Hong Kong Falls

Heroes Remember

Hong Kong Falls

Well then came the surrender, the orders to surrender. But then, once again, it was interesting that the, that was, or Christmas Day was the official surrender, but at Stanley Peninsula, the commander would not agree to surrender on Christmas Day. So, he didn't surrender until the following day, Boxing Day. And in that time, of course, there was a lot of, of shelling and carrying on. Interviewer: There were more casualties taken? Yes. Interviewer:The next day, Boxing Day, 1941, Stanley Peninsula surrendered? Yes. Interviewer: What do you recall about the surrender itself? Surrender? Well, I recall being, everyone had to, we had to stock pile all our arms in one particular place in a field and wait for orders from the Japanese, and the first orders came, I think it was either the 27th or the 28th , when we all had to get in and march all the way back to North Point Camp in Hong Kong. Interviewer: During the period when the Japanese Army were taking possession of you as POWs and marching you back to North Point, what was your impression of those Japanese soldiers? Well, it wasn't a very good impression, I can tell you, because some, some of the, some of our people couldn't march too well and they were treated rather badly, and we weren't permitted to rest at all. We were marched all the way back and frankly I forget exactly how many miles or kilometres it might have been, but it was quite a long distance, quite a long march all the way back to, to North Point. And along the way, of course, we saw victims dead. And it wasn't a very pleasant trip. Interviewer: Were these the men that were wounded and couldn't keep up, that they were made victims? Again, as I recall, some of them were. But most of them had obviously been killed during battle and they were on the side of the roads.

Recovered from his wounds, Mr. Routledge is assigned wireless operator to the brigadier in charge of the forces at Stanley. Japanese shelling of the town forces the troops to move to the Stanley Peninsula. Then, on Christmas Day, 1942, the order comes for all Allied forces to surrender to Japan. The commander of the forces on the Stanley Peninsula had other thoughts.

Ronald John Routledge

Mr. Routledge was born September 1, 1920. His father, a decorator by trade, was a member of the Regina Rifles and served in the First World War. Mr. Routledge came from a family of four children. He had three sisters, one older and two younger. His father encouraged him to join the Regina Rifles Regiment cadet program when he was 14. After completing high school, shortly before Canada declared war on Germany, he enlisted with the Regina Rifles. He enlisted with the artillery but soon switched to the Canadian Corps of Signals and trained as a wireless operator. In October, 1941, he and 32 other members of the Signals Corp were told they were headed overseas. They boarded a vessel in Vancouver, not knowing until they were near the Philippines that they were heading for Hong Kong. They eventually arrived in Hong Kong and were assigned to barracks at Shamshuipo. Mr. Routledge was wounded when the Japanese made their first attack on Shamshuipo in December, 1942. After spending time in hospital, he returned to continue his service as a wireless operator. He was taken POW on Boxing Day after the commanding officer of the troops on the Stanley Peninsula surrendered to the Japanese. Following his release at the end of the war, he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), the second highest award for bravery in the British Empire. Mr. Routledge remained in the army as a career soldier.