1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Frederick | Walter |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Toronto ON | Manitoba | 1919-01-03 |
| 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
| Date Wounded | Wound Description | References |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/19 | Right leg, amputated 42 Jan 12 | 36 |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-UNK | N/A | 08/11/1942 | Transferred to BMH | |
| HK-BMH | 08/11/1942 | N/A | 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 | 45 Sep 10 |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964-04-14 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Vancouver British Columbia Canada | North Vancouver Cemetery | Block 650 lot 25 | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
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
This is Pte. Frederick Herity, 493 Maryland st., his wife and daughter Sharon. He came home from Hong Kong Monday night, a leg missing. She was in Toronto working during the war. Her money to pay for the trip to Winnipeg was stolen, but a Toronto man gave her $100 to make the reunion possible.
Man With a Heart Enables Reunion
Wife of Hong Kong Hero Given Fare to Meet Husband
Pte. Frederick Herity who lost a leg in Hong Kong was reunited with and child his wife in Winnipeg Monday night because of the kindness of a Toronto businessman. Mrs. Herity, working in Toronto during the war, had her transportation money for the trip to Winnipeg stolen. "Mr. Wood from Wood and Co., a sanitation firm," read the story in a Toronto paper and gave Mrs. Herity $100.
About Sept. 1 she heard that her husband Pte. Frederick Herity, a Winnipeg Grenadier, was coming to Winnipeg.
She saved $100, enough for transportation for herself and her child. While she was at work one morning someone lifted her wallet out of her purse which contained the $100.
"I went to a Toronto newspaper to put in a notice about losing the money." Mrs. Herity said. "A reporter asked me how I lost it. I explained what happened and why I needed the money."
"The next day," she went on, "a story appeared in the paper very much to my embarrassment. There were pictures and everything."
"Then one morning at work my employer walked up to me and handed five and ten dollar bills, amounting to $100."
""I thanked him."
"Don't thank me," the boss said. "This was given to you by Mr. Wood from Wood and Co."
"I nearly passed out," she said. "A hundred bucks: I've never seen him or even heard about him, but he must be a nice man."
When the attractive Mrs. Herity and her dimpled daughter came to Winnipeg, she wrote Mr. Wood a letter thanking him for the money.
Monday night Pte. Herity came home. Mrs. Herity and relatives were at the C.P.R. depot en masse to welcome him.
He was on crutches. His right leg was missing. There was a tattered and worn knapsack over his shoulder. Nevertheless, he wore a wide grin from ear to ear.
He was supposed to go straight to Deer Lodge hospital. He didn't like that very much. He didn't go. After spending one evening with his family- the first in nearly four years- he will go to the hospital today.
The family rushed him home. "He's going to get his favourite dinner tonight," his mother said. "Roast beef and cabbage."
Pte. Herity, who likes to be called Ted, was held at Shamshuipo. He was wounded Dec. 19, 1941, and lay behind the Jap lines for 10 days before being found.
"Jan. 12, 1942, his right leg was amputated. He was in a British military hospital and later transferred to a Roman Catholic convent turned into a hospital.
"The food," Ted said, "was lousy. It was rice, rice, and more rice three times a day."
"How do you feel now?" a Tribune reporter inquired.
He explained it in one word.
"Tops."
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.
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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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