1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Arthur | |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Altona MB | Manitoba | 1918-11-15 |
| 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
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-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-Se-2B | Yoshima | Fukushima-ken, Iwaki-gun, Yoshima-mura, Kamyoshima, Japan | Furukawa Mining Company | Coal mining | 44 May 30 | 45 Sep 09 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD6 | Naura Maru | 44 Apr 29 | 44 May 27 | Moji, Japan | Stopped over in Formosa, went through Nagasaki and Hiroshima to POW camp | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATS 54699 | Oakland | 1945-09-28 | dgts words don't go along with TPH card |
Received from Pat Schwartz in April 2019:
Arthur and his fellow POWs were initially welcomed aboard the USS Iowa for basic medical assessments prior to being shipped home. They were then put on another ship headed to San Francisco and then flown to Vancouver, BC.
Post-war Photo
Arthur in Edmonton 1947
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-15 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Cochrane Alberta Canada | Cochrane Cemetery | Yes | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Arthur (Art) Schwartz passed away quietly on November 15, 2015 after a short stay at the Kimberley Special Care Home in Kimberley, British Columbia on his 97th birthday. Art was born on November 15, 1918 in Altona, Manitoba to Heinrich and Anna Schwartz and had four sisters. He graduated in 1938 from the Mennonite Collegiate Institute in Altona and enlisted on September 19, 1939 in the Winnipeg Grenadiers, B Company. He married Annie Gibson on May 26, 1940. After basic training in Jamaica and Bermuda he was shipped to Hong Kong in the summer of 1941 and fought in the Battle of Hong Kong which began on December 8, 1941. He was captured on December 25, 1941 and was a POW of the Empire of Japan until VJ day in 1945. Art graduated in Mining Engineering from the University of Alberta in 1950 and started his career working at Britannia Mines in British Columbia, followed by short tenures at Dickinson Mines in Balmertown, Ontario and Hard Rock Mines in Geraldton, Ontario. Following this was a long career with Noranda Mines in Manitouwadge, Ontario and Timmins, Ontario. He retired with Annie to Caroline, Alberta in 1982 and later moved to Cochrane, Alberta in 1994. Annie preceded Art in death in 2005. In 2012 Art was the proud recipient of a Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for his World War II service. Art is survived by an older sister, Anne Bogue of Ottawa, Ontario, three children (Gerald and wife Judy of Winnipeg, Manitoba; Bernie and wife Carol of The Woodlands, Texas; and Pat and husband Greg Connery of Canal Flats, British Columbia) as well as 5 grand-children and 14 great grand-children. Art was buried in Cochrane, Alberta on November 20 next to his beloved Annie following a small family memorial at the gravesite. He will be remembered as a reserved and quiet parent and grand-parent who was very generous in his unique way.
Links and Other Resources
Copy of obituary (JPG format)
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
Arthur in Jamaica prior to Hong Kong
End of Report.
Report generated: 21 Nov 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.