From: The Fall of Hong Kong The Fall of Hong Kong Christmas 1941 by Andrzej Cierpicki “This is all wrong”, minuted Churchill on 7th January, 1941, after reading telegrams from the Commander -in-Chief, Far East, urging the reinforcement of Hong Kong. “If Japan goes to war there is not the slightest chance of holding Hong Kong or relieving it. It is most unwise to increase the loss we shall suffer there. Instead of increasing the garrison it ought to be reduced. Japan will think twice before declaring war on the British Empire, and whether there are two or six battalions at Hong Kong will make no difference. I wish we had fewer troops there, but to move any would be noticeable and dangerous.” How then did Churchill allow himself to be persuaded against his better judgement? The reasons are somewhat complex and due to political pressures, as much as anything else. It is easy to be critical in hindsight but then, as now, not many people were concerned about the adequacy of the defence of Hong Kong, after all Japan had been an ally during WWI and had only recently been recognised as a potential foe. The Admiralty wished at least to deny its facilities to the enemy and the chiefs of staff recommended that since Hong Kong could neither be relieved nor withstand a long siege it should be considered as an outpost, to be held as long as possible. So Churchill was forced to bow to political pressure and to the urgings of his advisors, the garrison would be increased. At the time of writing his minute there were actually four battalions stationed in Hong Kong, with the arrival of the Canadians, in November, this number was increased to six. These reinforcements were effectively good money thrown after bad, the outcome was never in doubt.
Another disgrace for the Western powers but we should remember the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government in Tokyo Bay. It took the British, Americans and Aussies a few years to push back and finally defeat the Japanese and thank God we did.
The fighting in Hong Kong ended with immense Canadian casualties: 290 killed and 493 wounded. The death toll and hardship did not end with surrender. Even before the battle had officially ended, Canadians would endure great hardships at the hands of their Japanese captors. On December 24, the Japanese overran a makeshift hospital in Hong Kong, assaulting and murdering nurses and bayoneting wounded Canadian soldiers in their beds. After the colony surrendered, the cruelty would continue. For more than three and a half years, the Canadian POWs were imprisoned in Hong Kong and Japan in the foulest of conditions and had to endure brutal treatment and near-starvation. In the filthy, primitive POW quarters in Northern Japan, they would often work 12 hours a day in mines or on the docks in the cold, subsisting on rations of 800 calories a day. Many did not survive. In all, more than 550 of the 1,975 Canadians who sailed from Vancouver in October 1941 never returned. When I was in my teens I had the very great privilege to spend quite a bit of time with one of the Winnipeg Grenadier POW's. This man was as tough as nails. He entered captivity at 180 lbs. and weighed in at 85 lbs. upon his liberation. He carried a life long, bitter hatred of everything Japanese. That degree of hostility was a surprise to me then but he had earned to the right to have whatever views he chose. I think he viewed any softening of that attitude as a betrayal of the many friends left behind.
I can remember attending church back in the early 80's. Our pastor had served in the USAAC in WWII and shared a foxhole with Barry Goldwater at Dutch Harbor, manning a .50 cal. during the Japanese attack on 7 December. A large number of his graduating class died during the war, several from torture by the Japanese. I also heard his comments about "...never, ever, buying anyting Japanese". This men paid the price and have the right to hold whatever grudges they wish. And I agree with it. I heard that there is a group in Australia who want the Japanese to take part in the annual ANZAC Day parade; I beleive its wrong. Japan has not come to terms with what it did during the war - either to the Allies, or the civilian population in China [ the rape of Nanking, being one of them ]. More needs to be done to educate Japanese citizens of the cruelty and evil its nation perpetrated on the world. I too met a British POW from the war and he too, held the same beleif as the Canadian [ in the post above ] and my former pastor. I still can't bring myself to buy Japanese either. Off soapbox, Mick
