1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Sydney | Charles |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Toronto ON | Central Ontario | 1922-01-05 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
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
No wounds recorded.Hospital Information
No record of hospital visits found.POW Camps
| Camp ID | Camp Name | Location | Company | Type of Work | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-SM-01 | Stanley | Fort Stanley, Hong Kong Island | Capture | 41 Dec 30 | ||
| HK-NP-01 | North Point | North Point, Hong Kong Island | 41 Dec 30 | 42 Sep 26 | ||
| HK-SA-02 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 42 Sep 26 | 43 Aug 15 | ||
| JP-To-5B | Niigata-Rinko | Niigata-ken, Nakakambara-gun, Ogata-mura, Japan | Marutsu, Rinko Coal, Shintetsu | Stevedore labor at port of Niigata (Marutsu), primarily foodstuffs; mining coal (Rinko Coal ) and labor at a foundry (Shintetsu) | 43 Sep 03 | 45 Sep 05 |
Transport to Japan
| Draft Number | Name of Ship | Departure Date | Arrival Date | Arrival Port | Comments | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XD4B | Manryu Maru | 43 Aug 15 | 43 Sep 01 | Osaka, Japan | Brief stopover in Taihoku (Taipei), Formosa (Taiwan); then 2 day stopover at northern point for stool tests | Tony Banham |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Ozark Passenger List A | SF | 1945-10-02 | evacuated from Japan via USS Ozark |
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Post-war Photo
No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-06-10 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Chesley Ontario Canada | Chesley Cemetery | ||
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
- submitted by his son Bud February 2018
Dad was born in Toronto in 1922 and grew up in the Great Depression when jobs were scarce and opportunity limited. When he was 17 and war was in the offing, like so many of his generation he tried to get into the army but failed, his looks giving his age away. However, being determined he eventually did get into the Canadian Army when he turned 18 and joined the Queen's Own Rifles which was on garrison duty in Newfoundland. He was injured there and was sent to Quebec City to recover. While there he heard that the Royal Rifles of Canada, which was based in Quebec City, was being posted to the Far East. Being hell bent to see action he managed to get a transfer to that unit and shipped out to Hong Kong, where after a heroic but failed defence of the island he and his surviving comrades were taken prisoner. As we know he then spent the balance of the war in deplorable conditions in Japanese POW camps in Hong Kong and Japan.
He survived and returned to Canada in extremely ill health. He was in and out of hospitals for years, and was confined for a lengthy period of time with tuberculosis, which was treated by surgical removal of almost half of his lung tissue. He survived that as well, but owing to the poor air quality in his hometown of Toronto he needed to be moved somewhere that the air was cleaner. That somewhere turned out to be Chesley, Ontario, and it was in all respects exactly what he needed. By the time the Army moved him to Chesley in the late 40s he had already married his pre-war girlfriend, Joan Thompson, legend has it they were married during one of his many hospital stays, and JoAnne had been born.
Chesley turned out to be just what the doctor ordered, as he found employment, his health recovered and Peter and I joined the family. Dad worked at a variety of jobs including furniture moving and being a police officer while Mom worked in retail and eventually managed an insurance business, all the while raising 3 kids. Dad found his way to the post office and eventually became Postmaster. Along the way, he was active in the Scouting movement, Mom with the Girl Guides. They were active in the community coaching sports teams as well. His love of the outdoors set the family on many camping trips, including one trek right across the country to BC. He was a great role model not just for his kids but for many other children as well. He had a passion for cars, especially sports cars and sports car racing in the early 60s, he enjoyed greatly driving a fast car on a race course. He passed this love of cars and racing onto me, I went with him to the races every chance I got, and I raced later in life as well. We are our father's sons.
Dad retired relatively young in his late 50s. He enjoyed an active retirement, traveled, spent lots of time in the outdoors and honed his skills as a gunsmith at a local gun shop. He doted on Peter's sons Ben and Jeremy and passed his love of nature on to them. His health was relatively good until he was in his 70s and symptoms of Parkinson's disease began to appear. He was a great joker and loved to tease the girls, these traits were still there and very apparent even in the last days of his life. He was my role model, the biggest influence on my life, my best friend and chief cheerleader, always there to pick me up and set me on course again whenever I fell down, even as an adult. He contributed greatly to the Town of Chesley and to me he is the personification of the people who built this country.
Everyone has their own thoughts of my Dad, and will remember him in their own special ways. Because he was a very special man. And I will never, ever forget what he did for me. Sleep, brave warrior, your battles are done.
Links and Other Resources
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Related documentation
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General Comments
B63830 Sydney STREET- Sydney Charles Street. Born Edmonton Alberta Canada. Age at Death 75
2 Jap War Criminals Charged With Maltreating Canadians Are Sentenced To Long Terms
Ottawa, Feb. 14. Two more Japanese war criminals charged with maltreatment of Canadian and other Allied prisoners-of-war have received heavy sentences from an Allied War Crimes Commission at Tokyo, army headquarters announced yesterday.
The sentences, handed down in Tokyo Tuesday, were 40 years' imprisonment for Katsuyaru Sato, former civilian guard, and 15 years for Takeo Takahashi, former medical orderly. Both men were employed at a camp near Niigata's coal docks in the Tokyo area.
Sato was charged with compelling physically unfit Allied troops to perform hard labor, and "in some cases contributing to the
death of prisoners." Thirty Canadians, including a number from the Eastern Townships, and five United States Army personnel suffered at his hands. Nine died.
Takahashi, it was alleged, not only refused medical attention to Allied prisoners of war, but forced the sick, weak and undernourished to do hard labor, as a result of which numerous prisoners died of disease or were permanently disabled. It was also charged that Takahashi, for his own use, stole Red Cross supplies, medicines and other supplies intended for the benefit of Allied prisoners. The falsification of numerous death certificates also was attributed to Takahashi.
Sato was described in the charges as a ruthless taskmaster who visited his cruelty upon any prisoner who afforded him the slightest provocation. It was charged that while working the sick and weary prisoners-of-war at the Rinko coal docks in Niigata he often satisfied a sadistic urge to torture his helpless victims. Sato also is accused of stealing Red Cross supplies.
The SCAP Legal Section lists the following Canadians as included among victims of the two Japanese:
Takahashi: E. C. Harrison (deceased), Bury, Que.; Renwell Marren (deceased), Gaspe, Que; Joseph E. Maloney (deceased), Barachois, Que.; and Ernest Heuft (deceased), 473 Warsaw Ave, Winnipeg.
Sato: Sgt. Colin Pope (deceased), Cookshire, Que.; Rfn. Gabriel Guitard (deceased), Nash Creek, N.B.; Pte. Albert Boulding (deceased), Pilot Butte, Sask.; Cpl. John Moffat Gee (deceased), Birch Ridge, N.B.; Sgt. Edward Philips (deceased), Sawyerville, Que; Pte. Mike Katchen, Angus, Man.; Cpl. Thomas P. McCarron, Benjamin River, N.B.; Rfn. George Chenell, Entry Island, Que.; R.R. Wheeler, Runnymede, Que; G. H. Doucette, Botwood, Nfld;
Ernest Arthur Dayton, Chilliwack, B.C.;
William Harvey Gagne, Brighton, Ont.; J. A. Hunt, Chandler, Que.; Arthur Hilton Hunter, Winnipeg;
Herbert Wallace, Kingsbury, Que: Frederick Joseph Lavallee, St. Laurent, Man.; Pte. McLaughlin, Campbellton, N.B.; F. T. Caruso (deceased) Winnipeg;
C. S.
Woodward, Winnipeg;
S. C. Street, Toronto; Alfred William Spier, West Kildonan, Man.; Joseph John Wolczuk, Winnipeg; Joseph Axel Winberg,
Chatham Ont.; Thomas Lawrence Ward, Portage la Prairie, Man.; Robert Manchester, Winnipeg; Lloyd C. Doull, Drummondville, Que.
End of Report.
Report generated: 07 Jul 2025.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers ("X") 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.
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