Individual Report: E30406 John CHENELL

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Lance Corporal	John	Maxwell
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Magdalen Islands QC	Eastern Quebec	1910-11-05
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

Date Wounded	Wound Description	References
Unknown	N/A	36

Hospital Information

No record of hospital visits found.

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	Arrival Date	Departure Date
HK-SM-01	Stanley	Fort Stanley, Hong Kong Island	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	42 Oct 15

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
1942-10-16	Faucial Diphtheria	Died while POW
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China	Sai Wan War Cemetery	VIII. A. 22.	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

Baptized John Maxwell Chenelle on 13 April 1911. Son of Paul Chenelle and Phoebe Jane Welsh. Husband of Mary Elizabeth May Welsh, Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Québec. Father of Calvin Lewis (Louis) Chalmer Chenelle. He served in Quebec, in New Brunswick, in Newfoundland with Force W, in Hong Kong with Force C. He had 774 days of service, including 353 overseas.
The following people from Entry Island, Magdalen Islands, Quebec, are all brothers and/or cousins that served during the Second World War. They served with the Royal Rifles of Canada or the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, unless indicated otherwise. Eight died in service. Edward Carleton Aitkens died in Japan. Thomas Robert Aitkens, RCNVR, survived the war. Deighton Aitken died in Hong Kong. John Maxwell Chenell died in Hong Kong. William Radley Chenell died in Japan. James Chenell, RCNVR, survived the war. Albert Benjamin Chenell died in Japan. Bernard Leslie Chenell, E-30389, prisoner of war in Japan. George Borden Chenell, E-30379, prisoner of war in Japan. Edward Bahan Chenell, E-30403, prisoner of war in Hong Kong. Ancil Josey, E-30390, prisoner of war in Japan. Ernest Edwin Welsh, E-30397, prisoner of war in Hong Kong. Arthur Lloyd Welsh, RCNVR, survived the war. Allen Benjamin Welsh died in Hong Kong. Delbert William Louis Welsh died in Hong Kong. Melvin Burton Welsh died in Japan. George Walter Welsh survived the war.
Citation(s): 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp.
Canadian Virtual War Memorial

The Sai Wan War Cemetery holds those who were killed during the Battle of Hong Kong or died later as prisoners of war during the Japanese occupation, including 173 members of 'C' Force. The remains of those who died as prisoners in Formosa (now Taiwan) were brought to Hong Kong for burial at Sai Wan in 1946. There are 1,505 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War buried or commemorated at Sai Wan War Cemetery. 444 of the burials are unidentified.
At the entrance to the cemetery stands the Sai Wan Memorial bearing the names of more than 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen who died in the Defence of Hong Kong or subsequently in captivity and who have no known grave.
Ref: Includes excerpts from Veterans Affairs Canada.

General Comments

A museum on Entry Island honors the men from there that served in the wars. This plaque is in the museum.
From Michael Weiss on FB 2019.

'C' Force Family Connections:

Brother of E30381 William Chenell
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.
Related documentation

Our HKVCA Vault (Google Docs) may contain additional information, newspaper clippings, and documents which have been saved for this soldier. To access this information, note the soldier's service number shown at the top of this page, then use the letter prefix to select the corresponding link below. A Google Docs folder list will open in a separate tab. Search for the file identified by the service number to access any additional information we may have acquired.
- Service Number Prefix: A to G
- Service Number Prefix: H to P
- Service Number Prefix: X (Officers)
Facebook has proven to be a valuable resource in the documentation of 'C' Force members. The following link will take you to search results for this soldier based on his regimental number, but they may be incomplete. Facebook Search Results.
To capture all items for an individual, we recommend visiting our Group: Hong Kong Veterans Tribute of Canada and using the search option there. Note: results may be contained within another related record.

Find a Grave® is a valuable resource that may contain additional information on this 'C' Force member. When you arrive at the site search page, fill in as much detail as you can for best results.

End of Report.

Report generated: 04 Apr 2026.
Back to 'C' Force Home Page

Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)
1. Service numbers for officers ("X") 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. 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. 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.