The Defence of Hong Kong Memorial Wall

The Hong Kong Memorial Wall was unveiled August 15, 2009, dedicated, by the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association, as a lasting memory to the 1,975 Canadians who sailed to Hong Kong in 1941 to assist the British in defending the colony against the Japanese invasion. The Hong Kong Memorial Wall consists of a six-metre concrete wall covered in granite, with the upper part shaped as a mountain landscape.

The names of 961 members of the Royal Rifles are etched on one side of the wall and the names of 911 Grenadiers are on the other side. The 106 members of the Brigade Headquarters, including doctors, dentists and chaplains are listed on either end of the memorial.

Excerpt from the Ottawa Citizen - by Louisa Taylor - Sunday, August 16, 2009 - A testament spoken in stone - Hundreds attend opening of Hong Kong veterans' memorial - to see, touch and remember.

More than 400 people gathered at the corner of Sussex Drive and King Edward Avenue, on the bank of the Rideau River, for the dedication of the elegant granite Hong Kong Veterans Memorial Wall. The wall is etched with the names of all 1,975 men and two women who served in defence of Hong Kong when Japanese troops invaded the British colony in December 1941. They were the first Canadian troops to see battle in the Second World War. Inexperienced, underequipped and heavily outnumbered, the Canadians fought hard for 17 days until they were overrun and forced to surrender. Approximately 291 Canadians were killed in battle, 500 more wounded. Survivors were sent to prisoner-of-war camps, where they faced torture, starvation, and disease. Another 267 died there. When they returned home, their efforts were overshadowed by the events in Europe, and for many years their contribution was largely ignored.

Saturday's event - timed to coincide with the 64th anniversary of VJ Day - aimed to change that picture. About 80 Canadian veterans of the Battle Hong Kong are still alive, and 22 of them were at the ceremony. They walked or were wheeled along a red-carpet receiving line that included three cabinet ministers - Greg Thompson, Minister of Veterans Affairs; John Baird, Minister of Transport; and Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade and the grandson of a Hong Kong veteran - Liberal Senator Vivienne Poy, a native of Hong Kong; and General Walter Natyncyck, Chief of Defence Staff. Still, the veterans - calm, patient, quiet - were always the stars.

The first speaker was veteran Phil Doddridge, President of the Hong Kong Veterans' Association and one of the main champions in the effort to create the memorial. "This ceremony marks the fulfilment of a dream," Doddridge told the crowd, which gave him the loudest cheer. "This is a permanent marker of our place in history."

List of names

[front/devant]

THE WINNIPEG GRENADIERS

[a list of names follows, but the wording is not clear in the photo/une liste de noms suit, mais le texte n’est pas clair sur la photo]

[a list of names follows, but the wording is not clear in the photo/une liste de noms suit, mais le texte n’est pas clair sur la photo]

[sides/sides]

needs further research/recherche incomplète