As told to Ron Parker, son of Major Maurice A. Parker, Royal Rifles of Canada
Alfred Babin has the elegant bearing of a
career soldier. His perfect posture and trim physique make him look
taller than he really is and much younger than his years. In manner and
grooming he is the epitome of a gentleman, and every inch a soldier. In
spite of being somewhat hard of hearing he is soft spoken, yet when he
tells his story his voice is steady, calm and holds you like a vise. His
eyes are clear but sometimes distant and his body language tells you
that he is sometimes dipping into the enormous pool of personal courage
from which he must have had to draw to survive the brutal ordeal he went
through some sixty years ago. Telling his story is not easy for him.
Mr. Babin was born in Moncton, New Brunswick on October 15, 1921. In late 1939 war was imminent. Everybody knew it and a lot of people were "joining up". Al Babin had been considering it because a lot of his friends had joined some branch of the Canadian Forces. The war came sooner rather than later. On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Austria. On September 3, 1939, England and France declared war on Germany and World War II was underway. In between, on September 2, 1939, Babin had joined the Canadian Army. He joined a Moncton based Infantry Regiment called the New Brunswick Rangers, and became Infantryman Alfred Babin, serial number G27036.
In May of 1940 he transferred to a regiment called the Carleton & York, a reinforcement unit not scheduled to go to Europe where the action was or was going to be in the foreseeable future. He went through the Regular Army Basic Training Course pounding the Parade Square, learning about weapons, close combat, field craft, and went on route marches of 40 miles to build stamina. He emerged in October of 1940 as a fully trained Infantryman who actually knew which end of a rifle to point at an enemy. Al Babin was ready, able and willing to serve his country.
Joining The Royal Rifles of Canada
The Royal Rifles of Canada were in Sussex, New Brunswick and were about to be assigned to Coastal Defence duty in Gander, Newfoundland. Even that was better than what Infantryman Babin was doing. Royal Rifles recruiters were everywhere signing up all the men they could find to bring the Regiment up to strength. Babin was in Aldershot, Nova Scotia, at the time and wanting action decided to transfer from the Carleton & York to the Royal Rifles of Canada. He was taken on the Royal Rifles Roll in October of 1940 just before they were to leave for duties in Gander, Newfoundland. Babin went from Aldershot to Halifax and there boarded a ship to cross the Straits of Canso to Cornerbrook, Newfoundland and then on to Gander to join up with his new Regiment.
When Babin joined the Royal Rifles he found out that the Commanding Officer of the Regiment was "keen to have a Regimental Band". Always interested in music Babin was one of those who liked the idea.
Babin: When we were in Gander the Royal Rifles wanted to form a band. They were anxious to form a band ... so I joined up."
It was a crucial decision.
"When I joined the Royal Rifles I became a Rifleman, but when I became a Bandsman I was attached to Battalion Headquarters and worked in the Medical Section as a stretcher-bearer."
At that time Bandsmen became stretcher-bearers in time of war.
"D" Company, Royal Rifles of Canada and the Royal Rifles Band in the background
And so it was that Babin, one of the few men truly qualified as an infantryman, became a non-combatant. The man, one of the few, that had proper weapons training could not carry a weapon of any kind.
"I was already trained as an Infantryman. I had gone through all the training but when I went to Hong Kong I never did any of that kind of duty."
Babin would never fire a shot in anger. His job was to save lives, not take them. His only protection was a narrow band of white cloth around his upper arm with a red cross on it. Not much of a defence against an enemy bent on killing anything in its path that moved.
Decision ... defend Hong Kong
The Canadian Army had been looking for an opportunity to participate in the war effort in a meaningful way. It was decided that adding two battalions to the garrison of British, Indian and Hong Kong Volunteer Defense Corps units to defend the colony would be a good way to contribute. It was thought that adding forces to the heavily fortified island would help to dissuade the Japanese from attacking Hong Kong, thus preserving it as a base for other operations that would take place in Asia, should war break out.
The Canadian Government elected to choose two Militia Battalions to send to the defense of the Colony. Neither the British nor the Canadian Governments thought Hong Kong would come under attack so whomever they sent would never have to fight in any case. It was decided The Royal Rifles of Canada and The Winnipeg Grenadiers were up to the task, in spite of the fact that they had been judged unfit for combat by Brigadier John Lawson. It was ironic that it was Lawson who had conducted the fitness study on all units in the Canadian Army and declared both The Royal Rifles and The Winnipeg Grenadiers under strength, under trained, and unfit for deployment overseas. They were sent anyway ... and under his command. They were sent even after Winston Churchill himself said it was not a good idea because if the island were attacked there would be no salvation for the defenders.
The Canadian Government decided the fate of almost 2000 Canadian soldiers, including that of Al Babin, and the decision was given less consideration than the government would have given to building a bridge. As a result, thousands of lives would be changed forever.
Destination Hong Kong
Once the decision was made the Royal Rifles were sent to Camp Valcartier, near Quebec City, to be outfitted for duty overseas. Nobody knew where they were going ... but the tropical uniforms issued gave them a hint.
In mid October 1941, friends and family of the Royal Rifles of Canada gathered on the platform of the Palace Station, (la Gare du Palais), to hug and kiss and bid farewell to their loved ones. There was an air of excitement as the young, and not so young, men boarded a westbound train. There was some hustle and bustle in the coaches as the men settled down for the long journey to Vancouver.
As the train clattered west the men bantered, sang, and played cards as they rolled along through Quebec, Ontario, and crossed the broad expanse of the Prairies and wound their way over the Rockies to the West Coast. Musical instruments were brought out and the morale and mood of the men was good.
United with The Winnipeg Grenadiers
In Vancouver, the Royal Rifles and the Winnipeg Grenadiers were united under the name "C" Force. On October 27, they formed ranks on a pier in Vancouver Harbour and then boarded two ships, the Awatea, a converted cruise ship, and the H.M.C.S. Prince Robert. Some of the troops found the quarters too crowded, and their first meal was tripe, so they jumped ship. It took a while to persuade them to reboard but they did and the ships weighed anchor and set out for, as it turned out, Hong Kong. Babin and the others had no idea what lay in store for them just a few weeks later.
After a quick stop of only a few hours for provisions and water in Honolulu and a brief stop in Manila, the Awatea and the H.M.C.S. Prince Robert tied up at the docks in Hong Kong on November 16, 1941. There to greet them were the Colonies' Governor, Sir Mark Young and General Officer Commanding the British Forces in China Major General Christopher M. Maltby. With the addition of "C Force" the troops now defending Hong Kong totalled some 14,000 men. The area they had to protect was a vast 1060 square kilometres of truly rugged terrain.
Babin: "The Royal Rifles of Canada and The Winnipeg Grenadiers quickly settled into their new surroundings and began to explore the exotic world they were in. It was a strange, exciting world, the likes of which most of them had never seen. And ... the cost of living was cheap. Not just the Officers but Riflemen could afford the services of a "house boy" who would do the cleaning, iron their shirts, and even shine their boots. Life was pretty good. When they had time they would explore the delights of the Island and Kowloon just across the harbour."
The Canadians also began to get acquainted with the battle positions they would man in the unlikely event of war. Brigadier Lawson was not convinced that the Japanese would not attack. Lawson made sure his troops were as familiar with the terrain as they could be. It was difficult terrain, steep, rocky, narrow winding roads that hugged the mountain side to keep from plunging into the deep ravines.
Transport Problems
The ship carrying the Canadian trucks, and much of their equipment, had sailed only as far as Manila before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Everything aboard ended up in American hands and was later used in their battles against the Japanese. The Canadians lost virtually everything they needed to fight a war. This resulted in some friction between the Canadians and the British.
Babin: "I was attached to the RAMC, (Royal Army Medical Corps). At first there was quite a bit of friction between the British and the Canadians. It was just one of those things. The British had been there a lot longer than we had , and we were dependent on them for almost everything. We were there only a few weeks before the war started and we were dependent on them for locations and all sorts of equipment. If you had to go anywhere you had to have someone tell you how to get there or take you there. That’s what happened to me. I had a guide who was British. Fortunately he was a nice guy and we got along very well together, so there was no problem. There were exceptions of course but for the most part the English people were very, very nice."
Getting Battle Ready
Brigadier John Lawson wasted no time in getting his troops as
familiar as possible with the island. He ran daily exercises that gave
the men some feel for the ground they would have to fight on ... if it
came to that. Each company was designated a Battle Position and they had
to be sure it was stocked with supplies of food and water, ammunition
and weapons. The positions had to be set up with communications.
Landlines had to be strung for telephones, radios had to be set up and
calibrated, and even runners had to be designated and had to learn where
to go. There was a lot of work to do and the Canadians set about getting
everything they could in order. Every man was assigned a task and a
Battle Position.
Babin: "On December 8, I was at my predetermined Battle Station, the Advanced Dressing Station at Tai Tam Gap. We had been there since November 19. I never really heard about the attack, I saw it. No communications came to the A.D.S. by radio or runner.
Planes began bombing the island and wounded began to come to the A.D.S. I saw the planes flying overhead ... saw and heard them drop their bombs and knew the war was on. That was just about it. The war just seemed to begin. From that date on I can´t remember where I ate, where I slept or put any of the events in a chronological order."
Driving in Hong Kong
Babin: "We had two ambulances at the A.D.S. One was a converted hearse, and a few days before the Canadians were asked to supply a driver for it; as it was a left hand drive, none of the British personnel wanted to drive it. After much discussion among the Canadians it was decided I would be the driver. Having driven only once before, this was very challenging!
Driving the roads of Hong Kong was always a frightening thing. The roads were narrow and had more ups and downs and more sharp curves than a roller coaster. To make matters worse for the Canadians, everybody was driving on the wrong side of the road. The roadside often drops off a sheer 400 feet or more. Driving during daylight hours was bad enough. Driving at night very scary ... and with no headlights, which would attract gun fire, terrifying!
One night Cpl Mugford and I had to make a reconnaissance of an area looking for wounded personnel. My usual ambulance wasn’t available so we had to borrow transportation. There was a doctor, a French Canadian, who had been in Hong Kong before the war. He had a car. It was his pride and joy. It was a nice machine. He reluctantly loaned it to us for the mission.
Driving the roads with no headlights was always somewhat unnerving. To make matters worse the British had searchlights with which they tried to spot anything that moved along the road. The beam would sweep back and forth and every time it would come close to picking us up my partner would holler .... STOP, STOP! So, we would pull over and wait for the light to move on in another direction. That added a bit of stress to an already stressful situation.
We were moving along slowly looking for our destination when he said, ´Turn here.´ So I swung the wheel over and my partner yelled, ´No, no, it's a driveway.' Suddenly the car lurched, there was a bump and the engine began to make a terrible noise, really whining. So, I quickly shut it off.
The car was listing badly on the passenger side, and at an odd angle. I was about to get out of the car when my partner said, ´No, let me slide over your way. So he did, and we both got carefully out of the car. To our astonishment the car was balanced on the edge of the road on the edge of a 400-foot cliff.
The next morning we returned with some British Engineers. About 15 or 20 of them managed to manhandle the car back onto the road. Looking down the cliff we could see that someone had not been as lucky as we had been. There was the wreck of a truck down that 400 foot drop.
A hole had been poked in the oil pan and that is what made the engine make such a horrible noise. They fixed it and I drove the car, somewhat worse for wear, back to the doctor. He was a very unhappy man. His pride and joy would never be the same again."
The Japanese Invade the Island
Babin: "On December 19 I was stationed at the Advanced Dressing Station in Tai Tam Gap. The personnel at the A.D.S. were a mixture of Canadian, British, and some Hong Kong Volunteers. The Japanese had landed at Lye Mun, and we had, because of the fighting, a number of casualties to be evacuated to Bowen Road Hospital in Victoria that morning. The ambulance had been converted to hold five stretchers, two on either side, and one in the middle. Four of the wounded were stretcher cases, and another one, a Sr. N.C.O, considered to be "walking wounded", were loaded in the ambulance. As the Canadians had been in Hong Kong such a short time, the roads on the island were not familiar to us. Therefore a guide was assigned to me. He was a British R.A.M.C.soldier named Bickley.
We left the A.D.S. and having gone several miles, we passed Repulse Bay Hotel and arrived at the turnoff for Victoria. The road led to Wan Chai Gap and soldiers at the turnoff told us that the Japs had control of the Gap. Bickley suggested an alternate route through Aberdeen, Without delay, we were on our way.
The road became very winding, and ran along the side of very hilly terrain, with a drop of several hundred feet on my left. Without warning, as we came around a wide curve in the road, the windshield shattered as bullets hit the ambulance! The road followed the mountain in a long curve, and I drove through the machine-gun fire until I reached the shelter of the hillside, hidden from the Jap gunfire.
Subconsciously, I had noticed the side of the road, next to the hill, was littered with a large number of burnt vehicles. I had driven between the wreckage, into a space as close to the hill as possible. About fifty feet ahead, the center of the road was blocked with a circular sandbag enclosure large enough for the two soldiers who occupied it. One looked to be a Winnipeg Grenadier, the other a Hong Kong Volunteer.
Bickley was moaning and had his hands over his bleeding face, blood running down on his uniform. I tore open a shell dressing, carried in a canvas bag on the seat between us. Lowering his hands, I applied it over his eyes, winding the tape around his head. I pushed him into the corner, and told him to stay there until I could assess our situation. I noticed that I was bleeding from my forehead and right hand. Ignoring this, I opened the door and went around to the rear of the ambulance.
As I opened the doors, the Senior N.C.O. wanted to fight the Japs! I told him as we did not carry arms in the ambulance, it was impossible to do so, and as I was responsible for everyone in the ambulance, he was to get in and stay there and I would see about getting us out (the chances looked pretty slim!). I pushed him in and closed the doors, which could only be opened from the outside.
I called out to the two soldiers, who were at the time firing up the hill, asking if it was possible to go through to Victoria. One of them answered that it was not, as the Japs had control of the road and surrounding area. Just then, the other soldier was shot and collapsed!
The space I had to turn the ambulance around was very small and really required someone with more driving experience than I had. However, this was do or die and after shunting back and forth several times, I managed to turn the vehicle around without ending up in the ravine! Accelerating as fast as I dared, I manoeuvred the curve for the second time under fire from the Japs on the hill above. Miraculously, we were not hit again and managed to return to the A.D.S at Tai Tam Gap without further incident.
Sadly, Bickley lost sight in both his eyes. Several of the other casualties were wounded again. My wounds were superficial, although my hand took months to heal because of infection.
The Japs were closing in on Tai Tam Gap and we evacuated the A.D.S. to St. Stephen College (Hospital) near Repulse Bay. A massacre of several staff, Nursing Sisters, and wounded patients took place at St. Stephen after we were taken prisoner of war on December 25, 1941."
The Massacre
Christmas Eve, 1941 was not a time of peace on earth goodwill towards men on the Island of Hong Kong. The battle had been raging for 16 days, 11 of them on the island. The shellng and the bombing had been brutal. The casualties from ground combat, much of it man to man with cold steel and rifle butt, were heavy. Many of the wounded had been taken to St. Stephen´s Hospital that was in an isolated position that the Japanese had to get by in order to reach Victoria.
Babin: "We were in St. Stephen´s Hospital as the Japanese advanced. They closed on the hospital and Japanese soldiers beat on the door with their rifle butts demanding to get in. Colonel Black went to the door and began to protest. The Japanese shot him dead.
It was December 25th., about 7:30 in the morning, somewhere around there, when we were taken prisoner. Those of us able to walk were hazed along into two rooms upstairs. The room had just a divider. You could go into one room from the other although the doors could be closed to the balcony. After they put us in there they went downstairs and bayoneted the wounded right in their beds."
Other witnesses have described that the screaming that came from downstairs were like screams from hell. One can imagine the scene of horror as the Japanese, in an orgy of wild and wanton killing, stabbed, slashed and beat the helpless victims to death in their hospital beds. Blood spattered the walls, the floor, even the ceilings as the Japanese went through the ward like mad men. The truth is even worse than one can imagine.
Babin: "The Japanese who bayoneted those helpless people in their beds just did it. They showed no emotion afterwards. It was just a job to be done. Nothing could have been done to stop them. First of all there was the language barrier, but the other thing is they just wouldn’t listen.
The slaughter had been done so efficiently that it was impossible to believe that one human being could do such savage things to another human being. But, it had been done.
It was a terrible death that those men met. When we were taken downstairs every detail is still clear in my mind. I saw two bodies in the hallway. Both of them had been horribly mutilated."
Others have described that they had their ears cut off, their tongues cut out, and their eyes gouged from their sockets and hanging down on their cheeks. "They were a terrible mess." There were pools of blood everywhere. The stench of blood, excrement, urine and vomit just filled the air. It was a horrible scene.
Babin: "After the war a Japanese was questioned about the massacre that had taken place and he said it should never have happened. But it did. He said 14 of his soldiers had been executed, or chastised, after the incident. That may, or may not, be true."
Hatred filled the hearts of those who witnessed the aftermath that morning.. Anger filled every fibre of their beings. But, they were helpless to do anything. Alfred Babin had one more gruesome task to do.
Babin: "On the morning of December 26th. four of us were given litters and were ordered to gather the bodies and burn them. We built a huge fire out of mattresses and what not, and set them afire. There were four of us, two per stretcher, and all day long we put the bodies on the stretcher, took them to the fire and slung them in.
At first we took the Identification Tags off the bodies, and we were collecting them. Then a Japanese guard came along and, at that time we didn't know what he was saying, said 'Da me, da me!', meaning no. He took the tags and he threw them on the fire.
There were about 75 bodies in and around the hospital and we tossed them into the fire. Not all of them were Canadian. Some were British and some HKVDC.
I never saw the Nursing Sisters. Not too many people did. The British buried them in a separate place. The Canadian Nursing Sisters were at Bowen Road Hospital. They were all right. Nothing happened to them, they were treated very well."
Those who did see the British Sisters were horrified by what they saw. The Nurses had been violated and badly mutilated. One of them had been practically beheaded. Another Sister escaped the killing but was badly wounded. She had spent the night hiding under the dead body of one of her friends.
Other witnesses have described the burning of the bodies. They described the sickening smell of burning human flesh and hair--how the bodies curled into a fetal position, or how their backs arched as the fire caused them to shrink and blacken--how the flames flared as the body fat melted--how the bodies emitted an unearthly whuhhh as the air in the lungs expanded and forced its way out of the mouth. It was a peek into hell.
A few days later the remaining troops were marched to POW camps and began another battle, the battle just to stay alive one day at a time. For forty-four long almost unendurable months Alfred Babin spent unspeakable months as prisoners of the Japanese, at first in Hong Kong. In 1943, he was transferred to Japan where he was incarcerated in the infamous Camp 5B and forced to perform slave labour.
The memories of hunger, pain and total exhaustion are those he most remembers of those dark days. His will to survive and thoughts of family and friends brought him through the ordeal. He took it one day at a time with the fact that the allies would eventually win the war and he would be free. Freedom came when the second Atom Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. "Work stopped when the first Bomb was dropped and I , along with the other POW's enjoyed some rest." In late 1945 he returned home to Canada.
Coming Home
Babin, like many other Hong Kong Vets, found it impossible to talk about his experiences with the folks back home. He quickly found that to try and share his experiences with others was an exercise in futility.
How could he explain the all-consuming feeling of hunger to someone who had only been hungry? How could people understand what it was like to wake up in the morning and have ¨breakfast¨ yet still need more food? Would they understand what it would be like to go through an entire day with food constantly on your mind? To go to bed at night with a belly craving for food was hunger ... not just hungry.
If people could not understand the difference between hunger and hungry how could they understand the difference between being tired and being exhausted? Could they understand sorrow, fear, despair, hopelessness? Could they understand the deep feeling of loss at the death of a friend was soon replaced with thoughts of food. The time of mourning was sometimes so short that it seemed like the friend had died a long, long time ago, not just that morning. How could he explain the loneliness?
How do you explain that you could go to bed at night afraid to wake up in the morning, yet so afraid that you would not wake up at all? Babin, like so many HK Vets simply did not talk about Hong Kong.
Is he bitter towards the Japanese?
Babin: "I am bitter towards those Japanese who did terrible things to us. I am bitter that the Japanese Government has not offered an official apology to us, nor have they paid one cent in compensation. The Germans have paid out billions to those they made to suffer, but not the Japanese.
None of the governments involved, the U.S., Britain or Canadian have put pressure on them to pay compensation. It would be "politically incorrect". I am not bitter towards the Japanese of today. They do not have the same mind-set as their predecessors, and I don’t think they know too much about what went on during the war."
Babin has returned to Japan twice, once on his way to the Korean War. He had the somewhat unnerving experience of spending the night in a Japanese Army Barrack while awaiting transport to Korea. The second return was a pilgrimage to pay homage to those who had not come home, but rest in graves in Hong Kong and Japan.
Babin remained in the Canadian Army for 31 years and served in Korea. He retired as a Warrant Officer. Today, in the year 2002, he lives in London, Ontario, with his wife Christina. They have raised two children and have five grandchildren. Alfred Babin is still every inch a soldier.
A Return Visit to the Site
In
the fall of the year 2000, Alfred Babin made a return visit to the site of
the St. Stephen's Massacre. He is on far left speaking. Standing next to
him, from left to right are: Flash Clayton
(fellow Veteran), Tony Banham (author of "Not the Slightest Chance"),
Senator Gildas Molgat, Jack Edwards (author
of, "Banzai, You Bastards") and David Murray.
(Photograph courtesy of Phil Doddridge)
After the Atomic Bomb was dropped on Nagasaki the prisoners of the infamous POW Camp 5B were released. Babin had spent many months in the camp doing hard labour and remembers the hunger, the pain, the despair, and how he got through the ordeal by taking it one day at a time.
The survivors of the infamous Camp 5 at Niigata, Photo courtesy of Fourth U.S. Marine Band
Thanks and Credits
My gratitude to Alfred Babin for sharing his memories with me. It must have awakened sleeping dragons. For that I am sorry. Babin, as he likes to be called, was always kind, patient and generous with his time. He and his wife Christina were most gracious.
I also want to thank my wife, Darlene-Cliche Parker, for her editing skills.
Change Log
Oct '09: Diary moved from Geocities site to the HKVCA site and minor style changes made.
Oct '09: minor editing done by Jim Trick as per instructions from Alfred Babin.
