Reunion With The Family

Heroes Remember

Reunion With The Family

I was hospitalized in Hong Kong for about three weeks, and then, I was put on a, a hospital ship and went to a hospital again in Manila, where I was, stayed for roughly another two weeks until I was sent back from Manila to, back to, well we, it was on a, an American warship called the General Howes. I was sent back on that ship via California back to Vancouver. Back to Victoria, actually. Interviewer: What do you remember about returning to Canada? That I breathed a sigh of relief again. Interviewer: How soon was it before you got back to Saskatchewan? Um, well, as I recall it again correctly, I was back in Saskatchewan in something around about October of the, of 1945. Yeah, about October, 1945. Interviewer: What was the reaction of your mother and father? Oh boy! They were just so, well, they thought it was the most wonderful thing that had ever happened to them. Interviewer: How did you feel about it? I felt pretty much the same way.

Home at last...alive!

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.