1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | John | Charles |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Pilot Mound MB | Manitoba | 1909-02-28 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| HQ Coy | ||
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 | Company | Type of Work | 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 | 43 Jan 19 | ||
| JP-To-3D | Tsurumi | Yokohama-shi, Tsurumi-ku, Suyehiro-cho, 1-chome, Japan | Nippon Steel Tube - Tsurumi Shipyards | Variety of jobs related to ship building | 43 Jan 19 | N/A |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3A | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Boarded train, arrived in Tokyo on 43 Jan 24 at 0700 hrs, boarded electric train for 10 mile ride to camp | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Ozark Passenger List A | SF | 1945-10-02 | evacuated from Japan via USS Ozark |
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
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Other Military 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999-05-02 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Pilot Mound Manitoba Canada | Clearwater Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
H6396 John HAY (Jack Hay) John Charles Hay was born in Dauphin, Manitoba in the year 1909. He moved to Clearwater as a child and eventually made Pilot Mound his home where he settled down and raised his family. He married Etheleen Barron a mere month and three days before being shipped off to Jamaica for seventeen months.
He had enlisted into the Army at the ripe old age of 30, somewhat unusual for those times as most enlistees were in their teens or early twenties. However it probably gave him the status of being one of the “grand old men” of the regiment I suspect. They returned to Winnipeg for a brief stint, to gather reinforcements and then were promptly shipped off to Hong Kong.
Shortly after arriving there he and the other men were captured and imprisoned for forty-four months!!
When Jack returned from the war he and Etheleen had two sons Bill and Ted. Tragically Ted was killed in a car accident in 1984 at the young age of 35. Bill married and raised a family of four children of his own and lives in Pilot Mound.
In spite of the hardships Jack endured surviving Hong Kong, arriving back home weighing only 87 pounds, tired and weak, he lived a comfortable and full life with few physical ailments except for a bum knee resulting from some pieces of shrapnel left in his leg. He had some health issues near the end of his life, however it was the emotional scars of that awful time that haunted him his whole life and would only surface after sharing a few drinks reminiscing with the guys or after being prodded a bit by his family. He was loathe to talk about his experiences in prison camp, but when he did share stories they were laced with powerful sentiment describing how they took care of each other, holding one another up when they got down and discouraged, foraging for any scrap of nourishment, no matter if it crawled or slithered, any way they could survive, proving to their captors they would not be broken.
Jack himself nursed a number of his comrades through dysentery and depression, sharing his rations In spite of his own suffering it seemed he knew the right words to lift up his brothers.. .against all odds.
One story in particular stands out about the day the war was finally declared over and they were released from camp. No official announcement, no fanfare, no apologies. The Japanese soldiers simply laid down their guns and walked away leaving the men to their own devices. (The cowardly old guard leaving the younger ones to face the prisoners for fear of retaliation.) They walked for a distance and then boarded a train that took them through Nagasaki, one of the two cities targeted for the A-Bomb!
After everything they had endured what a horrific sight that must have been for these war torn soldiers. They were put on an American carrier where Jack says they were treated royally. making a stopover in the Philippines to provide medical attention and finally finding their way home to the loving arms of their families and a country forever grateful for their service.
Jack lived the last years of his life enjoying a comfortable retirement with Etheleen on beautiful Vancouver Island. He died in May of 1999 at the amazing age of 90, leaving behind a legacy that demonstrated a very unique philosophy of life which included determination and courage caring for his brothers at arms, taking one day at a time and enjoying the simple things in life with his family. God bless our Grenadiers! As per Pamela Cavers, Susan Peterson
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.
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
→ 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
No comments found.
End of Report.
Report generated: 03 Oct 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.