The Royal Canadian Corps of Signals
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Signalman | Anthony | Frank |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Victoria BC | British Columbia | 1920-05-17 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Signals Operator | Brigade Headquarters | Attd Raj |
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
No wounds recorded.Hospital Information
No record of hospital visits found.POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Admiral CF Hughes | Victoria, BC | 1945-10-09 | Manila to Victoria BC 141 CDNs |
From the records of Gene Labiuk: USS transport ship Admiral C.F. Hughes.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-06-20 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Victoria British Columbia Canada | Royal Oak Burial Park Cemetery | ||
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Anthony Frank Grimston (published on 21 June '08 Victoria Times Colonist) Anthony Frank Grimston GRIMSTON, Anthony Frank Passed away on June 20, 2008 with his son and daughter at his side. Born in Victoria on May 17, 1920. Tony was predeceased by his beloved wife, Freda of 37 years and is survived by his son, Michael (Laury); daughter, Joanne Fraser (Bill); grandchildren, Cameron, Dale, Jordan and Meaghan and his sister, Pam Kirchin. Tony served in the Royal Canadian Corps. of Signals during WWII. He was in the Battle for Hong Kong and taken prisoner on Christmas Day 1941 and spent 44 months as a Japanese PoW. After Liberation, Tony returned to Victoria and was employed by the Department of National Defence as Chief Personnel Administrator, CFB Esquimalt. He retired in 1978. After retirement Tony and Freda enjoyed many good years together travelling until her passing in 1987. Tony had a passion for gardening and loved fishing with his buddies. He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He will be dearly missed by all who loved and knew him. The family would like to offer their heartfelt thanks to all the staff at The Lodge at Broadmead for their devoted care and support, especially to Randy Murdock, dad's friend, close companion and advocate over the past three years. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Broadmead Lodge Foundation, 4579 Chatterton Way, Victoria, BC, V8X 4Y7 or the War Amps of Canada, 1 Maybrook Drive, Scarborough, Ontario, M1V 5K9. Mass will be celebrated at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, 4635 Elk Lake Drive, Saanich on Monday, June 23, 2008 at 12:00 Noon with a reception to follow in the Church Hall. Private family interment. Condolences may be offered to the family at www.mccallbros.com . 478530
Links and Other Resources
Read more about RCCS 'C' Force members in Burke Penny's book Beyond the Call published by HKVCA.
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
Serving in Far East With Canadians
SIGNALMAN A. F. GRIMSTON Who recently arrived in Hong Kong with a Canadian unit. He is the son of Mrs. M. A. Grimston, 2316 Howard Avenue, and attended Boys' Central and Victoria High Schools.Sigmn. Anthony F. Grimston, R.C.C.S., has managed to get word from his Japanese prison camp in Hongkong to his mother, Mrs. F. Grimston, 2316 Howard Street. It is the first word Mrs. Grimston has received from her son in about 17 months. Apparently restricted in the number of words he could send on the postcard, the signalman told his mother he was still well and not too unhappy in the camp. He had many agreeable companions there, he said. Grimston was born and educated in Victoria, enlisting in the Canadian Army in 1940. He went to the Far East with the Canadian contingent which fought so bravely before its capture by the Japs when Hongkong fell Christmas Day, 1941.
TWO UNREPORTED
At least two Victoria soldiers who fought to defend Hongkong are still unreported. Mrs. Marianne Squires, 1409 Camosun Street, whose husband Sigmn. A. R. Squires, was taken prisoner, admitted today she was too excited to do much work Thursday afternoon or Friday after having received her telegram from Ottawa.She said it was wonderful to know he is a prisoner but she cannot supress all anxiety for him because she has not heard yet or not he is in good health.
Mrs. F. Grimston, 2316 Howard Street, said she had purposely stayed home each afternoon for weeks after the exchange ship Gripsholm which brought letters from Canadians in Hongkong arrived in New York. Each day she waited anxiously for the postman. And each day no letter was brought from her son, Sigmn. A. F. Grimston. More than a year after the Canadians left for Hongkong, the silence was broken Thursday when a telegram from Ottawa announced her son was a prisoner of war. Mrs. Grimston said the best Christmas present she could hope for this year would be a letter from her son showing that he was well "Am keeping well and cheerful. Lots of love. Tony." This message, relayed via Vancouver Red Cross offices from Hongkong, was received yesterday by Mrs. M. Grimston, 2316 Howard Street, from her son, Sgmn. A. F. Grimston, who has been a prisoner of, war in the Japanese camp at Hongkong since December, 1941.
It was the first word from the camp since last February. Victoria born and educated, Sgmn. Grimston enlisted in 1940 and went to the Far East with the Canadian contingent that fought bravely at Hongkong before capture.
Mrs. Grimston reported she did not know whether to laugh or cry when she received the wire about her son. She said that after the exchange ship Gripsholm arrived in New York every afternoon she had waited anxiously for the postman hoping he would bring a letter from her son. None came.
After months of waiting she was not at home when the telegraph came Thursday. "I have made up my mind I'll get a letter from him," she said. "Maybe it will come as a Christmas present."
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.
- Images displayed on the web page are small, but in many cases the actual image is larger. Hover over any image and you will see a popup if a larger version is available. You can also right-click on some images and select the option to view the image separately. Not all images have larger versions. Contact us to confirm whether a large copy of an image in which you are interested exists.
- 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.
- 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.
- Photos are welcome! If a photo exists for a 'C' Force member that we have not included, or if you have a higher quality copy, please let us know by using the Contact Us link at the top of this page. We will then reply, providing instructions on submitting it.