1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Rifleman | Hormidas | Joseph |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Richmond QC | Eastern Quebec | 1917-04-11 |
| 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 | Reference | Arrival Date | Departure Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HK-SM-01 | Stanley | Fort Stanley, Hong Kong Island | 20, 31, 33 | 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 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 | 9 | 43 Jan 19 | 45 Apr 16 |
| JP-Se-4B | Ohashi | Iwate-ken, Kamihei-gun, Katsushi-mura, Ohashi, Japan | Nippon Steel Company | 134 | 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
No related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.
Post-war Photo
Awarded the Queen's Diamond Jublilee Medal in 2012.
Other Military Service
No 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 | Death Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-11-29 | Living | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Kentville Nova Scotia Canada | Holy Cross Cemetery | Yes |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Hormidas Joseph Fredette April 11, 1917 – November 29, 2023
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Hormidas Joseph Fredette, beloved father of Ronald and Brian; grandfather of Vincent and Laurena; and great grandfather of Claudia and Natasha Dembek. He was also the loving husband of the late, Lillian Mitcham Fredette, who died in 1989. Hormidas was born in 1917, April 11th in the countryside near Richmond, Quebec, his hometown.
Hormidas came from a large family consisting of father, Pierre Fredette and mother, Clara Prince Fredette; brothers, Aimé, Gerard, Pierre, Lucien, Rosario (who died at age 4) and sisters, Irene, Aurise, Alvina and Blanch.
His father owned a farm in Upper Melbourne, Quebec and he worked on his father’s farm at a young age as well as on neighbouring farms and as a lumberjack in Northern Quebec. In the 1930’s Hormidas joined the Militia where he learned to fire a Vickers Machine Gun, a skill which would come in handy at the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941. At the outbreak of WWII, Hormidas joined the Royal Rifles of Canada and was stationed in St. Johns, Newfoundland, where he met Lillian who he became engaged to. She would wait four long years for his return from war and imprisonment.
Shipped out to Hong Kong in 1941, Hormidas fought valiantly with his fellow Royal Rifles and Winnipeg Grenadiers against the overwhelming Japanese Invaders. Employing his skill as a machine gunner, Hormidas fired a Vickers Machine Gun at its maximum range and still hit all his targets, impressing his officer, Mr. Lester. Hormidas was captured on December 25, 1941, when the forces defending Hong Kong surrendered to the Japanese and would spend the next three years and eight months being malnourished, beaten and used as slave labour. Liberated by the Americans in August 1945, Hormidas lost no time in returning to St. Johns to marry his sweetheart, Lillian.
After the war, he settled in Richmond where he worked for Canadian National Railway for eight years. Then after CNR moved his section to Montreal, Hormidas found work at the Domtar Pulp and Papermill in the next town of Windsor, Quebec, where he worked until he retired in 1979 and raised his family. Hormidas, Lillian and Brian moved to New Minas in 1979, where Lillian passed away in 1989 and he and Brian lived together, with Ronald living just down the street until Hormidas passed away at age 106.
He was the last of the veterans who fought so bravely in defense of Hong Kong and endured terrible captivity in Japan. A true hero who will be greatly missed.
There will be a funeral service for Hormidas to be held at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, December 4, 2023, in the St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Kentville. Interment will take place in Holy Cross Cemetery, Kentville. Donations in memory may be made to a charity of choice. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the White Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Kentville.
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
Full Name - Joseph Harmisdas Fredette. Translated here- B24 Fredette, Joseph Hormidas - On April 29, 1917, undersigned priest baptized Joseph Hormidas, born on the eleventh of the currant month, lawful son of Pierre Fredette, farmer, and of Clara Prince of this parish. Godfather: Banjourice Fredette, Godmother: Rosouna Trahan signed as also did the father. After reading Rosan An Trahan, Germain Fredette, Pierre Fredette
Search the internet for this- cbc veteran won't accept japan's apology
End of Report.
Report generated: 12 May 2024.
Additional Notes
(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
- Service numbers for officers 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.