1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
General Information | ||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Percy | William |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Winnipeg MB | Manitoba | 1904-06-24 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| B | ||
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-SA-01 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | Capture | 42 Jan 22 | ||
| HK-NP-02 | North Point | North Point, Hong Kong Island | 42 Jan 22 | 42 Sep 26 | ||
| HK-SA-02 | Shamshuipo | Kowloon, Hong Kong | 42 Sep 26 | 45 Sep 10 |
Transportation SE Asia to Home
| Transport Mode | Arrival Destination | Arrival Date | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| USS Admiral Hugh Rodman | Vancouver, BC | 1945-10-07 | Manilla to Vancouver, BC |
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.
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-02-03 | Post War | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Winnipeg Manitoba Canada | Brookside Cemetery | MLTY-2408-0 | |
Gravestone Image
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
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Related documentation
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General Comments
DIDN’T MEAN TO KILL INQUEST TOLD - “I didn’t mean to kill him, but he was so much to me he drove me to it.”
That was part of a statement identified as given by Mrs. Noella Showko, 29, read Thursday night at a corner’s inquest by Detective Norman M. Stewart.
Day-Long Drinking
The jury was inquiring into the stabbing death of Percy William Beckstead, of 393 Hargrave Street, 49-year-old Hong Kong veteran who died Sunday night en route to hospital. Testimony from 13 witnesses unfolded a “sordid” story of a day-long drinking bout and the fatal stabbing that followed.
The verdict read: “We the jury find that Percy Beckstead of 393 Hargrave Street came to his death at approximately 10:35 p.m. Feb. 3, that his death was caused by stab wounds at the base of the neck severing vital blood vessels and causing internal and external hemorrhage.
“We the jury further find from the evidence submitted that death was caused by means of a knife wielded by one Noella Showko.”
Mrs. Showko was charged with murder Monday morning.
Throw All Out
In the statement read by Detective Stewart, the ex-mental instiution patient said she had been living common-law with Beckstead since September. Sunday afternoon, he and her father, Leo Goulet had been drinking, and that night Beckstead told her he was going to throw everyone out of the house, Mrs. Showko included.
“He poked me on the mouth and lay down and I went to the kitchen and got a knife. I went back and stabbed him in the neck with the knife.” The statement continued.
Exhibit one was a slim, six-inch wooden-handled kitchen knife.
Detective Stewart testified she had identified it as “the knife I used to stab Percy.”
‘Hysterical’
Constablae B. Buss, one of the first to attend, described Mrs. Showko’s condition at the time as “hysterical”.
Hilliard Harvey Harris, who rooms at the bank of the house told the jury that Mrs. Showko and Beckstead “had been quarreling like that for months.”
Beckstead was intoxicated at the time of his death, blood tests taken by Dr. J.C. Wilt,k pathologist at Winnipeg General Hospital showed.
Dr. Wilt said his death was caused by hemorrhaging from a knife wound in the neck.
Dr. Athol Gordon, deputy provincial coroner, charged the jury to remember that “in this particularly sordid case” they must dispel the feeling that someone is on trial.”
The inquest was held in Central Police Station.
A preliminary hearing of evidence against Mrs. Showko will open Monday afternoon in city police court.
There was a large pool of blood on the floor by the double bed.
Day-Long Quarrel
The stabbing apparently culminated a day-long quarrel in which furniture was thrown around. A neighbor, who lives at 391 Hargrave Street part if the ramshackle terrace earmarked for demolition, said he had heard a loud argument, a great deal of shouting and furniture being tossed around.
The neighbor, Karl Mayehofer, said he didn’t know what was being said. A recent immigrant from Germany, he doesn’t understand English.
Brother-in-law of the accused woman Theopile Wiess of 969 Dudley Avenue, said Mrs. Showko phoned his place Sunday evening and asked for her sister, Mabel Wiess.
Mr. Wiess said he refused to let his wife go to the terrace.
He said he went over himself, but by that time the victim had been taken to hospital.
“Trixie was in the mental institution at Portage la Praire for about a year. This was four years ago. Then, just a couple of months ago, she was in the psychiatric ward of the General for a week. She had taken iodine and some pills and just about died.”
Wed Last Spring
He said the accused woman married Tony Showko just last spring but he left to work in the bush about three weeks later.
Then after Mrs. Beckstead died five and a half months ago, Mrs. Showko moved in with the widower he related.
“She and Percy used to quarrel all the time. My father-in-law (Mr. Goulet) dropped in to see them Sunday morning, but left because they were arguing.
“Percy was a quiet chap when sober. He was in both wars, and during the last one was a prisoner of the Japanese. “He’s been caretaker of one section of the terrace for the past four or five years.”
He said Mrs. Showko and the rest of her family (the Goulets) seemed to have been blighted with bad luck for years.
All the children were raised in St. Agnes Priory he said. “Trixie’s mother was drowned in the Red River three years ago,” he revealed.
In addition to Mrs. Weiss, the accused woman has two other sisters, Mrs. Irene Mark, 539 Pacific Avenue; and Mrs. Lorraine Poitras, 453 Spence Street, as well as a 20-year old brother, Sanford Goulet of 294 Gwendolina.
Her father, Leo Goulet, lived with the Wiess family most of the time, but had a place of his own in the Westminster apartments said Mr. Weiss. Fort the past few days, however, he is believed to have been staying in a room at the terrace.
Material Witness
In addition to holding Mr. Goulet as a material witness, police questioned a 38-year old half-blind paper vendor, Hilliard Harvey Harris. The vendor lives in a small room just off the suite where the murder took place.
Mr. Beckstead has a daughter, 16-year old Mrs. Georgina Sarah Lawrence of 230 Garry Street, who is the mother of a 13-month-old baby.
End of Report.
Report generated: 15 May 2025.
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.
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- 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.
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