1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | John | Alexander |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Winnipeg MB | Manitoba | 1905-08-07 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| Quartermaster | Bn HQ | |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/20 | He was beaten and crippled for telling the Red Cross the truth about POWs condition | 36 |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-BMH | 06/21/1942 | 07/06/1942 | 118 |
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 Aug 19 | ||
| HK-AS-02 | Argyle Street | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 43 Aug 19 | 44 May 11 |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Gosper | Victoria | 1945-10-12 | Manila to Victoria, BC 1936 British and CDNS |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-11-08 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Winnipeg Manitoba Canada | Elmwood Cemetery | 5-G0031 | |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Tailor, soldier.
Born at Winnipeg on 7 August 1905, Norris worked with his father, John Sr., at the family tailor shop on Garry Street. During the Second World War, he fought at the Battle of Hong Kong and was taken prisoner in 1941. As quartermaster for the Canadian troops in his POW camp, Norris was singled out for torture and abuse. When the camps were liberated in 1945 he returned home but spent months in hospital recovering from his injuries and malnutrition. Eventually, he returned to work and was a founder and the first President of the Hong Kong Veterans Association of Canada. His wounds never completely healed and he died at his tailor shop on 8 November 1949.
Taken from Manitoba Historical Society webpage
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.
- 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
picture- Norris wife Tribune Oct 30 1940.jpg
I - Christian Cassidy, BLOGGER- came across John A. Norris while researching the history of the Norris Block (Aqua Books) at 474 Garry Street for my Winnipeg Downtown Places blog.
John Alexander Norris was the son of John Norris, the original proprietor of J Norris and Company, Merchant Tailors. He was tailor and a soldier with an incredible and tragic story that has long been forgotten.
Norris grew up at 291 Balmoral Street (where Colony Square now sits). In 1932, John went to work for his father at his Garry Street tailor shop and married Cleo Mabel Clark. In a couple of years the couple had a son, John Cameron Norris.
Norris joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers in 1923 and reached the rank of Major. In 1939, they were sent to the British West Indies to act as guards at British POW camps and inspect ships traveling through the area. Cleo and John Jr. went along for an extended stay while Norris was stationed there.
In late 1941, nearly 2,000 soldiers made up of Norris' Grenadiers and the Quebec City-based Royal Rifles were sent to Hong Kong to perform garrison duties at the Commonwealth colony. While there, the Japanese invaded and on December 8, 1941 Canada unwittingly found itself involved in its first battle World War II.
The Battle of Hong Kong did not last long. The soldiers were young, inexperienced and were trained to perform defensive duties, not participate in an all-out war.
On Christmas Day 1941 the Canadians surrendered to the Japanese after 290 soldiers were killed and another 493 wounded. Hundreds more were taken as POWs, Norris among them.
After the fall of Hong Kong, Cleo didn't know whether her husband was alive or not. She and John Jr. moved in with her parents at 168 Arlington Street and she busied herself as the head of the Women's Auxiliary for the Grenadiers. The group fund raised to send cigarettes and other comfort items to the imprisoned soldiers. They also supported families by hosting Christmas parties and other special events.
It wasn't until July 1943 - seven months after the defeat - that she received word from an escapee of the same POW camp that her husband was alive. She wouldn't receive a letter from him until August 1944.
Norris may have been alive but he was not well. The POW camps were a place of starvation, disease and abuse. John, now a Captain and the quartermaster of the captured Grenadiers, was singled out for abuse and torture.
One of his tormentors was a Japanese camp interpreter named Kanao Inouye.
Nicknamed The Kamloops Kid, Inouye was actually born in Canada to a Japanese-Canadian father who was a decorated Canadian World War I soldier. Inouye said he went to fight for Japan to 'get back' at Caucasians, particularly Canadians, for the ridicule and racism he faced growing up (source).
Fellow Manitoba prisoner Thomas Smith Forsyth recalled one incident that took place when Norris insisted that a visiting Swiss military observer be taken to see the filthy conditions of the camp hospital (transcript):
"And as soon as this stranger had left, the Kamloops Kid turned on, on, on Captain Norris out in the middle of the parade square, and he beat him so savagely that finally, finally Norris dropped unconscious. And, and, and men come out to carry Norris into, into a hut and, and the Kamloops Kid wouldn't let, wouldn't let them touch Norris. But Norris lived to come back, but he'd been struck so often in the head that, that he was never right, he was never right, he was never, got back to being normal, he never got back to being normal."
In the end, almost as many Canadians died in the camps as did in battle.
Inouye was found guilty by both a British war crimes tribunal and a Hong Kong civilian court of atrocities including the death of at least 3 to 8 Canadian soldiers. He was hanged on August 26, 1947.
In September 1945, the POW camps were liberated and Ottawa soon began sending telegraphs to families letting them know the status of their loved ones. As part of her duties with the Women's Auxiliary, Mrs. Norris spent days assisting the CP Telegraph office to deliver notices to families around the city. One Friday, it was her turn. John was alive and coming home!
Over the course of weeks, hundreds of Grenadiers arrived back to Manitoba. Cleo and John Jr. couldn't wait for John to return to Winnipeg. They drove out to Portage la Prairie to meet his train. On October 19, 1945, Canadian National # 1915 arrived in Winnipeg at 11:10 pm with dozens of Grenadiers aboard, a reunited Norris family among them.
Norris' time in a prison camp left him a broken man. He suffered the effects of prolonged malnutrition, partial paralysis and other injuries. Upon his return he spent months recovering in hospital.
Over the next year, Norris began getting his life back on track. The family moved from 168 Arlington, (Cleo's parents home), to Unit 9 Oakland Apartments at 911 Westminster. He went back to work at John Norris and Company.
In 1947, he rejoined the militia of the Grenadiers and was instrumental in forming the Hong Kong Veterans Association. At a founding meeting in the former Club Morocco Building at Portage and Langside he was elected the organization's first president.
Norris' health problems continued and on November 8, 1949, while at work in the tailor shop, he finally succumbed to his injuries.
Captain John Alexander Norris was 44 years old and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.
Cleo Norris took over the tailor shop as by this time Norris Sr. was also dead. She renamed it John Norris and Son in 1948. She also continued her work with the Grenadiers and was president of the Ladies Auxiliary into the 1950s.
The shop closed in 1965. Cleo died in 1976.
As of 2005, John Cameron Norris was still alive and living in Sacramento, California.
Taken from West End Dumplings Blog Monday, 7 November 2011
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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