1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Budvar | Peter |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Portage La Praire MB | Manitoba | 1918-01-01 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| B | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/25 | N/A |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-WMH | 12/25/1941 | N/A | Transferred to BMH | |
| HK-BMH | 01/22/1942 | 01/22/1942 | 118 |
POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | 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 | 43 Aug 15 | ||
| JP-To-5B | Niigata-Rinko | Niigata-ken, Nakakambara-gun, Ogata-mura, Japan | Marutsu, Rinko Coal, Shintetsu | Stevedore labor at port of Niigata (Marutsu), primarily foodstuffs; mining coal (Rinko Coal ) and labor at a foundry (Shintetsu) | 43 Sep 02 | 44 Jan 01 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD4B | Manryu Maru | 43 Aug 15 | 43 Sep 01 | Osaka, Japan | Brief stopover in Taihoku (Taipei), Formosa (Taiwan); then 2 day stopover at northern point for stool tests | Tony Banham |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olafson Lake | northeast of North Knife Lake, Manitoba | Manitoba | 64 I/09 | 58 31' 11"; 96 24' 53" | 1974 |
Other Military or Public Service
He served with the 1st Regiment Manitoba Mounted Rifles - NPAM - regimental number 2420, June 17th, 1933 and was discharged from the army in 1938.
Death and Cemetery Information
| Date of Death (y-m-d) | Cause of Death | Death Class | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1944-01-01 | Accidentially killed while prisoner of war; Multiple injuries | Died while POW | |
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Jido-Yuenchi-Dori Hodogaya Japan | Yokohama War Cemetery | Cdn. Sec. A.D. 16. | NA |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
He was born as Bodvar Petur Olafson and was nicknamed Bud. Son of Jon Olafson (a.k.a. John) and Oluf Sigridur Soebeck (a.k.a. Olive Sarah Soback), of Kitchener, Ontario, but originally from Iceland. Brother of Corporal Conard Olafson of the 2nd Troop A Squadron of the Lord Strahcona Horse's 2nd Armoured Regiment. He fought in Italy and survived the war. He served with the 1st Regiment Manitoba Mounted Rifles - NPAM - regimental number 2420, June 17th, 1933 and was discharged from the army in 1938. He enlisted on September 12th, 1939 with the 1st Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers and served in Manitoba, Jamaica with Y Force, Hong Kong with C Force and Japan as a POW. He had 1,562 days of service, including 796 overseas. To commemorate his sacrifice, the Manitoba government named Olafson Lake located northeast of North Knife Lake in his honor in 1974.
Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medals and Clasp.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
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
- Find a Grave® is a valuable resource that may contain additional information on this 'C' Force member. When you arrive at the site search page, fill in as much detail as you can for best results.
General Comments
Picture & the following from Face Book Page - Operation Picture Me - Hong Kong [scanning from Winnipeg Tribune] by David Archer, 2016
Official word that Private Budvar Peter Olafson, 26, a Japanese prisoner-of-war, was killed in a typhoon at Niigata, Japan, has been received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J Olafson, of 150 Royal Road, Portage la Prairie. The brief notification did not say when Private Olafson met death, nor supply details of the circumstances. Enlisting in September, 1939, with the Winnipeg Grenadiers, he served for 15 months with that unit in the West Indies. He was born in Boissevain, Manitoba and attended Victoria school and collegiate at Portage la Prairie. Before enlisting he was in business in that city. Surviving besides his parents are a brother, Corporal Conard, serving with a tank unit in Italy and two sisters, Mrs. T. Homer and Dorothy, Portage la Prairie.
He was born as Bodvar Petur Olafson and was nicknamed Bud. Son of Jon Olafson (a.k.a. John) and Oluf Sigridur Soebeck (a.k.a. Olive Sarah Soback), of Kitchener, Ontario, but originally from Iceland. Brother of Corporal Conard Olafson of the 2nd Troop A Squadron of the Lord Strahcona Horse's 2nd Armoured Regiment. He fought in Italy and survived the war.
He served with the 1st Regiment Manitoba Mounted Rifles - NPAM - regimental number 2420, June 17th, 1933 and was discharged from the army in 1938. He enlisted on September 12th, 1939 with the 1st Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers and served in Manitoba, Jamaica with Y Force, Hong Kong with C Force and Japan as a POW. He had 1,562 days of service, including 796 overseas.
To commemorate his sacrifice, the Manitoba government named Olafson Lake located northeast of North Knife Lake in his honor in 1974.
Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp
Canadian Virtual War Memorial
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.
- 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.