defeat in hong kong was first major loss for canada during wwii by Jason G. Antonio, Moose Jaw Express
It was an unhappy new year for hundreds of Canadian troops in January 1942, after they became prisoners of war following a month-long battle against the Imperial Japanese Army in Hong Kong. A contingent of 1,975 Canadian soldiers had been sent to the British colony in November 1941 to join 14,000 other British and Indian troops expecting guard duty. However, that “guard duty” was shattered when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on Dec. 7 and kicked off the Second World War in the Pacific. From Dec. 8 to 25, the Canadian soldiers fought bravely against the overwhelming power of the invading Japanese force. When the British colony surrendered on Christmas Day following the destruction of the island’s water supply, 290 Canadians had been killed and another 264 would die during the next four years amid the inhumane conditions in prisoner-of-war (POW) camps. According to an article in the Dec. 27, 1941 issue of the Moose Jaw Times-Herald, eight men were from Saskatchewan, including Lt. Richard Maze from Assiniboia, Pte. Harry Gyselman from Moose Jaw, Cpl. William Albert Hall from Expanse, Sask., near Mossbank, Pte. Leo W. Miller from Moose Jaw, Pte. Wilfred Samuel Moore from Elbow, Pte. Frank Neufield from Rush Lake near Swift Current, Pte. Cornelius Nickel from Herbert near Swift Current, and Pte. Ernest Buck from Gravelbourg. Buck, Nickel, Neufield, Miller, Hall, Gyselman, and Maze all survived; Moore died of diphtheria in October 1942 and is buried in the Sai Wan War Cemetery. Troops receive ‘warm reception’ The two million-strong Chinese population of Hong Kong was surprised to see the 1,975 Canadian soldiers sail into that city’s harbour on Nov. 17, 1941, but greeted the
Ernest Buck, Harry Gyselman, William Albert Hall, Richard Maze and Leo W. Miller were some soldiers from Saskatchewan who fought at the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941 and became prisoners of war afterward. Photos courtesy Hong Kong Veterans Commemoration Assocaition
men jubilantly as news of the landing spread, an article said. “We are ready for anything that might occur,” commanding officer Brig. J.K. Lawson
told the Canadian Press. Some troops had been overseas once before during the war, but — aside from some First World War vets who had served in Vladivostok, Russia — this was
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the first time Canadians had been in Asia. Hong Kong was considered the second-most important British naval base in the Far East, after Singapore. In announcing the arrival of the Canadians at Hong Kong, Prime Minister Mackenzie King said, “Defence against aggression, actual or threatened, in any part of the world is today a part of the defence of every country which still enjoys freedom.” Defence plan holds up When Japan struck Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, it was Dec. 8 in Hong Kong. Japanese planes struck the British colony twice, but anti-air fire brought down one plane and scattered eight others. “Canadian troops are in fine fettle,”
