1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Harry | James |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Winnipeg Beach MB | Manitoba | 1923-02-07 |
| 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
| Date Wounded | Wound Description | References |
|---|---|---|
| 41/12/19 | N/A |
Hospital Information
| Name of hospital | Date of admission | Date of discharge | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-UNK | N/A | N/A |
POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | Reference | 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 | 33 | 42 Jan 22 | 42 Sep 26 | ||
| HK-SA-02 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 42 Sep 26 | 43 Jan 19 | |||
| JP-To-3D | Tsurumi | Yokohama-shi, Tsurumi-ku, Suyehiro-cho, 1-chome, Japan | Nippon Steel Tube - Tsurumi Shipyards | Variety of jobs related to ship building | 43 Jan 19 | 45 Apr 16 | |
| JP-Se-4B | Ohashi | Iwate-ken, Kamihei-gun, Katsushi-mura, Ohashi, Japan | Nippon Steel Company | 134 | 45 Apr 16 | 45 Sep 15 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD3A | Tatuta Maru | 43 Jan 19, left Shamsuipo Camp, 0500 hrs; left Hong Kong 1300hrs | 43 Jan 22, 0400 hrs | Nagasaki, Japan | Boarded train, arrived in Tokyo on 43 Jan 24 at 0700 hrs, boarded electric train for 10 mile ride to camp | Tony Banham |
Transportation: SE Asia to Home
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Post-war Photo
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Other Military Service
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Death and Cemetery Information
| Date of Death (y-m-d) | Cause of Death | Death Class | Death Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-11-15 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Winnipeg Beach Manitoba Canada | Winnipeg Beach Community Cemetery | Engraved |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
HARRY HAWRYSHOK (Hong Kong Veteran) It is with great sadness that the family announces the passing of Harry Hawryshok peacefully in his sleep, at the Deer Lodge Centre, on Sunday, November 15, 2015 at the age of 92 years. Harry was born on February 7, 1923 spending his infancy and school years on the small family farm in Winnipeg Beach. At the age of 17 he joined the Canadian Army and trained for six months for the Winnipeg Rifles, transferring voluntarily to the Grenadiers three days prior to shipping out overseas to fight Japan. He and all the Grenadiers were captured and spent the next four years as prisoners of war enduring terrible hardships, starvation, deplorable living conditions and forced labour, first in the shipyards then in the salt mines. Upon liberation on VJ Day he came home to Canada. He spent some years in Montreal, working in Alberta installing and setting turbines for Westinghouse. He then came home to Winnipeg and resided with his brother Ben, sister-in-law Dorothy and their four children. He went to work for the Centra Gas Company as a gas inspector and in later years managed a department within the company, where he was well liked and respected. Harry decided to retire at the age of 61. Harry remained a bachelor all his life and with no children of his own, he treated Ben's children with great kindness and love. He was a man of many self taught talents, he built his cottage at Red Rock Lake, a place he dearly loved; many happy years were spent there. He also enjoyed spending time with his bud, nephew Ron at the family home in Winnipeg Beach. Harry loved to create things from wood, his own close top desk, a glass top coffee table, cabinets for the lake, a weaving loom to make rugs, a regular sized V shuffleboard - many tournaments were played, grandfather clock with wonderful quarter hour chimes and full hour bongs. As he got older and vision was somewhat a problem his items got smaller but very intricate, potpourri boxes with wood inlays, windmill type yard ornaments and open faced book cases. He loved every minute of the work. Harry was predeceased by his parents William and Anastasia; sisters Leona and Annie; brothers Jim, Henry, Peter and Ben; Ben's wife Dorothy, and their sons Frederik, Donald and Ronald. Survived by niece Pat (Rick) and her children Leona (Manny), Michael and Patti (Ray). Funeral service will be held Friday, November 20, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. in the Gilbart Funeral Chapel, Selkirk, MB with luncheon to follow and interment following lunch at Winnipeg Beach Community Cemetery. Gilbart Funeral Home, Selkirk in care of arrangements. www.gilbartfuneralhome.com Publish Date: Nov 18, 2015 As published in the Winnipeg Free Press on November 18, 2015
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.
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→ 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
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End of Report.
Report generated: 29 Apr 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.
- 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.