1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | John | Aird |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| St. James MB | Manitoba | 1907-10-12 |
| 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
Killed in action at Jardine's Lookout. 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.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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aitken Lake | west of Reindeer Lake, Manitoba | Manitoba | 64 I/11 | 58 44' 32"; 97 26' 14" | 1974 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941-12-19 | Killed In Action | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China | Sai Wan Memorial | Column 25. | NA |
Gravestone Image
Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, Greater Vancouver Regional District, British Columbia, Canada
Obituary / Life Story
Pte. John Aird Aitkin, 30, was born in Winnipeg and educated at Bannatyne School, Sturgeon Creek. He attended St. Andrew's Anglican Church and was active in sports, especially hockey. He worked at the Grain Exchange, then at Ford Motors for seven years, following which he was guard at Stoney Mountain penitentiary. He enlisted with the Grenadiers in September, 1939, and served 18 months in Jamaica before going to Hong Kong.
A brother. William G. Aitken was also in the Grenadiers but the day they left for China, he required an operation and was left behind. He is now with the ordnance corps at Simcoe, Ont. Pte. Aitken also has a sister, Elizabeth, of Winnipeg.
His wife, formerly Jessie Gordon, of Minnedosa, and three year old son, Gordon, live at 327 Beverley St. His parents. Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Aitken, live at Ste. 6, Central Park Apts. The Winnipeg Tribune January 8 1943
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
Elder son of Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Aitken, Ste. 6, Central Park apts., Pte. Aitken enlisted with the Winnipeg Grenadiers at the outbreak of war. Before serving in Hong Kong, he was posted in the West Indies. His wife and son live at 327 Beverley st. His brother, W. G. Aitken is with the Ordnance Corps at Kingston, Ont.
End of Report.
Report generated: 03 Jan 2025.
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.
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- 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.
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