Churchill Said we Should not Fight for Hong Kong

Heroes Remember

Churchill Said we Should not Fight for Hong Kong

Transcript

Now Churchill said right from the very beginning we should not fight for Hong Kong, declare it an open port, but then they thought that would affect the Chinese people you know and the Indians, East Indians. They would feel let down by the British giving up a major port without a fight so it was a toss up. It was a kind of a gamble, lets say. But I think that, now Churchill said as they say the war cabinets apparently over-ruled him to a point and they did ask the Canadian Government, King, went along, the top Canadian, Crerar, I think he was. And there’s another one too. They were all wrong and what gets me is they had this ex-governor brigadier somebody or other, supposed to have been there, saw what it is, he told the Canadian Government a whole bunch of lies, that the Japanese couldn’t fight, they couldn’t fight at night, they hated this and that and they couldn’t fly, all this kind of crap. It was all stupid then anyway so maybe the Canadian officers thought it was no danger. But I don’t think the Canadian government should have sent us over the way we were. If we were a well-trained battalion okay if we’re going over to fight let’s know what we are doing. But we weren’t in that position, of course, so by and large the boys were at it for 25 years more, they increased the pension a little bit and finally we had this doctor down in Prince Edward Island there and he worked on it for awhile and finally they did come across and give us a proper balanced pension. Now I will say now that I feel with the situation the way it is, that the Canadian Government have treated our troops, our Canadian prisoners of war, better than most countries in the world. I really do.

Description

Mr. White reflects on the events that led to Canada’s involvement in Hong Kong, and the struggle by Veterans of that theatre of war to receive an adequate pension.

Harry Leslie White

Harry Leslie White was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England, on May 24, 1907. His family emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1911. His father, a First World War Veteran, became a policeman. After finishing grade 6, Mr. White had numerous jobs to help support his family. He did some reserve training and was also taught to box by his father. After being turned down by the air force, Mr. White joined the Winnipeg Grenadiers for basic training in Kingston, Jamaica. Here he also helped guard a POW camp holding German and Italian naval personnel. Once in Hong Kong, he joined E Company. Mr. White was captured, but unlike so many others, spent his entire time as a POW in Hong Kong, working on the Kai Tek airport. After the war, Mr. White established an orchard, and later returned to Eatons, where he had worked prior to the war.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 2:39
Person Interviewed:: Harry Leslie White
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: Hong Kong
Battle/Campaign:: Hong Kong
Branch:: Army
Units/Ship:: Winnipeg Grenadiers
Rank:: Lieutenant

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Churchill Said we Should not Fight for Hong Kong

Heroes Remember