Individual Report: H6905 Ronald ATKINSON

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Lance Corporal	Ronald	Edward
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Winnipeg MB	Manitoba	1910-12-23
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	D	18 Plt

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	Wounded in arm

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-BMH	N/A	N/A

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	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 Oct 08

Decorations Received

Image	Name of Award	Abbreviation	References	Precedence	Comments
	Military Medal	MM	Canada Gazette dated 6 April 1946 (No. 14, Vol. 80, p. 2066) and CARO/6522 dated 18 April 1946.	08
Lance-Corporal Atkinson was a member of a section of the Winnipeg Grenadiers at Hong Kong in December 1941. At dawn on 19 December when the Japanese attacked the Wong Nei Chong area, this section under command of H6235 Corporal Derek Everard Rix was cut off from its platoon. They worked their way from their open position on the hillside above the Blue Pool Valley to join a section of the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps who were holding Pill Box No. 2 on the slopes of Jardine's Lookout, and co-operated in the defence of the pillbox during the remainder of the morning, Lance-Corporal Atkinson operating from a very exposed position. When the Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps officer in command of the pill box (Lieutenant E.C. Field) was about to go forward to throw a grenade in some dead ground where he suspected the presence of Japanese, Lance-Corporal Atkinson, seeing Lieutenant Field was wounded, asked to do the job. He went forward, fully exposed to deliberate rifle fire and threw the grenade, but was wounded in the right arm before he could return to his position, and made his way to Pill Box No. 2 for first aid treatment. Later when enemy presence increased and there was no sign of relief, Lieutenant Field gave leave to walking wounded to retire, but Lance-Corporal Atkinson preferred to stay and see the action through to the finish. Lance-Corporal Atkinson's actions throughout were those of a brave soldier whose devotion to duty assisted materially in prolonging the defence of this sector.

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
Ronald Atkinson Lake	north of Wood Lake, Manitoba	Manitoba	64 H/12	57 33' 17"; 97 42' 53"	1995

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
1943-10-08	Mastoiditis	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. A. 6.	NA

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Ronald Atkinson saying goodbye to his wife Delores, sons Dale [standing] and Lynn [in Ron’s arms] just before boarding the train for Hong Kong October 1941. Ron died in Hong Kong hospital in October 1943.

The following provided by Bob D'Aoust, Book Author and Military Researcher
Ronald ATKINSON was Born: West Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada. Enlistment Date: April 22, 1941, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Regiment: Winnipeg Grenadiers, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps.
Family Information: Son of Mr. William Henry Atkinson and Mrs. Eva Grace Atkinson, 985 Aikin St., Winnipeg, Manitoba. Brother of Private Harry Atkinson who was also a Hong Kong prisoner of war, he made it. home. Husband of Mrs. Dolores Mae Atkinson, 226 Hazel Dell, East Kildonan, Manitoba and father of Dale, Lynwood and Ronelda of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. His father is deceased, died February 02, 1931 and his mother remarried Mrs. Eva Grace Linklater, September 20, 1935.
Lance Corporal Ronald Edward Atkinson was a Hong Kong Casualty - Prisoner of War he died in a British Military Hospital, Hong Kong while prisoner of war as a result of a brain abscess following mastoids (Mastoiditis).
Ronald Edward Atkinson was a butcher before he enlisted into the Canadian Army. Besides his mother and wife, he is survived by one brother, Harold Angus Atkinson (H41687 Winnipeg Grenadiers) age 23 and two sisters, Mrs. Edith Mary Kidd age 39 and Mabel Grace Rushworth age 37. Father of two sons, Ronald Dale Atkinson age 9, born July 11, 1936, Lynnwood Leroy Atkinson age 7, born August 09, 1938 and one daughter, Ronelda Dolores Atkinson age 4, born October 05, 1941.

This SAI WAN MEMORIAL honours over 2000 men of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. The SAI WAN MEMORIAL is in the form of a shelter building 24 metres long and 5.5 metres wide. It stands at the entrance to Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery, outside Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. From the semi-circular forecourt, two wide openings lead to the interior of the building. The names are inscribed on panels of Portland stone. The dedicatory inscription reads:

1939 - 1945 The officers and men whose memory is honoured here died in the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941 and in the ensuing years of captivity and have no known grave.

The northern side of the Memorial is open and four granite piers support the copper roof. From a commanding position 305 metres above sea level, it looks out over the War Cemetery where some 1,500 men lie buried, and across the water to Mainland China - a magnificent view of sea and mountains.

Links and Other Resources

Ronald ATKINSON noted on Selkirk Manitoba Ancestry

General Comments

L/CPL R. ATKINSON, Son of Mrs. Eva Linklater and the late Mr. Atkinson, Selkirk, L/Cpl. Ronald Atkinson enlisted in the Winnipeg Grenadiers early in 1940 and served with the battalion in the West Indies and in Hong Kong.

'C' Force Family Connections:

Brother of H41687 Harry Atkinson
Brother-in-law of H75125 George Taylor

End of Report.
Report generated: 27 Apr 2025.
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Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
1. Service numbers for officers ("X") are locally generated for reporting only. During World War II officers were not allocated service numbers until 1945.
2. '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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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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7. 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.
8. 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.
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