Individual Report: H6282 Clifford MATTHEWS

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Private	Clifford	Llewellyn
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
St. Vital MB	Manitoba	1919-10-23
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

Date Wounded	Wound Description	References
41/12/19	N/A	See William Bell's Account

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-AS-01	Argyle Street	Kowloon, Hong Kong	41 Dec 22	Dec 26
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

No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

Post-war Photo

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
2006-10-08		Post War
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Winnipeg Manitoba Canada	Glen Lawn Memorial Gardens

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Clifford L. Matthews passed away on Saturday, October 7, 2006 at. the Poseidon Care Home where he has been a resident for the last five months. His health has been in steady decline for the last couple of years, and left this world peacefully and pain free to join his beloved wife, Fjola, who left us in-1997. He leaves behind his two sons, Jim and John; his grandchildren Dorelle Fulton (Tyler) and Joel Matthews (Kandis); his brothers Alf and Ray (F10); his sisters Olive Peat (Dave) and Eilleen Baylis (Doug); sisters-in-law Vi, Freda, Polly, Laura and Leona; and his brother-in4aw, Ben Benson (Gail). As well, he leaves behind many nieces, nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and countless good friends. He maintained his quick wit, sense of humour, his love of family and friends, and his generosity until the very end. You could always be assured of a genuinely warm welcome when you came to visit Cliff. Family and friends were always the most important people in the world to Cliff, and he always made sure that you knew that. Dad joined the army in 1939, spent time in Jamaica as part of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, and was sent to defend Hong Kong in 1941. He and his brother Alf, endured 45 months of starvation and ill treatment as prisoners of war in Hong Kong, returning to Canada in 1945. He married Fjola in 1946 and she remained his wife, hero and best friend until her death in 1997. We will all miss you Dad, and remember you always. We extend special thanks to Liz Campbell and her staff at Poseidon Care Home for making his final months as comfortable as possible. A celebration of his life will be held at Glen Lawn Funeral Home, 455 Lagimodiere Blvd., on Saturday, October 14, at 10:00 a.m. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a charity of your choice. Arrangements entrusted to: 455 GLEN LAWN FUNERAL HOME 455 LAGIMODIERE BLVD. 982-7550

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

Picture and the following from Face Book Page - Operation Picture Me - Hong Kong [scanning from Winnipeg Tribune] by David Archer, 2016.
Winnipeg Tribune September 1945 Grenadiers happy with messages- Keen to be home
Guam September 29th "all well here."
When I delivered a message from his mother, Mrs. May Mathews, to Private Clifford Mathews, of Winnipeg, in a naval hospital at Guam Friday, the soldier smiled happily.
"Tell the folks at home I'm feeling swell and will be home soon. Tell them I'm looking forward to that welcome."
There was keen anticipation in the hospital where the Canadians are billeted, when I produced a sheaf of messages. News from home has been scarce for the past four years and they were anxiously seeking latest news from their families.
It was difficult to tell them that because of shortage of time before leaving Canada I could get only a few greetings to carry from families to the men of Hong Kong. RSM, Oscar Charles Keenan, of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, grinned when he noted that his message was signed by Mrs. Maude Keenan who was listed as his mother.
"Thats my wife he said. Wait till I tell her that she's my mother now."
"Hope you are well," read a message to the Regimental Sergeant Major.
Well, Mrs. Keenan, he says he is feeling well and he certainly looks well. Along with the rest of the boys here he keeps wondering how soon he will be back in Canada.

The following is the information that I was able to get from my Dad, Clifford L. Matthews, around the late 90s. He passed away on October 8, 2006, days before his 87th birthday. His last few years were not good ones due to his steadily worsening health. Like most Veterans, he didn't like to talk about his experiences during the War, and it was only in his later years that I was able to get much detail from him.
Some time in the late 90s, my Dad was contacted by Tony Banham who was writing a book. He asked if my Dad would relate his experiences and allow them to be published as part of his upcoming book: "We Shall Suffer There". Dad agreed, but his hand shook far too badly by then and he was unable to write the information. So, he dictated to me, I wrote it up, and sent the information to Mr. Banham. The part of the following in italics is what was a direct excerpt from the book.
"On December 19, 1941, the Grenadiers were ordered to retake the Wong Nai Chung Gap from the Japanese. My Dad told me about his short time fighting the invading Army. He remembered shooting at an enemy soldier further up the hill, hearing a scream, and turning to tell the others around him, (his brother Alfred included), "I got one of the bastards!" As he turned back to shoot again, a bullet ripped through his left shoulder, thankfully exiting out the back. His brother Alf was grazed across the back by a bullet, and it was becoming clear that they wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
We retreated back in the direction from which we had come. Some of our Company were further up the hill, near the top, and we were about halfway up the hill. The guys at the top of the hill yelled that we were completely surrounded. All of a sudden, Japs appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and an officer started waving a sword at us, implying that we should surrender. Stan Stodgell responded by shooting and killing the Japanese officer. A barrage of grenades and mortars followed.
I was with a group that included Sgt. Major Osborn, who was about twenty feet away from me. I saw something land near Osborn, perhaps a grenade, but it looked bigger to me, more like a mortar. I dropped to the ground and covered my head with my arms. The explosion lifted me off the ground. If I had been standing, I am sure that I would have been killed. When I looked up, Osborn was gone but the guys further up the hill said that he had thrown himself on the mortar, probably saving my life."

'C' Force Family Connections:

Brother of H6389 Alfred Matthews

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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