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HMCS PRINCE ROBERT TRIBUTE SITE 
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Aug. 30, 1945– HMCS Prince Robert arrives in Hong Kong to free Canadian POWs from Japanese camp there.
The bitter fighting in Hong Kong in December 1941 took a heavy toll on the some 1,975 Canadian soldiers who saw action there before being forced to surrender. The survivors would spend more than 3 ½ years in harsh Japanese prisoner of war camps until the war in the Pacific finally came to an end in August 1945. On August 30, 1945, HMCS Prince Robert arrived in Hong Kong to repatriate the Canadian POWs who had been imprisoned there. Pictured are crew members of the Prince Robert visiting POWs in their camp before taking them back to the ship. Photo: Library and Archives Canada
More information: www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/history/second-world-war/canadians-hong-kong
More at: http://www.hkvca.ca
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I added my PR Tribute witht he Hong Kong material.
My post got one LIKE . . . from myself :(
Bill Hillman
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Murray Edmand Japanese at that time considered surrendering a disgrace and those that did so were treated as if subhuman. Conditions were more than harsh.
Judy Prieston-Preston My father was there, Riley Prieston of the Winnipeg Grenadiers and was a prisoner of war and treated brutally, starved & worked like slaves.. He came home only to be killed on his farm 10 years later. His younger brother, William Prieston was killed in Hong Kong and buried in San Wan Cemetary. Good luck finding this battle in any history books, these soldiers have been the forgotten ones.
Li Daniel As a Canadian/ Hongkonger, they will never be forgotten.Sandy Skelton Our family will always remember our uncle, Sydney Skelton. His diaries are in Canadian archives.
Geoff Moore Sandy , Sydney Skelton is mentioned several times in the book The Lasting Honour .Glen Mathews My uncle Alex Fortin was one of these prisoners, starved, an almost worked to death for 44 months.
Robert Lee and you think that japenese cars are cheap, may well be the same companies who used slave labor, what price freedom and democracy
Marjorie Stintzi Mitsubishi used slave labour.Joe Godbout Go to Kanchanaburi Thailand sometime to get an idea how the Japanese treated their P.o.w and people of occupied countries. Death Railway.
Kenneth C. Wong People of Hong Kong also remember and will always be grateful for your sacrifices
Matt Lacroix I once met someone whose father was headed to Hong Kong with I believe the Winnipeg Grenadiers. When his ship stopped in the Caribbean on the way he was ordered back to Canada because he was deemed to old to deploy.
Bruce M. Cameron Canadians need to remember this very cruel treatment of our citizens every time we talk about how we treated Japanese citizens of Canada during WWII. Desperate measures for desperate times. Thank God for those brave souls who survived & those who never.
REPLIES:
Helen Shupe You took the words right out of my mouth Bruce!!!!! My father spent 44 months in those horrible conditions and I can not stand hearing the Japanese here belly ache about the bad treatment we gave them!!! I don't like Japs at all !!!Judy Pitcher The Japanese were actually treated better here than they treated our soldiers in their POW camps. Quite frankly we have no reason to apologize. As you say Bruce Cameron, 'desperate measures for desperate times'.
Susan Morrow Helen Shupe the Japaese here were not at war..Some were 2nd and 3rd generation Canadians...My uncle was a POW for four years in Germany...That was a very long time ago..Also my Dad fought all over Europe for the duration of the war ..Your racism makes me sick
Ted Parys Doc Halliday No it's not. If you forgive you forget. Never forget. The nips did this because they hated Canada and some are still doing anything they can to hurt Canada. David Suzuki is a prime example.
Judy Pitcher Doc Halliday Forgive, just never forget, so these things are never done again. We forgave them, have they forgiven us? Not from what I've heard, yet.
Mo Watts Susan: Perhaps it's because that was her father and she heard from him herself their horrid treatment of her Dad. It's close and personal with Helen Shupe.
Bob Burdoff saw a docco' ages back & the story went, in the closing days of the war they were planning to butcher the remaining prisoners if Japan fell (as they had often done through out the war) - so makes me angry when they talk about Nagasaki & Hiroshima as war crimes.... just my 2 cents worth. Here in NZ it's funny how today we embrace the Japanese as (as wonderful trading partners) & demonize the Chinese. almost like the Japanese atrocities in WW2 & Manchuria never happened.
Heather Yampolsky The "Japanese" referred to were Canadian citizens and not enemies of Canada. Some of the comments here show an enduring racism.
Heather Yampolsky My ancestors were Russian. That makes us people with an enduring hatred of Canadian values too, right? Russia was allies with Germany at the start of the war. Then Russia became the evil empire. My family has been here over a century, but we still must despise Canada. That is the logic of your post, Helen.
Darcy Steele Ted Parys A Canadian citizen is a prime example of a Japanese citizen? Wha?
Darcy Steele Two wrongs don't make a right. I do know many Japanese who are embarrassed by their country's actions during WWII. It cuts both ways. And the Canadian government had an anti-Japanese bent prior to WWII as well. This all just didn't suddenly start because of the war.
Rita Garford I may be wrong, but if we forget, we may well forget our veterans also.
Mo Watts Heather Yampolsky: Helen Shupe is coming from the perspective of her own father as a POW who was tortured and starved by the Japanese in the war camps, not the Japanese Canadian citizens here in encampment during the war. As I said earlier, it's close and personal with her because it was her father who was tortured by the Japanese in the war camps during WW2. My Dad in the Navy rescued these POW's and brought home photo books of the Canadians tortured and these pictures in the article show a few POW's who looked healthy compared to the hundreds of Canadians were literally skin and bone. At least the Japanese in encampments here weren't tortured and were fed and treated with dignity and respect, unlike our Canadians in their pow camps. That's the difference.
Mo Watts Heather Yampolsky: You have no reason to despise Canadians because we treated our POW's as the humans they were. As a matter of fact, POW's during the war were happy to come to Canada as POW's because they were treated with dignity, not tortured, to wait out the war.
Vince Owens Amen
Bill EadyBill Eady We stole the stores,boats etc of Japanese Canadians and put them in camps. Never paid them back. We have apologised to Chinese for head tax, apologised for sending a ship filled with Indians back to India and of coarse our Indians that we apologise monthly it seems and hand out millions of dollars. We screwed the Japanese because the Yankees did.
Elin Horsman My cousin was a POW in Hong Kong.He survived but took a long time to recover.Trent Omand Image may contain: plant, grass, outdoor and nature
Susan Waters My Aunty May was a nurse when Hong Kong fell. She was one of 2 Canadian nurses held as POWs . She passed away in her 80's. She was an amazing woman
Marjorie Stintzi These guys are in good shape compared to most POWs held by the Japanese. Anyone who wants to know more should go www.hkvca.ca and check out their archives.
Terry Mulcahy The history of the "Hong Kong Battalion" is not well known or understood. The background on its recruitment and the reasons for its deployment are rarely discussed or explained. "We learn from history or are doomed to repeat it."
Alex Cupples I met a former POW of the Japanese who wrote a book about his experiences. When they were liberated, they had to be fed a special diet to slowly bring them back to eat normally. Some binge ate and died. Other men would go to a bar and get so drunk, the…See More
REPLIESFrank Normand My dad was there, rifleman Andre Normand with the Royal Rifles of Canada....spent a full year in the hospital after he returned battered and in bad shape... Tough as nail he was! And a proud Canadian!
Frank Sagi I was in Winnipeg back in the 70's and think it was the Winnipeg Rifles were having a Hong Kong Vets reunion. I should have talked with some of them but at the time figured I would let them remember amongst themselves. Now know it was missed opportunity to be a fly on the wall and learn from those that were there.Alex Cupples Frank Sagi...that would have been the Winnipeg Grenadiers, they were in Hong Kong.
Frank Sagi Oh Sorry my bad. Now what was the other unit. Darn I wish I could remember the name of the book I read. Was advertised in the back of the Legion Magazine probably 20 years ago and I ordered it
Alex Cupples Winnipeg is home to the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the Queens Own Cameron Highlanders, the Fort Garry Horse, the Grenadiers were disbanded in 1965. Also prior to WWII, Winnipeg was the home of The Lord Strathcona’s Horse, the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI) and C Battery of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. In the mid 1970's, the 3bn RCR were stationed at Kapyong.
Margaret Simons Frank Sagi It was the Roayal Rifles of Canada and they were based in Quebec City. My Dad enlisted as soon as war broke out. Thankfully he came home, married and had us. If you want to read a good book on the subject try "The Dammed" by Nathan Greenfield 2010.
Margaret Simons Sorry, that should read Royal Rifles of Canada and yes the Winnipeg unit was The Winnipeg Grenadiers.
Janine Horton They would have died from "refeeding syndrome" which can be deadly in people who have been starving. The medical community really didn't know about this until after the effects of WW2. This also happened to concentration camp survivors. lest we forget
Mo Watts I have a photo book my Dad brought back....the pow's in those pictures were skin and bones, literally.
Judith Spencer The Canadians took my English father with them when they left and nursed him back to health in Vancouver before he was returned to England. My family will not forget their kindness and compassion.
Ivy Tobin A dear family friend was one of these men.. He was a padre who was treated terrible. He was a kind gentleman...
Robyn Williamson I have no idea what they had to endure, but we will always Remember them and honour them for fighting for the freedom we all enjoy today.
Roy Motton At Excerpt from the Britain at war series on treatment of Canadian P.O.W.'s.: This Labour consisted of some heavy tasks. They worked dawn to dusk breaking and carrying stone from one place to another. Then at night they returned to their calamitous huts. It is very difficult to comprehend how some of the prisoners survived these concentration camps when the mere task of going to the bathroom was a nightmare. Basic necessities such as a toothbrush or bar of soap were beyond their access. They were immersed in lice and bedbugs. The squalor was just about unbearable and hygiene just did not exist. They bathed only when the guards allowed them to swim. Their sores became infected and infested with maggots and pus; there was no paper to wipe the waste from their bodies so they had to resort to the use of their hands. Rags took place of clothing and the scorching summer temperatures and frigid winters were increasing the extremity while decreasing the resistance to stay alive.Jim Brown I was in Hong Kong in May, and made a point of visiting Sai Wan Military Cemetery. That is where 175 Canadians killed in the Hong Kong action, or as POWs later, are interred. Sadly, I did not get to Stanley Military Cemetery, where more Canadians are buried.
Stephen Gratrix YES AND CANADAIAN SOLDIERS NEVER GOT APPOLOGY FROM THE JAPANESE..NOR COMPENSATION..DID THEY..AND YET THEY WANT THIS FROM US? RIP.FOR OUR FALLEN VETERANS..AND THOSE SOLDIERS WHO WERE TREATED BADLY BY YHE JAPANESE
Robert Thomas That was the ship my grandfather Fred McFadden serviced on RIP. As he put it " it wasn't recommended travel" the greatest generation!
Bob Batley I am named after the Prince Robert because it was how my father was transported to Hawaii to recover from his incarceration of almost 5 years ! Thankyou for your service !
Frank Sagi When they had the tsunami some people got bent out of shape that I had no sympathy. I said what about the soldiers they bayoneted in their hospital beds in Hong Kong. Have read books on the Canadians sent to Hong Kong and the aftermath. Have no desire to even visit Japan.
Mo Watts And starved and worked them to death.Darryl Roy I have no respect for the Japanese on how the treated all their prisoners of war. They still can't admit there cruelty
Mo Watts My Dad was in the Navy and on the HMCS Prince Robert that brought home our pow's from Kowloon, Hong Kong, Australia they made stops at before Vancouver, B.C. He was a Saskatchewan teenager who never saw the ocean before. He brought home a photo book from these places and the pow's were literally skin and bone, with pictures from Kowloon, Hong Kong. Terrible treatment. My husband handmade Dad's ship of the HMCS Prince Robert.
Leslie Bullough-Abram That's very interesting Mo. I did not know that about your dad.
Catherine Ridout My father was also on the HMCS Prince Robert in 1945. He was the radar operator. He's still alive! Will be 92 on November 24.Joe W. Greenwood My Uncle John Pople was one of the Prisoners Tortured for 44 months. But Thanks be To God he survived...
Kerry Ann Boudreaux My father was serving in Borneo when it was taken over by the Japanese in WWII he would never talk about it but at his funeral one of his Comanding Officers spoke telling us that as the Japanese would not provide food for the sick who could not work Dad would get out under the fence to bring back food that the locals would provide. These were very brave men.
Julie Evans We should never forget the cruelty these brave men and women suffered under the Japanese and yet the Japanese have never apologized . God Bless those who never came home and Thank you for your service.??
Butch Pearson Lost my uncle Douglas Pearson in Hong Kong. Never got to meet him. The survivor's accounts of the imprisonment are very troubling and make it difficult to understand if the present Japanese appearances are the norm or whether the Hong Kong Japanese attitude is just under the surface.
Yasso Leung My relatives suffered badly during the Japanese invasion & occupation of Hong Kong. I was brought up to hate ALL Japanese. But after my immigration to Canada, I have learnt to forgive (though not forget) the atrocities of the Japanese soldiers. And I definitely do not hold grudges against civilians and Canadians of Japanese descent.
Don Huntington Unfortunately, my brother was not among those "freed". He was one of those who was worked and starved to death in a POW camp. Just bones and some skin were left by the time he died.
Denny G My grandfather was aboard the Robert as it sailed into Kowloon. He was Cpt. Creary's coxswain. (personal chef)... C.P.O. Edgar Brodbeck. There is a famous pic of two men wrestling on board during an equator crossing, Edgar is holding the sword!
Catherine Ridout My father was also on the HMCS Prince Robert in 1945. He was the radar operator. He's still alive! Will be 92 on November 24.
Sandy Skelton Veterans and widows did receive compensation, but long after the fact.
Roy Motton At Excerpt from the Britain at war series on treatment of Canadian P.O.W.'s.: This Labour consisted of some heavy tasks. They worked dawn to dusk breaking and carrying stone from one place to another. Then at night they returned to their calamitous huts. It is very difficult to comprehend how some of the prisoners survived these concentration camps when the mere task of going to the bathroom was a nightmare. Basic necessities such as a toothbrush or bar of soap were beyond their access. They were immersed in lice and bedbugs. The squalor was just about unbearable and hygiene just did not exist. They bathed only when the guards allowed them to swim. Their sores became infected and infested with maggots and pus; there was no paper to wipe the waste from their bodies so they had to resort to the use of their hands. Rags took place of clothing and the scorching summer temperatures and frigid winters were increasing the extremity while decreasing the resistance to stay alive.
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