Military service
Burial/memorial information
Son of James Johnston Starrett and Minnerva Jane Forbes, of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Husband of Esther Dohm. Father of Sharon Frances Starrett.
Brother of Lance Corporal William James Campbell Starrett, Regimental Number H-2970, 1st Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers, killed in action in Hong Kong on December 20th, 1941.
Enlisted in the Winnipeg Light Infantry - NPAM - matricula 927, from May 23th, 1935 to August 27th, 1939 to join the regular forces of that battalion. He was transferred on January 5th, 1940 to the 1st Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers to serve in Manitoba, Bermuda with B Force, Jamaica with Y Force and Hong Kong with C Force. He had 727 days of service, including 53 overseas.
To commemorate his sacrifice, the Manitoba government named Starrett Island located on Baldock Lake in his honor in 1995.
1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence Medal, Hong Kong Bar.
Digital gallery of Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
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Memorial
Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT is one of 30 members of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps who are commemorated on this panel of the Sai Wan Memorial. He was one of 290 Canadian soldiers killed during the defense of Hong Kong, from December 8th to December 25th, 1941. His brother Corporal EWART GRENFELL STARRETT, aged 27, was killed in the fighting on December 19, 1941, the day before WILLIAM was killed, and is also commemorated at the Sai Wan Memorial -
Memorial
The brother of Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT, Corporal EWART GRENFELL STARRETT, aged 27, was killed in the fighting in Hong Kong on December 19, 1941, the day before his brother was killed, and is commemorated on this panel of the Sai Wan Memorial. -
Newspaper Clipping
Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT and his brother Corporal EWART GRENFELL STARRETT was reported to have been Killed in Action in the Canadian Army¿s 244th overseas casualty list of the war published in the Globe and Mail on January 9, 1942. -
Dedicatory Inscription of the Sai Wan Memorial
Dedicatory inscription of the SAI WAN MEMORIAL. This memorial bears the names of more than 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen, including 228 Canadians. -
Canada and the Defence of Hong Kong
Source: Veterans Affairs Canada. -
Canadian Casuatlies in the Defence of Hong Kong
Source: Veterans Affairs Canada. -
Unknown Marker
The Sai Wan Memorial is located at the entrance of Sai Wan Cemetery. 1,505 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War are buried or commemorated at this cemetery, of which 444 of the burials are the remains of unidentified soldiers, including those of 107 Canadian soldiers, most of whom were killed or died of wounds during the defense of Hong Kong, which took place from December 8th to December 25th, 1941. This is one such grave marker. There is a possibility that the remains of Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT lie beneath this grave marker. The unidentified soldiers are commemorated at the Sai Wan Memorial. -
Photo of Ewart Starrett
In memory of those who served in Hong Kong during World War 11 and did not come home. Submitted with permission on behalf of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association by Operation: Picture Me. -
Photo of Ewart Starrett
Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me. -
Memorial
Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
Digital gallery of
Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett
In the Books of Remembrance
Commemorated on:
Page 45 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance.
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