Individual Report: X24 Edward TERRY

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Captain	Edward	Louis
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Ottawa ON	Eastern Ontario	1909-06-29
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
Paymaster WG	Brigade Headquarters	Attd WG

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	Multiple wounds down back	19 (p18)

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-QMH	12/20/1941	N/A
HK-BMH	09/16/1942	11/14/1942	Died while in hospital	118

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	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-01	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	42 Sep 26	42 Nov 11

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
1942-11-14	Diphtheria	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. F. 14.	NA

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Capt. E. L. Terry, Taken Prisoner at Hong Kong, Passes
Captain Edward L. Terry of Ottawa, who was taken prisoner by the Japanese at Hong Kong after the fall of the Crown colony on Christmas Day, 1941, died of illness in an internment camp, on an unknown date, according to word received by his wife, the former Enid Marjorie Rainey.
Capt. Terry became paymaster at the basic training center at Cornwall soon after the outbreak of war and was one of the first officers to arrive in Hong Kong in early November, 1941.
For many months after the surrender of the Crown colony no word was heard of the fate of the Ottawa captain. In May, 1942, he was reported as a prisoner of war of the Japanese. During the two years her husband was in the internment camp, Mrs. Terry had only one letter from him, and that a typewritten one, signed by him.
Capt. Terry, who was born in Brampton in June, 1909, resided in Ottawa for four years and held a responsible position as assistant manager of the Household Finance Corporation.
His widow and son Teddy reside at 47 Geneva street. He also leaves a brother, H. Irving Terry of Kansas City, Missouri.
Unknown Newspaper clipping

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

Edward L. Terry's account

General Comments

Capt. Terry Safe
A letter also was received today from Captain Edward L. Terry who previously was reported a prisoner of war at Hong Kong. Captain Terry wrote his wife, residing at 47 Geneva avenue, that conditions at Hong Kong were good. He urged her not to worry "as we are being well treated and, except for the climate, all is fine".
The letter, dated June 3, said Captain Terry had been playing softball, volleyball, ping-pong, bridge, and chess. There was a concert every week and although there was no swimming there were plenty of shower baths.
Friday, Aug 28, 1942 Page 1

End of Report.

Report generated: 01 Apr 2025.

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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.
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.
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