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Canadian Virtual War Memorial

John Kelburne Lawson

In memory of:

Brigadier John Kelburne Lawson

December 19, 1941
Wong Nai Chung Gap, Hong Kong

Military Service


Age:

54

Force:

Army

Unit:

The Royal Canadian Regiment

Citation(s):

1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-45, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and clasp.

Additional Information


Born:

December 27, 1886
Hull, Perthshire, United Kingdom

Enlistment:

January 11, 1940
Toronto, Ontario

Son of Edward Arthur and Selina Mary Lawson; husband of Augusta Hawkesworth Lawson, of Ottawa, Ontario. Father of Arthur John and Michael Ivan. Brigadier Lawson also saw service in the First World War.

Commemorated on Page 35 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

SAI WAN WAR CEMETERY
Victoria, Hong Kong

Grave Reference:

VIII. C. 27.

Location:

SAI WAN WAR CEMETERY is in the north-east of the island of Hong Kong, in the Chai Wan area, about 11 kilometres from the centre of Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. At the entrance to the cemetery on Cape Collinson Road stands the memorial to those who died in Hong Kong and have no known grave. From it, the cemetery slopes down towards the sea and originally, the view towards the main land was magnificent. The easiest way to reach the cemetery is by the mass transit railway (MTR) Hong Kong line to Chai Wan Terminus. From the Terminus one can either walk up to the cemetery following Chai Wan Road to the roundabout, turning west into Wan Tsui Road, then south east up Lin Shing Road which leads to Cape Collinson Road. The CWGC road direction sign is fixed to a wall facing down Lin Shing Road. The Cape Collinson area has many cemeteries. Walking up this narrow one way traffic road, one will pass the Catholic Cemetery situated on the hillside to the left of the road, and the Hong Kong Military Cemetery on the right. SAI WAN WAR CEMETERY is about half way up Cape Collinson Road and faces the Muslim and Buddhist cemeteries. One can also get a taxi from Chai Wan Terminus and follow the same route. Alternatively one can board a public light bus, Route No. 16M, which runs from Chai Wan MTR Terminus to Stanley where the CWGC has another cemetery, the Stanley Military Cemetery. En route to Stanley the minibus will pass Sai Wan War Cemetery, stopping only on request.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Newspaper Clipping– From the Charlottetown PEI newspaper The Guardian. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– In memory of the men and women memorialized on the pages of the Winnipeg Evening Tribune. Submitted for the project, Operation: Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– Memorialized on the pages of the Globe and Mail. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper Clipping– Remembered on the pages of the Ottawa Journal. Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Star November 1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Toronto Telegram September 1945. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Edmonton Bulletin c.1941. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Newspaper clipping– From the Niagara Falls Evening Review. Submitted for the project Operation Picture Me
  • Medal– Brigadier J. K. Lawson's medals, on permanent display at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto.  Left to right: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal (with bronze oak leaf for Mentioned in Despatches), 1939-45 Star, Pacific Star, Defence Medal, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal (with Overseas Service Bar), War Medal 1939-45, King George VI Coronation Medal, and Croix de Guerre 1914-18 (France).  To the right of these is the Memorial Cross that was issued by His Majesty's Canadian Government, as a memento of personal loss and sacrifice, to Brigadier Lawson's next-of-kin.  (Image taken by Gregory J. Barker of Barrie, Ontario, in 2024.)
  • Grave Marker
  • Group Photo– Major-General Maltby (left) GOC HK talking to Brigadier Lawson CO of the Canadian Forces
  • Newspaper Clipping
  • Grave Marker– GRAVE - LAWSON. CWGC image
  • Newspaper clipping– Toronto Star "Pages of the Past" online
1941, Dec. 23  p 1
  • Photo of John Kelburne Lawson– 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.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

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