food was excellent on board the troop ship, a carton of cigarettes daily. The coffee was something we hadn't had for years and there was always hot coffee to be had in the canteen, free. We loafed around on deck and kept up our suntan.

We stayed at Work Point until we received our Canadian uniform and two hundred dollars cash. That was the first cash we had in nearly four years. The C.P.R. ferry took us to Vancouver. I was met by my Uncle Murdie, Aunt Clara and Aunt Tillie (At that point I had never met them before but knew they lived in Vancouver.) They had phoned me at Work Point and told me that they would pick me up at the C. P. ferry dock. I stayed with them for a week before the army had my tickets ready to travel so I could go home and see my family. Looking back, Uncle Murdie went to a lot of trouble to give me a good time. Although at the time I didn't drink, they had a party for me and I received fifty dollars as a gift plus the two hundred the army gave me. So I went home with a lot of money, the most I ever had.

The trip home was on the C.P.R. and lots of parties on the train. Everyone wanted to buy us drinks and have an excuse for a party.

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
1989-09-09		Post War
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Victoria British Columbia Canada	Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery	Sec R, 70, 36

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

MCLEOD Donald Alexander, suddenly at home, in Victoria, B.C. on September 9, 1989. Born on July 13, 1920 and predeceased by his first wife, Coria in 1980. He is survived by his wife, Eileen; his children, Joan and Mike, Phil and Lorna, Stewart and Dorothy, Donna, Grant and Susan; four grandchildren, Kelly, Randy, Laura and Ryan; brothers and sisters, Margaret, Ethel, Muriel, Ranny, Lillian and John and their families. Mr. McLeod fought for his country during the Second World War, was wounded and captured and survived the Hong Kong P.O.W.camps. He was deeply involved in Scouting and A.A. No matter how tough things got, he never gave up and he will be sadly missed. Funeral service will be conducted from MCCall Bros. Floral Chapel, Johnson and Vancouver Streets, Victoria, on Thursday, September 14, at 1:00 P.M. with interment to follow in the Royal Oak Burial Park. Flowers are gratefully declined and tributes may be made to the Charity of one's choice. 385-4465

Times Colonist, Wednesday, 13 September 1989, Page 32, Column 3

Links and Other Resources

See the Personal Account of Donald McLeod.

General Comments

ALL SQUARE with the world after receiving a $1343 cheque as compensation for nearly four years as a prisoner of the Japanese at Hong Kong is Don McLeod of 3220 Adanac. Above, he examines the "manna from Ottawa" with his family, 7-month-old Stewart, 4-year-old Phillip, 5-year-old Joan and his wife.

End of Report.

Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.

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Additional Notes

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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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