Individual Report: H6154 Frederick ABEL

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Sergeant	Frederick	James
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Langruth MB	Manitoba	1902-01-02
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	HQ Coy	1 Signals

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	Arrival Date	Departure Date
HK-NP-01	North Point	North Point, Hong Kong Island	41 Dec 20	41 Dec 22
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	42 Nov 28

Commemorative Feature

A map detailing the location of this feature can be found in this soldier's vault. (See Vault explanation below in the Links and Other Resources block) .

Site Description	Location	Province	Map Reference	Lat/Long	Date
Abel Lake	northest of Lac Brochet, Manitoba	Manitoba	64 K/15	58 59' 30"; 100 38' 45"	1972

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
1942-11-28	Avitaminosis	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. A. 1.	NA

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Son of John William Abel and Frances Annie Parker. Husband of Eva Mae Smith, of Langruth, Manitoba. Father of Martha Sherron and Fredean Janice Abel. He served from 1920 to 1927 with the Rifles Brigade. He served in Manitoba, in Jamaica with Force Y and in Hong Kong with Force C. He had 1,391 days of service, including 612 overseas.
To honour his sacrifice, the province of Manitoba named Abel Lake, located north-east of Lac Brochet, in 1973.
Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Pacific Star, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial

This SAI WAN MEMORIAL honours over 2000 men of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. The SAI WAN MEMORIAL is in the form of a shelter building 24 metres long and 5.5 metres wide. It stands at the entrance to Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery, outside Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. From the semi-circular forecourt, two wide openings lead to the interior of the building. The names are inscribed on panels of Portland stone. The dedicatory inscription reads:

1939 - 1945 The officers and men whose memory is honoured here died in the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941 and in the ensuing years of captivity and have no known grave.

The northern side of the Memorial is open and four granite piers support the copper roof. From a commanding position 305 metres above sea level, it looks out over the War Cemetery where some 1,500 men lie buried, and across the water to Mainland China - a magnificent view of sea and mountains.

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.

General Comments

Abel Lake, northeast of Lac Brochet was named after Sgt Abel in 1972. (Reference: A Place of Honour (Manitoba's War Dead Commemorated in its Geography) 2002

Frederick ABEL his family history as published in A Tribute to Soldiers and Pioneers of the Langruth District

Son of John and the late Mrs. Abel, of London, England. Was born January 5, 1904. He came to Canada in 1933, after having served five years in the Imperial Army in India.

In November, 1938, he married Miss Eva Smith, of Winnipeg, daughter of Mr. Mrs. Smith, of Langruth.

Immediately after the declaration of war in September, 1939, Fred joined the Grenadiers. In 1940 he was sent to Jamaica, West Indies. A year later he came home on leave and in October, 1941, left for Hong Kong. With the fall of Hong Kong, on Christmas Day, 1942, he was taken prisoner of war.

Shortly before the close of hostilities he died. Mrs. Abel and their daughters, Sherron and Fredean, reside in Portage la Prairie.

Submitted by - Walter Arksey Webmaster for Langruth Web Page

End of Report.

Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.

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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.