Individual Report: E29812 Colin STANDISH

1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada


General Information

Rank: First Name: Second Name:
Staff Sergeant Colin Alden
From: Enlistment Region: Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Cookshire QC Eastern Quebec 1916-11-15
Appointment: Company: Platoon:
Company Quartermaster Sergeant C Coy HQ

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-01StanleyFort Stanley, Hong Kong IslandCapture 41 Dec 30
HK-NP-01North PointNorth Point, Hong Kong Island41 Dec 3042 Sep 26
HK-SA-02ShamshuipoKowloon, Hong Kong42 Sep 2643 Dec 15
JP-Os-11B NarumiAichi-ken, Aichi-gun, Narumi-machi, Arimatsu Mura 114-3Nippon Rolling Stock Company and Daido Electric Steel CompanyMen employed as slaves for Daido Electric Steel Company and made wheels at the Nippon Wheel (Vehicle) Mfg.44 Jan 0645 Sep 10
JP-Na-8B Tateyama1-Banchi, Shimookui-cho, Toyama City, Toyama, JapanTateyama Heavy Industry CompanyManufacture of small steam rollers, used for building of airfields or roadsN/AN/A

Transport to Japan

Draft Number Name of Ship Departure Date Arrival Date Arrival Port Comments Reference
XD5ASS Soong Cheong / Toyama Maru43 Dec 1544 Jan 04Moji, JapanArrived at Takao, Formosa, 43 Dec 20; Transferred to Toyama Maru, 43 Dec 30, went to NarumiTony Banham

Transportation SE Asia to Home

Transport Mode Arrival Destination Arrival Date Comments
USS Ozark Passenger List ASF1945-10-02evacuated 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.

Decorations Received

Image Name of Award Abbreviation References Precedence Comments
Distinguished Conduct MedalDCM37, 38, 12307

DCM Citation

Canada Gazette dated 6 April 1946 (No. 14, Vol. 80, p. 2066) and CARO/6522 dated 18 April 1946.

Company Quartermaster-Sergeant Standish was Company Quartermaster-Sergeant of "C" Company, Royal Rifles of Canada at Hong Kong in December 1941. During the night of 18/19 December at Lye Mun Gap he showed conspicuous bravery in maintaining a constant supply of ammunition to the forward positions of this company which were heavily engaged with the enemy, During the course of his duties he came under extremely heavy mortar and rifle fire. His vehicle received a direct hit during the course 0/the action, but despite this, he made necessary repairs under fire to maintain his supply. In an endeavour to cut the supply line, the enemy had infiltrated behind our lines, submitting supply personnel to heavy and constant sniping fire. This did not stop Standish from travelling back and forth over this dangerous ground to keep forward positions supplied. During intervals of unloading vehicles in the forward area, Standish took an active part in the action. His conduct was an inspiration to all ranks, and due to his gallantry and efforts it was possible to hold this position until the order arrived to withdraw.

This non-commissioned officer never relaxed in his duty, and was conspicuous in his bravery during the entire campaign in securing and delivering food, water and other supplies to the outposts under fire and against heavy odds. At times when transport was not available he carried rations on his back, taking time off to hunt snipers who were a constant threat to all personnel. During the whole period as a prisoner of war he carried on with the same spirit of self-sacrifice, and although quite ill, he always saw that his men received all that was available to reduce the misery of Japanese camp life.

Other Military 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
1991-01-16Post War
Cemetery LocationCemeteryGrave NumberGravestone Marker
Rougemont Quebec CanadaCimetière Saint-Thomas Anglican

Gravestone Image

Click for larger view

Obituary / Life Story

No other or additional related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

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.

Facebook has proven to be a valuable resource in the documentation of 'C' Force members. The following link will take you to any available search results for this soldier based on his regimental number. Note: results may be contained within another related record. Facebook Search Results

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

Click for larger view

No comments found.



End of Report.

Report generated: 10 Nov 2024.


Back to 'C' Force Home Page

Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)

  1. Service numbers for officers are locally generated for reporting only. During World War II officers were not allocated service numbers until 1945.
  2. '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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.