Individual Report: E30060 John COLEMAN

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Lance Sergeant	John	Arthur
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Scotstown QC	Eastern Quebec	1916-05-18
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
	C	15 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
41/12/16	N/A	17(86)

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
1942-02-18	Died of wounds	Died of Wounds
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Stanley Village Hong Kong China	Stanley Military Cemetery	6. A. Coll. grave 1-12.	CWGC CWGC- Commonwealth War Graves Commission (Hong Kong & Japan graves) Engraved- the actual headstone has HK or RRC or WG, etc. engraved on the stone Last Post- VAC program Yes- someone has purchased a gs marker for this person UGF- application already submitted or anticipate applying for Unmarked Grave Fund ND- family does not desire Blank- no data

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

Son of James Ida Coleman and Persis Elizabeth Ord. Husband of Marie Éva Fortier, of Montreal, Québec. Brother of Rifleman Ralph George Coleman, regimental number E-30062, Royal Rifles of Canada, prisoner of war in Hong Kong. He survived the war.
Served in Québec, New Brunswick, Newfoundland with Force W, Hong Kong with Force C. He had 880 days of service, including 428 overseas.

Citation(s): 1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp.

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Verdun N.C.O. Hong Kong Victim Dies in Japan

Confirmation Received Of Sgt. Coleman's Death

Confirmation of the death while in Japanese hands of a Verdun non-commissioned officer, and the addition of 10 names of other ranks of the Royal Rifles of Canada from Quebec, released from captivity, were obtained in a new and revised data on the Hong Kong Force released by National Defence Headquarters last night.
Sgt. John A. Coleman, 3600 Verdun avenue, Verdun, whose wife is the former Eva Fortier, was reported to have died of wounds. He was one of three brothers who served in the armed forces, one of whom is reported to have been taken prisoner at Hong Kong. Sergeant Coleman was the son of Mrs. Perces Coleman, and the late James Coleman, of Scotstown. He was in his 26th year.

Stanley Military Cemetery

19 members of 'C' Force who perished in action or as prisoner of war are buried at Stanley Cemetery, which had been reopened during the war after not having been used for more than 70 years. After the war, the cemetery was extended on its northern side when graves were brought in from civilian burial grounds and isolated sites in the surrounding country. Although the cemetery as a whole is laid out and maintained as a military cemetery, in the older part service graves and the graves of civilian internees who died during the Japanese occupation are intermingled. A number of the graves in this part of the cemetery are still marked by the original headstones erected by the prisoners of war, who collected the granite from the 19th century fortifications and carved the inscriptions themselves.
There are 598 Commonwealth servicemen of the Second World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. 175 of the burials are unidentified, but a number of special memorials, including one for the doctors, nurses, and patients massacred at St. Stephen's College hospital, commemorate casualties known to be buried among them.
Ref: Includes excerpts from Veterans Affairs Canada.

General Comments

Wounds Fatal
Information has been received by his wife that Corporal Coleman died of wounds at Hong Kong while serving with the Royal Rifles of Canada. Mrs. Coleman lives at 3600 Verdun Avenue, Verdun. Son of Mrs. Perces Coleman and the late James Coleman, of Scotstown, Corporal Coleman was in his 26th year.
Unknown Newspaper clipping

'C' Force Family Connections:

Brother of E30062 Ralph Coleman
Uncle of E30063 Glenn Coleman

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.

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.
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.
The 'From' information box at the top of the report represents the enlistment location unless we have obtained updated information pinpointing where the member lived.
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.