A Covering Letter from John Grant: My father, Gordon Grant, joined the RCN in the spring of 1940, then living in Windsor, Ont.. and was first posted to the Esquimault base hospital in Victoria (he was a doc) and then onto HMCS Prince Robert, in 1941. 

He was on the first trip to Hong Kong, to deliver those troops -- probably many of those which you mention the PR picking up there by your dad, after their horrible time as POWs. 

The PR stopped, on its way back from that 1941 trip in Honolulu (not at the US naval base at Pearl though for reasons he explains), then headed out -- evening of 6 December, 1941 -- to return to Esquimault. They were, he says, about 80 miles northeast of Honolulu when they got a piped message that a Japanese fleet was reported to be near them. They tried their radar, which had a range of 80 miles, and it showed nothing. 

The following morning, they were told of the attack then underway by the Japanese on Pearl the morning of 7 Dec.   Their radar, again, showed nothing, but by that time they were considerably northeast of where they had been the evening before. He figures that if the Jap fleet had seen them (they being alone) they were probably ignored in order to protect the surprise which they had for the Americans early the following day.

He remained in the RCN until late '44, and returned from Newfoundland (where he was then stationed as CMO) and returned to Victoria BC to live with his family -- and practice medicine (including at the RCN base hospital at Esquimault for several years) for the balance of his life -- he spent, as "Musings" describes in detail, many months teaching medicine in strange out-of-the-way places!

Father died in 1989, but I am one of his executors, and you have my consent to re-publish, or include that chapter on your site.

Keep up the good work! My email is below.

John F. Grant
jfgrant42@hotmail.com