Individual Report: H77586 Robert BLANCHARD
1st Bn The Winnipeg Grenadiers
Red River Métis/Anishinaabe family ties to Sagkeeng First Nation, MB
General Information |
||
| Rank: | First Name: | Second Name: |
|---|---|---|
| Private | Robert | |
| From: | Enlistment Region: | Date of Birth (y-m-d): |
| Winnipeg MB | Manitoba | 1914-06-13 |
| Appointment: | Company: | Platoon: |
| A | 7 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
Killed in action at Bennet's Hill Shelter. 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.Commemorative Feature
A map detailing the location of this feature can be found in this soldier's vault. (See Vault explanation below in the Links and Other Resources block) .
| Site Description | Location | Province | Map Reference | Lat/Long | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blanchard Lake | east of Munroe Lake, Manitoba | Manitoba | 64 O/01 | 59 08' 45"; 98 12' 37" | 1975 |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1941-12-23 | Killed In Action | ||
| Cemetery Location | Cemetery | Grave Number | Gravestone Marker |
| Cape Collinson Road Chai Wan Hong Kong China | Sai Wan War Cemetery | VIII. A. 12. | CWGC |
Gravestone Image
Obituary / Life Story
Robert Blanchard was 27 years old when he was killed in action on December 23, 1941 during the Battle of Hong Kong. His mother was Red River Métis, as well as Anishinaabe from Sagkeeng First Nation.
His mother was unaware that he had left for Hong Kong until she received a letter from him on his way there. His death wasn't confirmed to her until a year after he had been killed, and his exact date of death was confirmed to her 4 years later.
It is important for me to honour my great uncle’s legacy as an Indigenous veteran, and I encourage everyone to learn more about Indigenous veterans and to do what they can to advance reconciliation in Canada.
Submitted by great niece Julie Carver, March 2025.
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.
Research conducted as part of the HKVCA Indigenous Veterans Project for this veteran are available in our Vault. To access this research use the link displayed below under Related Documentation.
General Comments
Robert’s service medals were donated to the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) in May 2024. They are currently at the office of the MMF’s Veterans Department, and will then be displayed at their Métis National Heritage Centre when it opens in Winnipeg, MB in 2026.
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: 05 Mar 2026.
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.