HILLMAN  WWII SCRAPBOOK
HMCS PRINCE ROBERT
TRIBUTE SITE

WWII HONG KONG
 I. SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES
Preparing to Meet the Japanese Invasion

By 1941 the Japanese forces had swept across much of China.
See:
The Second Sino-Japanese War

Hong Kong was being flooded with waves of refugees.
Britain realized that Hong Kong almost certainly would soon be attacked.
Canada answered the call for troops which were transported by HMCS Prince Robert.
Ironically the same ship would rescue the survivors of this force four years later.


1940 recruitment posters for volunteers to defend Hong Kong

Canadian propaganda cartoon predicting victory over the Japs in Hong Kong


Winnipeg Grenadiers at Osborne Barracks before departure to Hong Kong



Canadian cap with button

Badge of the Royal Canadian Rifles
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War dog "Gander" being led to the train as his Regiment 
(Royal Rifles of Canada)heads to the West Coast and on to Hong Kong

Royal Rifles, with mascot Gander, 
awarded the Dickin Medal in 2000
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 Winnipeg Grenadiers about to leave Canada for Hong Kong

Uniforms
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1941 officers of the Canadian troop on board HMCS Prince Robert troop ship to Hong Kong.
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H.M.C.S. PRINCE ROBERT ARRIVES AT HONG KONG
November 16, 1941

Peaceful Hong Kong Harbour
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The Canadian contingent - the largest single body -
The first to arrive in Hong Kong

John Robert Osborne
Sgt-Major of the Canadian Grenadiers
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Canadian Soldiers Disembark HMCS Prince Robert
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The Canadian force marches through Kowloon to Sham Shui Po barracks
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PREPARING DEFENCES

Canadian troops at a machine gun fire control post.

Canadian gun section on a Hong Kong hillside
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Canadian Bren Gun crew on a firing exercise before hostilities commenced
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A group of Canadian signallers manning a PSN in the hills

Canadian troops establish a signals post on a Hong Kong mountainside.

The Regiment was overrun by the Japanese on Christmas Day 1941.
Continued in Part II: The Japanese Attack

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Bill Hillman