Individual Report: E29902 Oliver SAUSON

1st Bn The Royal Rifles of Canada


General Information

Rank: First Name: Second Name:
Corporal Oliver Ray
From: Enlistment Region: Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Shigawake QC Eastern Quebec 1917-10-17
Appointment: Company: Platoon:
Section Commander D 16 Plt

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

Date Wounded Wound Description References
41/12/25N/A36

Hospital Information

Name of hospital Date of admission Date of discharge Comments Reference
HK-QMH12/28/1941N/A

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 Aug 15
JP-To-5B Niigata-RinkoNiigata-ken, Nakakambara-gun, Ogata-mura, JapanMarutsu, Rinko Coal, ShintetsuStevedore labor at port of Niigata (Marutsu), primarily foodstuffs; mining coal (Rinko Coal ) and labor at a foundry (Shintetsu)43 Sep 0345 Sep 05

Transport to Japan

Draft Number Name of Ship Departure Date Arrival Date Arrival Port Comments Reference
XD4BManryu Maru43 Aug 1543 Sep 01Osaka, JapanBrief stopover in Taihoku (Taipei), Formosa (Taiwan); then 2 day stopover at northern point for stool testsTony 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

Click for larger view

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
2001-01-31Post War
Cemetery LocationCemeteryGrave NumberGravestone Marker
Shigawake Quebec CanadaSt. Paul's Anglican CemeteryYes

Gravestone Image

Click for larger view

Obituary / Life Story

OLIVER RAY SAUSON in London, Ontario on January 31,2001 in his eighty-fourth year. Beloved husband of Dorothy (Watt), loving father of Rae (Alan Roy), Lester (Colleen Salokannel) and Dollie (Jeff Read) and cherished grandfather of David, Sara, Terri, Tina, Christopher, Jennifer, Michael and great-grandfather of Sydney, Jourdan and Carl. Dear brother of Howard and Dëan. He served his country in The Royal Rifles and was a POW in Hong Kong. Retired from Northern Electric in Montreal after over 25 years service. There will be a small service in London and interment in Shigawake, Quebec. In lieu of flowers a donation to the Cancer Society or St. Pauls Anglican Church in Shigawake would be appreciated.

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

Three Brothers fighting in Hong Kong. Only Oliver came home. E29902 Oliver Sauson. E29903 Lester Sauson. E29904 Edward Sauson



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.