1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Kenneth | Jack |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Weekes SK | Saskatchewan | 1924-10-10 |
| 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
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-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 Dec 15 | ||
| JP-Os-3B | Oeyama | Kyoto-fu, Yosa-gun, Yoshizu-mura, Sutsu, Japan | Nippon Yakin Nickel Mine & Refinery | Mining nickel & work at the refinery | 44 Jan 06 | 45 Sep 10 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD5B | SS Soong Cheong / Toyama Maru | 43 Dec 15 | 44 Jan 04 | Moji, Japan | Arrived at Takao, Formosa, 43 Dec 20; Transferred to Toyama Maru, 43 Dec 30, went to Oeyama | 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 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950-10-20 | MVA | Post War | |
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Vancouver British Columbia Canada | Murrayville Cemetery | Area: LN: Grave 37 | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Funeral services for Kenneth Jack Inkster, 26, of 970 Livingstone Road, were to be held at 2:00 pm Wednesday from the chapel of Langley Funeral Home. Rev. T. E. Harris was to officiate, assisted by members of Langley Branch No. 21 of the Canadian Legion. Burial was to be in the Soldiers' Plot of Murrayville cemetery.
Deceased was accidentally killed last Friday when the grocery truck he was driving for Stevenson's Meat Market went out of control on Coghlan Road near the International border and rolled on top of him. He was born in Saskatchewan and came to Langley about two years ago. During the Second World War he was taken prisoner of war by the Japanese when Hong Kong fell on Christmas Day, 1941. He was serving with the Winnipeg Grenadiers.
Surviving is his wife, Susannah at home; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J Inkster, at Weekes, Saskatchewan; four sisters; Mrs. C Anderson, Norma, Joan and Gale, also in Weekes; and one brother, Charles, with the Canadian Army at Chilliwack.
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.
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
→ Related documentation for information published in this report, such as birth information, discharge papers, press clippings and census documents may be available via shared resources in our HKVCA Vault. It is organized with folders named using regimental numbers. Use the first letter of the individual's service number to choose the correct folder, then scroll to the specific sub-folder displaying the service number of your interest.
General Comments
Ex-POW Dies in Truck Crash
Kenneth Jack Inkster, 26, of Livingstone Road, was killed Friday night when his grocery truck turned over on Coghlan Road near the U.S. border. Police said the truck apparently got out of control on a hill. The accident was discovered about an hour later by David Jones of Jackman Road.
Inkster was employed by Stevenson Meat Market, corner of Trans Canada Highway and Livingstone Road. A resident here for a year, Inkster spent four and a half years in a prisoner of war camp after having been captured Christmas Day, 1941, at Hong Kong, while serving with Winnipeg Grenadiers.The body is at Langley Funeral Home.
Special to the Vancouver Sun, Langley Prairie, Oct.21, 1950
End of Report.
Report generated: 02 Nov 2024.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers 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.
- 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.