Individual Report: X64 William NUGENT

Rank:	First Name:	Second Name:
General Information
Lieutenant	William	Francis
From:	Enlistment Region:	Date of Birth (y-m-d):
Lindsay ON	Manitoba	1917-04-16
Appointment:	Company:	Platoon:
Platoon Commander	C	14 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
41/12/24	Wounded in left leg and arm on Bennet's Hill	36

Hospital Information

Name of hospital	Date of admission	Date of discharge	Comments	Reference
HK-QMH	12/25/1941	01/20/1942	Treatment of wounds - stay for 4 months	Personal Letter - Mother
HK-BMH	01/20/1942	04/20/1942		118
HK-BMH	09/09/1942	N/A		118

POW Camps

Camp ID	Camp Name	Location	Reference	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	33	42 Jan 22	42 Sep 26
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong		42 Sep 26	45 Sep 10
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	20, 33	43 Aug 19	44 May 11
HK-SA-02	Shamshuipo	Kowloon, Hong Kong	20, 33	44 May 11	45 Sep 10

Transportation: SE Asia to Home

No related information found. Please submit documents to us using the contact link at the top of this page.

Post-war Photo

Decorations Received

Image	Name of Award	Abbreviation	References	Precedence	Comments
	Military Cross	MC	37, 38, 123	05
MC Citation Lieutenant Nugent was a platoon commander of the Winnipeg Grenadiers at Hong Kong. On the night of 24th December 1941 his platoon was in a defensive position on Bennet's Hill when at about 1900 hours the Japanese heavily shelled it with mortar fire for about one hour and then attacked in force, hoping to secure the heights which commanded the only cross Island road left in our hands at this time. His platoon sergeant was seriously wounded as well as two of his remaining non-commissioned officers, and Lieutenant Nugent received a crippling leg wound. In spite of these conditions, he succeeded in driving off the main force of the Japanese attack and, in addition, his platoon inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Although the platoons on his flanks were driven back by the fierceness of the enemy attack, Lieutenant Nugent held his position until relieved the next day when he was hospitalized. This officer's bravery, leadership and ability in action denied a vital position to the enemy.

Image

Name of Award

Abbreviation

References

Precedence

Comments

Military Cross

37, 38, 123

MC Citation

Lieutenant Nugent was a platoon commander of the Winnipeg Grenadiers at Hong Kong.

On the night of 24th December 1941 his platoon was in a defensive position on Bennet's Hill when at about 1900 hours the Japanese heavily shelled it with mortar fire for about one hour and then attacked in force, hoping to secure the heights which commanded the only cross Island road left in our hands at this time. His platoon sergeant was seriously wounded as well as two of his remaining non-commissioned officers, and Lieutenant Nugent received a crippling leg wound. In spite of these conditions, he succeeded in driving off the main force of the Japanese attack and, in addition, his platoon inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. Although the platoons on his flanks were driven back by the fierceness of the enemy attack, Lieutenant Nugent held his position until relieved the next day when he was hospitalized. This officer's bravery, leadership and ability in action denied a vital position to the enemy.

Other Military Service

No 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	Death Ref
1970-01-31		Post War	NAC, RG24, Vol.12705
Cemetery Location	Cemetery	Grave Number	Gravestone Marker
	.	Cremation	NA

Gravestone Image

Obituary / Life Story

William Nugent was born and raised in Lindsay, Ontario. He passed away when he was about 53 years old.

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.

Facebook has proven to be a valuable resource in the documentation of 'C' Force members. The following link will take you to any available search results for this soldier based on his regimental number. Note: results may be contained within another related record. Facebook Search Results

→ Related documentation for information published in this report, such as birth information, discharge papers, press clippings and census documents may be available via shared resources in our HKVCA Vault. It is organized with folders named using regimental numbers. Use the first letter of the individual's service number to choose the correct folder, then scroll to the specific sub-folder displaying the service number of your interest.

General Comments

At Hong Kong

A week before the 1st battalion, Winnipeg Grenadiers, left for Hong Kong, LIEUT. W. F. NUGENT transfered to the unit from the Cameron Highlanders. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the son of Mrs. R. S. Nugent, Lindsay, Ont.

End of Report.

Report generated: 04 May 2024.

Back to 'C' Force Home Page

Additional Notes

(These will not be visible on the printed copy)

Service numbers for officers 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.
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.