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.

Excerpt from Gerry's Memoirs:

On Dec.7 H.K. time the two battalions took up defence positions on the Island of Hong Kong. The signals stayed and set up a temporary wireless station on the parade square immediately in front of the Married quarters where we were housed. About 8:00 am the first wave of bombers came over, I saw the bombs exit the plane and only one hit our building while several dropped into the harbor. I was sent to join the British signals with the Royal Scots. Beside the Scottish battalion were 2 India Battalions, the Rajputs and Punjabs. All three were soon overrun by overwhelming forces and on Dec. 11 were ordered to retreat to the island. The Island is solid rock, very little flat land all very high peaks and valleys. We did not have maps and our vehicles were diverted to Manila. The roads are all narrow and winding being cut into the rock face. There was very little cover as all trees and bushes were cut down by the residents for fuel; now it is against the law. I stayed with the Scots regiment at Lye Moon Bay until Dec 13 then was sent to our signals at Wan Nei Chong Gap on Dec. 13. Brigadier Lawson commander of the Canadian troops was stationed about 100 yards behind us. It should be noted that the artillery ran out of ammunition and there was no anti-aircraft defence which allowed the enemy to have spotter planes overhead all day.

On Dec. 19 one of the enemy landings was Wan Nei Chong Gap. It was a dark night and the Japanese advanced right up the valley and by dawn we had to retreat. That day a British officer led us down to a place called the Jockey Club taken over by the British signals. The next day we did guard duty and then hiked to Wan Chi Gap.

Dec 22: While there I located the signalers but was called away when the shelling started again and shortly after I returned to see them but entered the wrong door of this all brick building. It was dark in there and as I waited for my eyes to become accustomed to the light a shell came through the wall. What saved me, I was blown through an opposite door into another room. There were a few men sleeping in the first room which now had a 6 foot diameter hole in the wall. We got the wounded out patched up and sent to hospital. By this time the shelling had ceased. My mouth and eyes were full of brick and mortar dust , my helmet was lost due to a hit on the head no doubt a brick. I wiped my hand across the back of my neck to see if it was bleeding , it wasn't so I forgot about it. A little bit of the old British army discipline came into play here. We were told we would spend the night with the Middlesex regiment at the bottom of the hill, so some of us started down only to be called back by a British signal sergeant, we had to line up and march down in plain view of the spotter plane. The men quickly formed up, then someone mentioned the rations were in the damaged room and I was one delegated to get them. Walking through that shell hole took every bit of will power I had. Arriving at the Middlesex bunker I sat down and was going to put my head in my hands when I noticed they were caked with blood and and I thought to myself that's human blood, thank God it isn't mine.

On Christmas day two others and myself were sent back to the Grenadiers at Wanchi but at a different area than before. We always set up our equipment apart from the regiment headquarters because the fighter planes would locate us. About the middle of the afternoon one man went to deliver a message to the Company headquarters only to find it occupied by Japanese. Luckily he saw them first and let us know we were behind enemy lines. We manage to make our way out but lost our equipment, so had to find our headquarters for a new supply. When we arrived they were preparing for the last stand, This was the Victoria barracks, the building's three barrack blocks were built one above the other up the side of the hill. I was posted on the top one with orders not to retreat as we would run into fire from the men below. I realized afterward that troops who would be attacking us were the same ones we had just left. The Japs would have lobbed mortars over the hill and obliterated us before we could see them. After waiting a short while for all hell to start, the order to surrender came through. I think the Japanese who came to us were tired and happy the fight was over, They marched us over to a telephone co. warehouse where we spent the night, no food. I slept on a large coil of wire.