Individual Report: H6785 Arthur DIEHL

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Private	Arthur	Irwin
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Cypress River MB	Manitoba	1919-03-13
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	D

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
Unknown	N/A

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-BMH	12/09/1941	N/A	Unknown dates	118(42 Sep 21)

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			N/A	N/A
HK-AS-01	Argyle Street	Kowloon, Hong Kong			N/A	N/A
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 Aug 15
JP-To-5B	Niigata-Rinko	Niigata-ken, Nakakambara-gun, Ogata-mura, Japan	Marutsu, Rinko Coal, Shintetsu	Stevedore labor at port of Niigata (Marutsu), primarily foodstuffs; mining coal (Rinko Coal ) and labor at a foundry (Shintetsu)	43 Sep 02	44 Jan 18
JP-To-15B	Niigata-Tekko	Niigata-ken, Niigata City, Yamanoshita, Akiba-dori, Japan	Niigata Ironworks Company		44 Jan 18	45 Sep 05

Transport to Japan

Draft Number	Name of Ship	Departure Date	Arrival Date	Arrival Port	Comments	Reference
XD4B	Manryu Maru	43 Aug 15	43 Sep 01	Osaka, Japan	Brief stopover in Taihoku (Taipei), Formosa (Taiwan); then 2 day stopover at northern point for stool tests	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

Hong Kong Repats in 'Frisco

Caption: Members of the Quebec Royal Rifles and the Winnipeg Grenadiers were among 244 Canadian prisoners of war aboard the U.S.S. Ozark when she docked in San Francisco. Above, left to right, fron row, are: Rfn. L.A. Cunning, Gaspe, Que.; Pte. Arthur Diehl, Winnipeg; Pte. John Humicky, Winnipeg; Rfn. George LeBlanc, Quebec. Back row, left to right: Rfn. Isaac Comeau, Maltempagua, N.B.; Sgmn Jack Rose, Vancouver; Cpl. E.A. Dayton, Chilliwack, B.C.; L/Cpl. Sam DiSensi, Winnipeg; and Rfn. L.J. Cotton, Montreal.

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
2002-11-24		Post War
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cypress River Manitoba Canada	Glencoe Cemetery

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

ARTHUR IRWIN DIEHL Passed away at the Treherne Tiger Hills Health Centre on Sunday, November 24, 2002 at the age of 83 years, Arthur Irwin “Art” Diehl, of Cypress River, MB. Art leaves to mourn his passing his daughters, Darlene Diehl of Cypress River, Patricia (Buddy) Hay of Pipestone, MB; grandchildren, Darin (Shelly) Metcalf of Winnipeg, Martin (Jacquie) Metcalf of Carman, Nicole Diehl of Cypress; step grandson Tyler Hay; great-grandchildren Carl, Justin, Mason and Ryan Metcalf; sister-in-law Jean Diehl of Souris, Elvina Diehl of Bowden, AB and Vi Diehl of Pontypool, ON, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. Art was predeceased by his wife Eileen (nee McCorrister) in 2000; brothers, Stewart (Dorothy), Raymond, Walter, Wilf, and Dewarren; by son-in-law Doug Metcalf and by a great-grandson Brendan Metcalf. Funeral service will be held on Saturday, November 30 at 2:00 pm in the Cypress River United Church with Rev. Rick McCorrister and Rev. Jim Penhale officiating. Interment to follow in the Glencoe Cemetery. Friends that so desire, memoriams may be made in Art’s memory to the Tiger Hills Health Centre Palliative Care Unit, Treherne, MB ROG 2V0. Jamieson Funeral Service of Baldur-Glenboro in care of arrangements 1-204-527-2480. As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on Nov 28, 2002

Links and Other Resources

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General Comments

No comments found.

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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