1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Garfield | Walter |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Mafeking MB | Manitoba | 1919-05-06 |
| 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 | 12/12/1941 | 12/13/1941 | 118 | |
| HK-UNK | N/A | N/A | Transferred from BMH | |
| HK-BMH | 09/23/1942 | 10/10/1942 | 118 |
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 Jan 19 | ||
| JP-To-3D | Tsurumi | Yokohama-shi, Tsurumi-ku, Suyehiro-cho, 1-chome, Japan | Nippon Steel Tube - Tsurumi Shipyards | Variety of jobs related to ship building | 43 Jan 19 | 45 May 13 |
| JP-Se-1B | Yumoto | Fukushima-ken, Iwaki-gun, Yumoto-cho, Mizunoya, Japan | Joban Coal Mining Company | 45 May 13 | 45 Sep 15 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3A | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Boarded train, arrived in Tokyo on 43 Jan 24 at 0700 hrs, boarded electric train for 10 mile ride to camp | Tony Banham |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005-01-16 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Mafeking Manitoba Canada | Mafeking Cemtery | ||
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
GARFIELD (GARF) LOWE - Garfield (Garf) W. Lowe of Mafeking, Manitoba passed away peacefully surrounded by his children at the Swan River Valley Hospital on Sunday, January 16th, 2005 at the age of 85 years. Garf was born in Cobalt, Ontario on May 6th, 1919 to William and Ida Lowe.
He received his education at Rackham School in Rackham, Manitoba. At a very young age, Garf quit school and worked alongside his father cutting pulpwood and doing farm work. Garf married Ruby Holmstrom of Basswood, Manitoba on September 11th, 1939 in Elphinstone, Manitoba. On April 5th of 1941, he enlisted in the army and became a member of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and went to Hong Kong. He was taken as a prisoner of war on Christmas Day, 1941. Four years later, he made it safely back home to his wife Ruby and their, two sons, Kelvin and Lawrence. They then moved to Mafeking, where they had two more children, a son, Richard, and a daughter, Sheila. Garf started working for the Highways Department, then the Forestry Department as a tower man. He then became a Fire Ranger in the summer months and worked as a trapper educator during the winter. He travelled to every Indian Reserve in Manitoba, teaching the natives how to handle fur. He was also instrumental in modifying the hair-trigger on the Connebear humane trap. During his life, Garf enjoyed the times he spent trapping, ice fishing, and hunting. He also loved to tell jokes.
Garf was very dedicated to the Royal Canadian Legion. He was an active member for over fifty years, and served as president for over thirty years. He also was a member of the Hong Kong Association. As well, Garf belonged to the Seniors’ Club. He looked forward to every Monday evening to go to the Seniors’.
Garf adored all his grandchildren. He always looked forward to the Christmas dinners, as well as the Easter and Thanksgiving gatherings to have the whole family around him. He will be sadly missed by his family, his grandchildren, his great-grandchildren, and all his friends. Garf leaves to mourn his passing his sons, Lawrence (Margret), and Richard (Florence); daughter Sheila, all of Mafeking; sister Margarite Wilson of Brandon. Manitoba; daughters-in-law Claudette Lowe of Swan River and Shirley Leask of Dawson Bay; and a special sister-in-law Betty (Jano) Dunning of Erickson, Manitoba; grandchildren, Tony, Alfie, Celeste, Arm and, Sheila of Berlin, Germany, Richie, Dallas, Daria, Rosalind Gott of Pelican Rapids, and Jennifer and Derek Leask; as well as eighteen great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren. Garf was predeceased by his wife Ruby on November 14th, 1988; his parents, William and Ida Lowe; his sons Kelvin, Nelson Leask, Gerald, and Baby Lowe; and by his brother, Bill Lowe.
The funeral service was held at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25th, 2005 from the Royal Canadian Legion Hall, Mafeking, Manitoba with Reverend Kathy Highmoor officiating. Cremation has been held and the interment will follow at a later date in the Mafeking Cemetery. All of Garf s family and friends were to consider themselves to be honourary pallbearers. Should friends so desire, memorial donations in Garfs honour may be made to Cancer Care Manitoba or to the Canadian Diabetes Association. Honoured to serve the family PAULL FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATORIUM 506-2nd Street North, Swan River, Phone: (204) 734-4556.
Garfield (Garf) Lowe was born in Cobalt, Ontario on May 6, 1919 to William and Ida Lowe. He had siblings Margaret and Bill. Garf received his education at Rackham School in Rackham, Manitoba. He quit school at a young age and worked alongside his father cutting pulpwood and doing farm work. On September 11, 1939 he married Ruby Holstrom and they raised four children: Kelvin, Lawrence, Richard and Sheila. On April 5, 1941 Garf enlisted in the Army and became a member of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and deployed to Hong Kong. He was taken a Prisoner of War on Christmas day, 1941. After four years, he arrived home and the family moved to Mafeking, MB. Garf worked for the Highways Department and then, the Forestry Dept. as a tower man. He became a Fire Ranger in the summer and worked as a trapper educator during the winter. Garf was an active member of the Royal Canadian Legion, a member of the Hong Kong Association, and a member of the Seniors’ Club. Garf passed away on January 16, 2005 and is buried in the Mafeking Cemetery.
(Excerpt from a booklet Hong Kong Vets of the Swan River Valley compiled by Leone Sigurdson in September 2018)
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.
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General Comments
This veteran was interviewed by Veterans Affairs. To view, visit the VAC Video Gallery page and use the search tool. Note: VAC moves pages around constantly, so you may have to work to find the video. Currently the best way to access the Hong Kong veteran interviews is to select the "Heroes Remember" category, then use the advanced search option and click on the "Hong Kong" campaign option.
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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