Individual Report: C92078 Kenneth CAMERON

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Private	Kenneth	Stanley
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Ottawa ON	Eastern Ontario	1912-10-12
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	Brigade Headquarters

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-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-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		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

Transport Mode	Arrival Destination	Arrival Date	Comments
NATS 39143	Oakland	1945-10-06

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

Decorations Received

Image	Name of Award	Abbreviation	References	Precedence	Comments
	Military Medal	MM	39, 40, 124	08
MM Citation In connection with Staff-Sergeant Clark, Commander Edward V. Dockweiler of the United States Navy writes: "About 2000 hours, 20 January 1944, a large fire broke out in this yard, completely destroying the steel shed, ship outfitting stores, prisoner of war mess hall, riggers lobby, tool rooms, part of the ship fitters shop and mold loft. The area occupied by these buildings was about 800 by 600 feet. I would estimate the damage caused by this fire at about three-quarters to one million dollars. Aside from the monetary damage accomplished, the production of this yard was reduced about 60 percent for a period of at least eight months. At this time the yard was engaged in building escort destroyers and merchant shipping. Its tonnage production was about 8,000 tons a month. Considerable repair work also was being undertaken at this time. This fire was started by Staff-Sergeant Clark, Canadian Postal Corps, and Private K.S. Cameron, Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. The method used was a candle, the bottom of which was surrounded with celluloid shavings accumulated from soap boxes. The length of the candled determined the time of firing. This incendiary medium was placed behind some rubbish in one of the little used and inspected store rooms. The Japanese authorities made a very thorough investigation of the damage caused by the above mentioned fire, but were unable to determine its cause or the part played by these two young men effecting it. If the part that Sergeant Clark and Private Cameron played in this sabotage had been discovered, undoubtedly they would have been executed or tortured to death. This act of sabotage greatly crippled the production of this yard and directly minimized the Japanese war effort, and the contribution to the Allied war effort that these two men made under the handicap of being prisoners of war cannot be overestimated. The occurrence of this fire is part of my official report to my own Navy Department. I submit this report to your office with the recommendation that this act of Sergeant Clark and Private Cameron be properly recognized and adequately rewarded. Their conduct as prisoners of war while under my jurisdiction was exemplary and fulfilled the highest tradition of the Canadian Army".

Image

Name of Award

Abbreviation

References

Precedence

Comments

Military Medal

39, 40, 124

MM Citation

In connection with Staff-Sergeant Clark, Commander Edward V. Dockweiler of the United States Navy writes: "About 2000 hours, 20 January 1944, a large fire broke out in this yard, completely destroying the steel shed, ship outfitting stores, prisoner of war mess hall, riggers lobby, tool rooms, part of the ship fitters shop and mold loft. The area occupied by these buildings was about 800 by 600 feet. I would estimate the damage caused by this fire at about three-quarters to one million dollars. Aside from the monetary damage accomplished, the production of this yard was reduced about 60 percent for a period of at least eight months. At this time the yard was engaged in building escort destroyers and merchant shipping. Its tonnage production was about 8,000 tons a month. Considerable repair work also was being undertaken at this time. This fire was started by Staff-Sergeant Clark, Canadian Postal Corps, and Private K.S. Cameron, Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps. The method used was a candle, the bottom of which was surrounded with celluloid shavings accumulated from soap boxes. The length of the candled determined the time of firing. This incendiary medium was placed behind some rubbish in one of the little used and inspected store rooms. The Japanese authorities made a very thorough investigation of the damage caused by the above mentioned fire, but were unable to determine its cause or the part played by these two young men effecting it. If the part that Sergeant Clark and Private Cameron played in this sabotage had been discovered, undoubtedly they would have been executed or tortured to death. This act of sabotage greatly crippled the production of this yard and directly minimized the Japanese war effort, and the contribution to the Allied war effort that these two men made under the handicap of being prisoners of war cannot be overestimated. The occurrence of this fire is part of my official report to my own Navy Department. I submit this report to your office with the recommendation that this act of Sergeant Clark and Private Cameron be properly recognized and adequately rewarded. Their conduct as prisoners of war while under my jurisdiction was exemplary and fulfilled the highest tradition of the Canadian Army".

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
1996-01-24		Post War
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Gatineau Quebec Canada	St.Gregoire Cemetery		Yes

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Retired Veteran W.W. II and member of the Kiwanas Club of Sage of Ottawa. At the National Defence Medical Centre on Wednesday, January 24, 1996. Ken Cameron, age 83. Beloved husband of Irene Parent and the late Colette Groulx. Loving father of Brian, Sandi and Fr. Philippe Gendron. Fond Grandfather of Tyler. Big Brother of Christopher Randall. Friends may call at the Kelly Funeral Home, 2313 Carling Avenue (west of Woodroffe), from 2 to 4 and 7 to 10 p.m. Thursday. Funeral Friday to St. Augustine's Church for Mass of Christian Funeral at 10 a.m. Interment St. Gregoire Cemetery, Buckingham, Quebec. In memorial donations to the Heart and Stroke Foundation or the Canadian Diabetes Association appreciated.

Links and Other Resources

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General Comments

No comments found.

End of Report.

Report generated: 07 Jul 2025.

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Additional Notes

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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.
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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.
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