Suggested Reading

Note: we do our best to keep this list up to date, but we're not always successful. If you have a purchase in mind, it's best to contact us using the link at the top of this page and we will reply indicating availability and cost.

Structure

To help visitors zero in on their area of interest, this library page is now divided into the following sections with some overlap:

Our Online Library

We are encouraging authors to allow their works to be published in the public domain online on our HKVCA website so that future researchers and the public at large can benefit from their work. Here's a list of books we've made available so far, thanks to the authors and families:

Shorter accounts and diaries can be read online by visiting our Personal Accounts page.

Have you written a book and would like to participate? Just fill in the Contact Us form at the top of this page and we'll make it happen.

'C' Force Books

Title Description Author ISBN / Publisher
No Reason Why This book, of which we have a limited number of copies, has been called the best book written about Canada's involvement in the defence of Hong Kong. It covers the background of the regiments; the politics involved; the battle; years of imprisonment; and the return to Canada. No library on the subject on Hong Kong is complete without this book! Carl Vincent Online version available.

Published: 1981 by Canada's Wings Inc, Stittsville, ON

The Endless Battle

Near the end of October 1941, a few hundred soldiers from New Brunswick were among the 1,975 Canadian troops who set sail from Vancouver to reinforce the British Colony of Hong Kong. Within two short months, after a hard-fought but disastrous battle against the Imperial Japanese Army, the island fell to the invaders on Christmas Day, and its defenders were ordered to surrender by the governor of Hong Kong. The survivors were taken captive.

Based on the first-hand accounts of the author's father, Andrew "Ando" Flanagan, a rifleman from Jacquet River, NB,The Endless Battle explores the Battle of Hong Kong and its long aftermath, through the eyes of the soldiers. During their captivity, the POWs endured starvation, forced labour, and brutal beatings. They lived in deplorable conditions and many died from illness. But the soldiers stuck together, bound by their cameraderie, loyalty to King and Country, and collective desire to sabotage the Japanese war effort.

Writing intimately and sensitively about the lingering effects of the trauma of the soldiers held in captivity, Andy Flanagan shows both the heroism of individual soldiers and the terrible costs of war.

Andy Flanagan (son of Andrew Flanagan, RRC) Gooselane

Contact us for purchase information.

The book is available online at Amazon, indigo and others.
A Hong Kong Diary Revisited- The Family Remembers

This is the diary kept by Lieut. Leonard Corrigan, WG, during 3 1/2 years in Hong Kong as a POW. This unique inside story includes daily journal entries buried during the years of imprisonment and brought home after liberation.

Lieutenant Corrigan’s four daughters have added their reflections on the time before, during and after the war, the readjustments to his homecoming, and his life until his death in 1994.

Leonard Corrigan

Editors:
Mik Bergersen,
Kathie Carlson,
Shelagh Purcell,
Pat Turcotte

ISBN No. 978-0-978-3430-3-3
Copyright: 2008

Publishers: Frei Press at P.O.BOX#38 Baltimore, ON K0K 1C0

For further information, and to order, contact us using the link at the top of this page.

Note: an online version of this document is available on our site.

Desperate Siege: The Battle for Hong Kong Based on interviews with survivors of the battle and the POW cages, Desperate Siege is a powerful tale of human courage in the face of impossible odds.

 

Published: 1980

Ted Ferguson 0-385-14694-9
In Enemy Hands Canadian Prisoners of War 1939-45

 

Published: 1983

Daniel G. Dancocks 0-88830-240-1
A Historiography of C Force Article intended to explore the somewhat controversial differences in interpretation (between Canadian and British historians) of the relationship between the two nations during Hong Kong’s defence. Tony Banham Canadian Military History
They Never Surrendered This is a story about Canada's soldiers who, despite their defeat and capture by the Japanese at Hong Kong in World War II, never gave up and never stopped fighting.

On the battlefield, suffering heavy casualties, they fought with determination and courage until they were ordered to lay down their arms by the British Governor of Hong Kong.

As prisoners of war they were shipped to Japan as slave labourers. In unimaginable conditions in their camps in Japan many died of starvation, overwork, disease, and savage abuse.

During nearly four years of their captivity they remained undaunted. They never failed in their duty to try and resist, and they never submitted to the demands of their cruel enemy.

While prisoners of war in the very heartland of their enemy, their sabotage was astonishingly successful in crippling the Japanese war effort.

Their courage and defiance are part of our history - and one we can be proud of.

George MacDonell Published in Oct 2014. Order from Amazon
Beyond The Call Beyond the Call tells the story of the thirty-three members of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals who were part of “C” Force, the Canadian contingent sent to bolster the British garrison at Hong Kong in October, 1941.  It follows the men through their enlistment and training, the voyage to Hong Kong, their participation in the battle following the Japanese attack of December 8, 1941, their years as POWs and their eventual repatriation to Canada.  D. Burke Penny

Read Burke's insights

Burke's Blog

Published by the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association, 2009

ISBN 978-0-9733350-1-9

'C' Force to Hong Kong: A Canadian Catastrophe

Written in 1997, this is the story of a "no military risk" campaign that slowly turned into a nightmare. The book provides new answers to a number of difficult questions beginning with a discussion of why Canadian troops were sent to Hong Kong at the request of the British War Office. Were the British duplicitous in making this request? Was Canadian Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant-General Harry Crerar, guilty of putting his own interests above those of his men in telling the minister of National Defence that there was "no military risk" in sending the "C" Force?

The book recounts the formation of the "C" Force and its departure to Hong Kong where it arrived just three weeks before the Japanese attack. It outlines the course of the battle from December 8, 1941, until the inevitable surrender of the garrison on Christmas Day. It places appropriate emphasis on the Canadian contribution, refuting 1947 allegations by the British General-Officer-Commanding - allegations which were only made public in 1993 - that the Canadians did not fight well. Greenhous attacks these charges with solid evidence from participants and eye-witnesses.

Finally, the book tells the story of life and death in the prison camps of Hong Kong and Japan.

Brereton Greenhous

Brereton Greenhous worked for twenty-five years in the Department of National Defence's Directorate of History. He has authored, co-authored, or edited a dozen books on Canadian military history.

Google Books
Dark Side of the Sun (240 pages, paperback format) story about my grandfather's (George Palmer from PEI) journey in WWII where he was involved in the battle of Hong Kong. He was shot, captured, had plans to escape across China to friendly lines, but was then sent on a POW ship to Japan where he and his comrades endured brutalities, slave labour and starvation for a few years at the Omine POW Camp. They were close to death by the time the Americans rescued them (and they were only 160 kms from Nagasaki - where one of the atomic bombs was dropped). One interesting note: It's the only published book in existence containing in-depth information on the happenings at the Omine POW camp.

Interview with CBC on 11 Nov 2010 (mp3, audio)

Interview (mp3, audio)

Michael Palmer, Grandson ISBN 9780888873897

Publisher: Borealis Press
Copyright: 2009

Order from Chapters
Also available from HKVCA. Use the Contact Us link at the top of this page.

Uncle Mac's Hong Kong Diary

This book, 185 pages long, has two distinctive sections; events before surrender, and while a POW. The subject matter has often been written about in the recent past, but this rendition covering December 1941 contains some very emotional language.

Following the surrender, as to be expected with any publication with the words “Hong Kong Diary” in the title, the theme focuses on the lack of food, medicine, and freedom.

Whether due to illness or the lack of paper, or that it just got lost, the portion of the diary for 1943 is missing.

Not an easy read, but one every collection of the history of “C” Force should have.

Diary was compiled by his niece Betsy in 2010.

Philip J.M. (Mac) Gallie, RRC To purchase, call Betsy at 1-519-744-6633
Hoping In Hell The story of a teenage boy who enlisted immediately following the declaration of war in 1939 intent on fighting the Nazis in Europe. He rose to the rank of Sergeant as an instructor of recruits then platoon leader in the Royal Rifles of Canada. Instead of being shipped to England he and the Royal Rifles were dispatched to protect the British colony of Hong Kong being threatened by the Japanese as they marched across China in a reign of terror. Twice wounded in battle,  he survived the slaughter of doctors, nurses and wounded soldiers at St. Stephen's hospital. Then he fought for survival for three years and eight months of starvation, disease, hard labour and torture at the hands of the Japanese. He returned to Canada to marry his teenage sweetheart he had left behind in London, Ontario. Robert J. "Flash" Clayton and Howard W. Raper Branch 488 of the Royal Canadian Legion located in Brechin, Ontario

ISBN: 13:978-0-9939229-0-9

The book can be purchased by sending a cheque or money order to R.C.L. Branch 488, Brechin, Ontario L0K 1B0 in the amount of $27.60 which includes HST and mailing costs. (the book is priced at $19.95) It is also available at Nanticoke Books in Orillia, Ontario.

Betrayal This book delves into the key players whose decisions sent Canadian soldiers to Hong Kong in 1941 and the reasons, political or military, behind the decisions. It also lays out the reasons why Hong Kong fell to the Japanese in the manner it did. Given the circumstances, defeat was inevitable, but not necessarily with the surrender of all Allied troops. Terry Meagher ISBN 978-0-9948498-0-9
Available through HKVCA
Royal Rifles of Canada - War Diary Hosted on our site. Covers unit activities from 1 Dec until 25 Dec 1941. (PDF)    
One Soldier's Story

Canadians who were sent to Hong Kong with only the munitions they carried off the troop ships and without any air or naval support, after seventeen days of battling overwhelming enemy numbers, soon found themselves as prisoners-of-war in Japanese camps.

Many POWs have taken different routes in coming to grips with the memories that haunt them still. Sgt. George MacDonell wrote a book.

Brings together the micro details surrounding a military action which took place during the battle for Hong Kong in December 1941

George MacDonell Order from Amazon
or: Order from HKVCA using the Contact Us link at the top of this page.
The Damned: The Canadians at the Battle of  Hong Kong and the POW Experience, 1941-45  Book coverThe Damned tells the largely unknown saga of Canada's first land battle of the Second World War -- fought in the hills and valleys of Hong Kong in December 1941 -- and the terrible years the survivors of the battle spent as slave labourers for the Empire of Japan.

Their story begins in the fall of 1941 when almost 2,000 members of the Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers were sent to bolster the British garrison at Hong Kong. In the seven-day battle for the colony 290 men were killed and another 500 wounded for a casualty rate of some 40%—the highest rate of any battle the Canadians fought in the Second World War save for Dieppe.

The second part of their story lasts 1,378 days—more than three and a half years—and is of how the Canadians survived the horrid conditions of Japanese POW camps. Four were executed for trying to escape. Another 260 died from diseases brought on by malnutrition, effects of beatings, and slave labour in shipyards and coal mines. Hundreds more suffered from beriberi, diphtheria, typhus and other diseases, and malnutrition, which in many cases led to blindness. Scores of Canadians were tortured; hundreds of were turned into slave labourers in factories, shipyards and dangerous coal mines.

Nathan Greenfield Ph.D., is the Canadian correspondent for The Times Education Supplement and a contributor to Maclean’s, Canadian Geographic and The Times Literary Supplement. He is the author of Baptism of Fire: The Second Battle of Ypres and the Forging of Canada, April 1915, which was a finalist for the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-fiction, and the widely praised The Battle of the St. Lawrence. Greenfield lives in Ottawa.

On Facebook

Released in Oct 2010. Order from Chapters

The following ISBNs are associated with this title:
ISBN - 10:1554682193
ISBN - 13:9781554682195

Hell On Earth Aging faster, dying sooner; Canadian Prisoners of the Japanese during WWII, painting a vivid picture of the experiences of the Canadian POWs and their brutal treatment at the hands of the Japanese Dave McIntosh (Edited by Legion Magazine) 0-07-552821-5 Amazon
Diary of a Prisoner of War in Japan 1941-1945 Available in English and French, the author's journal portrays the harrowing experience of Canadian POWs in Hong Kong and Japan, and a strong French Canadian perspective of the war that is both moving and informative. The author was one of them. The English edition is available from: VERO, 400 Saint-Eugene, Apt #5, Rimouski, Quebec, Canada, G5L 8S3 or phone 418-723-1423 Georges "Blacky" Verrault English Edition
2-9804980-1-7
French Edition
2-9804980-0-9
The Captain Was A Doctor: The Long War And Uneasy Peace Of POW John Reid In August 1941, John Reid, a young Toronto doctor, volunteered to join the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. Assigned to 'C' Force, the two Canadian battalions sent to reinforce Hong Kong in October 1941, he was among those captured when the calamitous Battle of Hong Kong ended on Christmas Day.  After a year in Hong Kong prison camps, Captain Reid was chosen as the only officer to accompany 663 Canadian POWs sent to Japan to work as slave labourers. His efforts over the next two-and-a-half years to lead, treat, and protect his men were heroic. He survived the war, but finding a peace of his own took ten tumultuous years, with casualties of a different sort. He would never be the same.  Jonathon Reid, son.

Details and reviews available on Jonathon's website: jonathonreid.ca

DUNDURN PRESS

Available at bookstores and to order from:

'C' Force Decorations, Medals, Awards and Honours The book documents the decorations, medals, awards and honours including citations given to soldiers of the Canadian Army that fought at the Battle of Hong Kong, December 1941. Following the battle they became Prisoners of War of the Japanese from January 1942 until August 1945. Vince Lopata Available at lulu.com for download or purchase
DEADLY DECEMBER The Battle of Hong Kong The Royal Rifles of Canada, The Winnipeg Grenadiers Click for larger imageFor the first time the saga is told from a Canadian perspective, using the words of those soldiers who fought that, long ago, almost forgotten battle. Ronald C. Parker

Ron's Web Site

Available at lulu.com for download or purchase.

Also available at Amazon.com

Royal Rifles in Hong Kong 1941 - 1945

This reprint contains a few more photographs than the original and it has a foreword by the author of Part 1, Grant Garneau.

For those unfamiliar with this book, Part 1 deals with the historical aspects of the reforming the Royal Rifles in 1939; the Crown Colony of Hong Kong; the battle as seen by the RRC; and the imprisonment following the surrender. Part 2 is illustrations and photographs supplied by the veterans. Part 3 is mainly personal accounts. The book has 436 pages in total.

Available through HKVCA Quebec Region. Mail cheque or money order payable to HKVCA QC Region to:
Lucette Mailloux Muir
18 rue Barre
Granby, QC 
J2H 2E6
A Handful of Rice Canadian Prisoners somewhere in Malaya William Allister Martin Secker & Warberg Ltd. London Eng.

Try a web search using these words: "book handful of rice allister"

From Jamaica to Japan The diary of a Hong Kong Prisoner of War

 

Published: 1995

Read an excerpt

Thomas S. Forsyth  Available through Amazon (if link is broken, or does not work, try an internet search)
17 Days Until Christmas
Léo Paul Bérard's first hand account of his WWII experience as a prisoner of war of the Imperial Japanese Army after the Battle of Hong Kong in December 1941. Léo Paul Bérard
Check out Abebooks.com to see if a copy is available.
Where Life and Death Hold Hands William Allister Order from:
HKVCA, P.O. Box 381, Winnipeg MB R3C 2H6

0773722688 amazon.ca
Guest of Hirohito Ken Cambon Online version available. See link at the top of this page.
Prisonnier de guerre au Japon (1941-1945) À 19 ans Bernard s’engage volontairement dans le régiment des Royal Rifles du Canada, dont 35 à 40% sont des Canadiens-français bilingues.Un an plus tard, son régiment est envoyé à la défense de Hong Kong. Ils ont eu à peine trois semaines pour se préparer à la bataille. Malgré une résistance courageuse contre toute attente de victoire possible, après dix-huit jours de combat féroce ils se sont rendues le jour de Noël 1941.Les pertes canadiennes étaient lourdes.

Les survivants des Royal Rifles et les Winnipeg Grenadiers demeureront aux mains des Japonnais comme prisonniers de guerre durant 3 ans et 8 mois.

Bernard à tenu son journal presque quotidiennement pendant toute cette période. Dans ce journal Bernard nous raconte ce qu’il a vécu au jour le jour.

Bernard Castonguay, auteur Renée Giard, rédactrice ISBN 2-9808972-0-5 (Jun 05)
Available through HKVCA - use the Contact Us link at the top of this page.
Sergeant Gander: A Canadian Hero A fascinating account of the Royal Rifles of Canada's canine mascot, and its devotion to duty demonstrated during one of Canada's biggest military tragedies, the Battle of Hong Kong of the Second World War. Armed only with his formidable size, an intimidating set of teeth, and a protective instinct, Gander fought alongside his fellow Canadian soldiers. As the Royal Rifles' position became more precarious, the men were forced to retreat into the hills of Hong Kong and it was here that a group of wounded Canadians, threatened by a live grenade, came to fully appreciate the loyalty of Gander. Of all the Canadians who took part that day, only one was awarded the Dickin Medal, the animal equivalent to the Victoria Cross for humans. This honour is dedicated to animals displaying gallantry and devotion to duty while under any control of the Armed Forces. Sergeant Gander is the 19th dog to receive this medal and the first Canadian canine to do so.

Published in September '09

Robyn Walker
  • ISBN-10:1554884632
  • ISBN-13:978-1554884636
  • Available through Amazon.ca

    Battle of Hong Kong Books

    Title Description Author ISBN / Publisher
    Not the Slightest Chance Quote from the jacket: This book assembles a phase-by-phase, day-by-day, hour-by-hour account of the battle. It considers the individual actions that made up the fighting as well as the strategies and plans and the many controversies that arose.

    Published: 2003

    Tony Banham

    Website

    0-7748-1044-0
    UBC Press
    We Shall Suffer There A text book covering the Hong Kong POW and Internee experience from capture to liberation. Like Not the Slightest Chance, it takes a chronological approach to the subject, and attempts to cover each and every camp, draft, and movement so that the experiences of all individual POWs can be understood. It also investigates the deaths of each individual lost in the camps. Tony Banham

    Website

    Publication was in March 2009.

    Please visit this page on Tony's web site for other details.

    UK: Link US: Link
    Canada: Amazon
    Long Night's Journey into Day Long Night’s Journey into Day centres on the lives of Canadian, British, Indian, and Hong Kong POWs captured at Hong Kong in December 1941 and incarcerated in camps in Hong Kong and the Japanese Home Islands. Experiences of American POWs in the Philippines, and British and Australians POWs in Singapore, are interwoven throughout the book. Charles G. Roland  Wilfrid Laurier University Press.
    Battle for Hong Kong On the same day as the Pearl Harbor attack, forces of the Japanese Empire attacked the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong without warning. Philip Cracknell provides a research-driven narrative about the Battle for Hong Kong in 1941, which commenced on 8 December and lasted for three weeks until the surrender on Christmas Day 1941. Hong Kong had become a strategic liability, an isolated outpost. It would be sacrificed but not without a fight. The main priorities for the British in Asia were Malaya and Singapore. The Crown colony was gallantly defended but it was a battle against overwhelming odds. Crucially, as a resident of Hong Kong for thirty years, the author knows every inch of the ground. He challenges some assumptions, for example the whereabouts of ‘A’ Coy, Winnipeg Grenadiers on 19 December, when the company was destroyed during a fighting retreat. What exactly happened and where were the actions fought? One can still see so much evidence, in the form of pillboxes, gun batteries and weapons pits. Bullets and other relics can still be picked up lying on the ground. The defending troops mainly consisted of British, Canadian, Indian and Hong Kong Chinese. Dozens were massacred, including over fifty St John’s Ambulance personnel - a grim pointer to the hell of the Pacific war that followed. Over the following nearly four years of occupation, an estimated 10,000 Hong Kong civilians were executed. The battle for Hong Kong is a story that deserves to be better known. Phillip Cracknell (Philip Cracknell was posted to Hong Kong in 1985, at the time working for the UK subsidiary of a major New York Bank. He developed an interest in Hong Kong’s war history. His archival research was conducted in London and Hong Kong. Living in Hong Kong he was able to spend a considerable amount of time on the battlefields. He conducts periodic battlefield tours for the Hong Kong Club, Royal Asiatic Society, veterans, schools, and charities.) Purchase from Amazon
    Hostages to Fortune The fall of Hong Kong...The horrors of Shamshuipo Camp...The tragedy of the Lisbon Maru...The last days before the atom bomb. Tim Carew 241 02001 8
    The Ruins of War Full of interesting pieces of information and history which appears in narratives on pill-boxes, gun emplacements, batteries, shelters, casualty lists, buildings and more Ko Tim Keung and Jason Wordie  
    At the Going Down of the Sun Hong Kong and South/East Asia 1941-45. Quote from the jacket cover:

    "the first factual account of what happened to the allied prisoners and to the British, American and Dutch families who were subjected to the callous brutality of their captors for almost four years. It also covers the activities of the British Intelligence Organisation in China which was initially extraordinarily successful in establishing contact with the POWs and internees..."

    Published: 1981

    Oliver Lindsay 0-241-10542-0

    Published by: Hamish Hamilton, London, England

    The Lasting Honour The Fall of Hong Kong 1941

     

    Published: 1978

    Oliver Lindsay  
    Title Description Author ISBN / Publisher
    A Dog Named GANDER



    This book is dedicated to the 2,000 Canadian soldiers of "C-Force" who, in the face of an imminent Japanese threat, were sent to reinforce the far distant British Crown Colony of Hong Kong in October of 1941.

    It is also dedicated to their mascot who was an unusual and heroic Newfoundland dog named Gander, who fought bravely until, in a final act of heroism on the battlefield of Hong Kong, gave up his life for his comrades.

    The Story of brave Gander and the Canadian defenders of Hong Kong is not about how they were defeated by vastly superior Japanese forces, but how together, in their gallant defence of the island, they showed the world the mettle of which they were made.

    40 Pages, Photos - Size 11" x 8.5"

    George S MacDonell & Sue Beard

    WRITTEN, DESIGNED & PRINTED IN CANADA

    ISBN10: 0986609916

    ISBN13: 9780986609916 French version: Gander le Chien

    ISBN10: 0986609930

    ISBN13: 9780986609930

    Order from Amazon

    Kartoons by Kelso At the outbreak of the Second World War two brothers, Henry and John Robert Kelso, enlisted with the Winnipeg Grenadiers. John was also a gifted cartoonist and with sponsorship from T. Eaton Companywas to have attended a prestigious art school in Chicago following the war. A few months into training the brothers along with the Winnipeg Grenadiers were posted to garrison duty in Bermuda and Jamaica. It is there, while stationed in the Caribbean, that John sketched 40 cartoons of military life that you now see on these pages John Kelso Copyright: © 2007 Curtis J. Phillips. Available at lulu.com for download or purchase
    Forgiveness (From HarperCollins Canada) - When the Second World War broke out, Ralph MacLean traded his quiet yet troubled life on the Magdalen Islands in eastern Canada for the ravages of war overseas. On the other side of the country, Mitsue Sakamoto and her family felt their pleasant life in Vancouver starting to fade away after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. More... Mark Sakamoto Good Reads
    Amazon
    Passing the Torch: Our Youth Remember Hong Kong A collection of war stories produced by the students from Ontario who adopted a Hong Kong veteran and contributed a commemorative piece to show their thanks for the sacrifices. Edited by Nancy & Michael Strahl Available at lulu.com for download or purchase or contact HKVCA.
    Hong Kong Internment 1942-1945 Life in the Japanese Civilian Camp at Stanley

    This book tells the story of the more than 3000 non-Chinese civilians: British, American, Dutch and others, who were trapped in the British colony and interned behind barbed wire in Stanley Internment Camp from 1942 to 1945.

    Geoffrey Charles Emerson Author's web site
    Banzai You Bastards Allied Prisoners of War on Taiwan Jack Edwards 962-7290-03-3
    Letters Across the Sea Letters Across the Sea is a heartbreaking account of anti-semitism in Canada during the Great Depression and heroism by Canadian soldiers in Hong Kong during World War II. Genevieve Graham Simon and Schuster.
    Also check out independent bookstores, Chapters, Walmart, and wherever else books are sold (including online).
    Veterans with a Vision – Canada’s War Blinded in Peace and War The book outlines the history of Canada’s war blinded beginning at the turn of the 20th century up to the present.  It documents the rehabilitation of these men, and their trials and tribulations in getting our government to provide pensions, job retraining and other social programs that allowed them to achieve a good measure of independence. (Visit the Amazon.ca web site for a further description)
     
    Serge Marc Durflinger Sir Arthur Pearson Association of War Blinded and the Canadian War Museum

    ISBN-13:978-0774818551

    Purchase from: amazon.ca

    Three Military Leaders  The conflicts between feudalistic ideas of the samurai's role and the realities of modern warfare made dramatically evident in this triple biography of the Japanese WWII military learders - Heihachiro Togo, Isoroku Yamamoto and Tomoyuki Yamashita Edwin P. Hoyt 4-7700-1737-5
    My Life with the Samurai

    (HOW I SURVIVED JAPANESE DEATH CAMPS)

    From the author:

    The first edition of My Life With the Samurai received excellent reviews and was recognized as an important contribution to the study of the Pacific Theatre during WW ll. This new, limited edition 3rd printing includes maps, photos, the names of those who fell in camp, in addition to new chapters which document the brutality experienced by many nations of S.E. Asia during the Japanese reign of terror. My Life With the Samurai tells the true story of a 17 year old boy (AUTHOR) captured by the Japanese in Indonesia.
    He survived a horrendous death rate and beat the odds against starvation and brutality. This book is an inspiration to all. Definitely a must read. Compelling yet disturbing truths emerge about the captured British POWs' and what they had to endure at the hands of the Japanese. Anthony "Tony" Cowling tells of great suffering at the hands of the Japanese from a perspective found only in someone who was there. It is so well written that one begins to see history no one wanted you to hear. This is your chance to read TRUE WWII experiences from 1941-1945.

    Anthony Cowling Use an internet search tool such as Google.
    Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military, and World War II. Double Threat book coverFor her new book, Ellin spent six years researching, and travelling, and interviewing over 300 veterans and their families, to tell the untold stories of how and why Canada’s Jewish community sent 17,000 men and women in uniform to defeat Hitler and the Axis in the Second World War. It is a story that has never been comprehensively told before and fills an important gap in the publicly known accounts of how a country of volunteers helped win the war. Ellin Bessner Available to order online through most major booksellers in North America, including Amazon.ca, Indigo.ca, and in the US, through Target.com, and Amazon.com.
    It is also available to buy in Chapters stores across Canada.
    More info
    The Home Front: Hopscotch & Heartache While Daddy Was at War Margaret Dennis was seven years old in 1941 when her father, Lieutenant Victor Dennis, was sent with the Winnipeg Grenadiers to defend Hong Kong against the Japanese Army.

    The battle of Hong Kong was a fiasco and on Christmas Day 1941, the Canadians surrendered. They spent the next four years in a prisoner-of-war camp.

    The Home Front is the story of his loved ones at home. Told through the eyes of young Margaret, it portrays her mother, Lucy, and younger brother and sister during the four long years their father was away. With poignancy and humour, the author offers a colourful picture of Canadian life during the dark days of World War II.

    Margaret Owen

    A Winnipeg writer and a retired school teacher. She has been
    writing since 1972 and has published many articles. The Home Front is her first book.

    9781896150642

    Out of print. An online version is available on our site.

    Hong Kong Prisoner of War Camp Life A visual record of the conditions in which the prisoners of war of the Japanese lived in Hong Kong. Alexander Skvorzov, risking his life, secretly sketched and hid his work during his imprisonment in Shamshuipo and Argyle Street camps. Lieut. A.V. Skvorzov

    Note: as of mid-Nov '08 the following message was posted on the vendor's web site:

    "This product is out of print and no longer available from the publisher"

    Dickies From Gunton A friend and fellow Hong Kong veteran identified Winnipeg Grenadier Earl Dickie as Dickie From Gunton. This is the story of Earl and his brother, the Dickies From Gunton, and how two world wars affect a Canadian family from a rural Manitoba community forever. Liz Katynski Liz's website.
    Letters to Harvelyn From Japanese POW Camps: A Father's Letters to His Young Daughter During World War II Major Kenneth G. Baird 0-00-200096-2
    Behind the Fence

    Life As A P.O.W. in Japan 1942-1945

    Card cover 288 pp 6x9”

    Les Chater, a Canadian with the Royal Air Force, was captured by the Japanese in 1942 at Singapore, and remained a prisoner until liberation in 1945.  During that time he kept a secret diary, recording life in the camps day by day.  b/w photos, illustrations, Appendices.

    Les Chater & Elizabeth Hamid

     

    Amazon
    Geddes Poems Poems based on conversations with Doug Elias, Museum of Man and Nature (PDF) Gary Geddes
    Lost in China Lost in China is the true story of two young children stranded in Western China during World War II. It’s a memoir that reads like a novel.

    “This is a story of a child, and of a journey. At its heart, it is the tale of how two young children in China, having had their mother trapped by war in Hong Kong and their father killed there, crossed a world in conflict. Jennifer Dobbs tells her singular and moving story, summoning impressions and memories of a childhood in China, a family shattered, and a father lost.”

    —Robert Bickers, associate pro vice-chancellor for post graduate research, professor of history, University of Bristol

    Jennifer F. Dobbs Website

    Videos

    Title Description Source
    Slaves of the Rising Sun

    ($15 plus $5 postage)

    DVD CoverThis excellent summary of the Battle of Hong Kong and the role of ‘C’ Force was prepared by History Television in 2002. This documentary is 49 minutes long and includes the history of the HKVA and the eventual formation of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association. Our story is well portrayed and is both interesting and educational. History Television
    Dedication of the 'C' Force Memorial Wall Produced by the War Amps, this bilingual DVD is a valuable keepsake, documenting the dedication ceremony which took place in Ottawa, ON on 15 Aug '09 War Amps
    Canada's Hong Kong Veterans:
    The Compensation Story
    Hosted by Cliff Chadderton, War Amps CEO and Patron of the Hong Kong Veterans Association of Canada. It was Chadderton who started the claim, marshalling the strength of six Allied nations and the Human Rights Community in Geneva. Cliff Chadderton

    Postage Rates

    Due to volatility we have removed this information. Please contact us using the link at the top of this page, indicating the book or video in which you're interested, and we'll reply.

    If you know of other books, videos or articles that you feel should be included in our list, please let us know.