Manitoba Veterans Vote

Presidents Report

We received a fairly good response to the questionnaire that we mailed to our membership in regards to the upcoming disposition of our Association.

To those who took the time to reply, a great big thank you. To those of you who did not, I sincerely hope that you were able to attend our special general meeting that we held at the #4 Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion on Saturday, April 7^th, 2001, to voice your opinion. The results of this meeting and of our questionnaire will be shown in another part of this newsletter.

I am happy to report that I attended a Winnipeg Grenadier Cadet Corp parade recently and gave a talk on the history of the Winnipeg Grenadiers (MG) when the regiment was formed also when we were amalgamated with the 10^th Battalion Canadian Machine Gun Corps, etc. I also spoke in regards to the Battle of Hong Kong and our ensuing years in the hands of the Japanese. My oration was very well received. I am also glad to report that there has been a n upsurge in the Cadet Corps attendance in recent months.

The last meeting of our Commemorative Association that I was able to attend was on Saturday, March 24^th. The plans for our National Convention in August are well in hand. The Commemorative Association is to be congratulated for their dedication to us, the Hong Kong Veteran.

Respectfully, George Peterson

Winnipeg Grenadier's Hong Kong Trust Fund

We are still seeking donations for the Winnipeg Grenadiers Hong Kong Trust Fund and cheques should be made out in that name (not HKVA). The Hong Kong Veterans' Association make a donation to this fund in memory of each deceased veteran member .

Contributions can be directed to Donna Remillard at 303-740 Kenaston Boulevard, Winnipeg, MB R3N 1Y3 or phone her at 489-0008.

Team Canada

(Barry Mitchell works for the Provincial Government and because of his involvement with the Hong Kong Veterans' Association he was asked to suggest something for the Premier of Manitoba to see in his free time on a recent trip to China. He suggested a visit to the Sai Wan Cemetery as so many of our Manitoba fellows are buried there.)

Barry writes: You will recall that I mentioned that some members of Team Canada (trade mission to China) were going to attend a ceremony at the Sai Wan Bay cemetery on February 17.

Our departmental representative tells me the ceremony went really well on a bright and sunny day in Hong Kong. Both Premier Doer of Manitoba and Premier Harris of Ontario laid a wreath. It seems three other Premiers wanted to attend as well but protocol meant that they would have to lay wreaths as well and none could be provided in time. Thus they couldn't attend but I believe that at least one of their wives showed up in an unofficial way. In any event, the service was very moving with the International School singing, boy scouts arranged in line along the pathways and a bugler accompanying the raising and lowering of the flag.

The master of ceremonies was a former Winnipeg fellow who is connected to the reserve and was thus all decked out in his uniform. Everyone was truly impressed with the ceremony itself plus the remarkable setting that is the Sai Wan Bay cemetery.

A reception was held on the site after the event. I'm told that Manitoba budgeted $3,500 for the arrangements and that Ontario shared in the cost as well. Premier Doer was taken to my uncle's (and dad's) grave site and my connection to Hong Kong and the Manitoba Government was explained to him. I'm also told that many of the politicians and many of the businessmen really, really wanted to attend this ceremony and it was considered as a very special part of their itinerary. The Ontario guys arrived with a list of all the Ontario boys who are buried there (27 in total) and numerous photographs were taken throughout the morning.

Thought you might be interested in this story.

Barry M.

Hong Kong Veterans' Commemorative Assoc'n

Hello all!

Well spring is here and the golfers will be out soon. Hopefully you had a decent winter. Over the winter the HKVCA have been working to get the convention running smoothly. Everything is coming together at our end.

We were aware that the due date for registration was early in order to finalize our commitments, however we can extend the date to May 31 - but that is critical. So please send in your registrations as soon as possible. Also don't forget to make your hotel reservation if required.

As a point of clarification, the convention cost of $90.00 is all inclusive - this covers your attendance at the meetings (Wednesday - Saturday), the dinner and brunch on Sunday . The $60.00 fee is for Saturday dinner only. There was some confusion about the agenda for the Friday meeting being open - but only open to convention registrants. There will be special name tags for the registrants which will allow them entrance to these events. Hopefully that will clarify any confusion.

There are many activities and surprises for everyone. Please try to attend or if you need more information please call me, Juliet Lafortune at 338-3354.

Oeyama POW Camp

I correspond annually with Mr John Pople, who served a brief spell in Oeyama POW camp during WW2 at the same time as my father, WO1 H L "Dixie" Deane,

Royal Engineers, who was also captured at Hong Kong. John was kind enough recently to send me a copy of the December 2000 issue of the Manitoba Branch of the Hong Kong Veterans Association of Canada newsletter and I was wondering if I could seek some information about my father's POW activities through the columns of your publication. Dad died in 1981.

Dad and 3 other senior NCOs at Oeyama were courtmartialled after the war in Canada, Dad and 2 others at Fort Osbourne Barracks in Winnipeg in March and April 1946 and another in Montreal. The charges related to assaults on fellow POWs, Winnipeg Grenadiers and others, when all four were responsible

for maintaining camp discipline. Dad and one other were found not guilty, I believe the sentences of the other two may have later been quashed.

I have recently retired and am living in Canberra, Australia after serving in the British Army, the Hong Kong Police and the Australian Army. For about the last 18 years I have also been doing some freelance writing and book reviewing, and at various times have been considering writing a book about Dad's wartime experiences and the different psychological pressures and tensions operating in the doubtless hot-house environment and grim conditions of a POW camp occupied by prisoners from varying Western backgrounds and controlled by a race with a markedly different cultural outlook.

It is not intended to make the book any sort of whitewash of what Dad and the others did, but to illustrate the numerous attitudes and points of view that have to be taken into account in order to give a rounded, non-judgmental picture of what went on in such a situation so that it can be fully understood by those of us fortunate enough never to have had to experience it. As a veteran myself -- Vietnam 1969-70 -- I can appreciate that things happen in wartime that civilians whose only news source is the daily media may have difficulty in apprehending. In fact, I envisage the book being along the lines of the Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa's "Rashomon", in which the tale of a violent act is refracted through the conflicting testimony of four honest witnesses.

Dad rarely spoke about the war, and as my career after I turned 18 took me away from home and largely out of England and involved with other interests,

I never asked him much about it. However, I do know he bore no one any ill-will following the court martial, and I have a newspaper clipping from the Winnipeg Free Press files dated May 11, 1946, in which he says that all the Winnipeg Grenadiers who were with him at Oeyama had been very friendly to him during his stay in Winnipeg and the four witnesses against him had been extremely fair.

I am in the throes of contacting the Canadian Defence Department to see if I can obtain transcripts of the proceedings, and a lady at the Winnipeg Free Press library is kindly looking through their files to see what was reported on the three other cases -- they sent me their files on Dad's case several years ago when I first began collecting information but unfortunately other matters intervened.

So if any of your newsletter's recipients can cast any of the more human element into the picture I am trying to build up, I would be most grateful to hear from them, whether they have firsthand accounts or otherwise.

Regards, William Roger Deane

(Editor: Please send any comments to the editor to pass on to Mr. Deane)

Website Update

-Linda May

Well, we have finally done it!!! Our website has finally found a permanent home!! We can now be found at http://www.hkvca.ca Nifty, isn't it?? We should have a lot less problems than we did when we were at the xoom site. We are also currently completely revamping the site. We will have a whole new look, and it will be great. Thanks to Bill Kellas for his untiring efforts in this major effort, and to Fred Lemley for all his graphic work.

Sadly, our old discussion forum is no longer. The company that was providing it for us gave us no warning that it was going out of business, and we lost all of the old posts. BUT we now have a new message board, and would love you to drop by and post a line or two. You can get to the discussion board by going to the website, and clicking on Discussion Forum. As always, we are grateful for any submission of pictures, letters, any thing you would care to share.

We have been contacted by John McKay who has graciously allowed us to reproduce a song written for Pte Francis Little (his grandfather). Look for it soon, on the new and updated site!!!

As always, I am available by phone at 519-770-4099 or email at hkvca@hkvca.ca Please don't hesitate to call or write!!!

Royal Rifles

For all you computer literates, check out this web site, www.geocities.com/rcwpca. This web site contains the memoires of Major M.A. Parker, from Quebec City, Quebec, who was the Officer Commanding "D" Company of The Royal Rifles of Canada. This site is in his honour and for the men of 'C' Force.

Ron Parker, son of Major Parker, with the help of his family, have produced the story, accompanied with pictures, as related in his father's diary.

This story was a great interest to Phil Dodderidge, who was Maj. Parker's company clerk.

We were able to find a missing piece of the memoires in recalling the name of the 19 year old 2nd. Lt. Charles French, who was killed while retaking Jardine's Lookout and Mount Butler. We are grateful to Art Loussier and Dick Wilson who were able to recount some of this history for us.

Senator Gil Molgat

What a shock, as a nation, to loose such a distinguished statesman!! However is was more devastating for those people who were on the Pilgrimage to Hong Kong and Japan in December. Senator Molgat, or 'Gil' (as he asked us to call him) and his wife Allison, were so vital, energetic and an integral part of your journey.

Even though Gil was cognizant of the history of the Hong Kong Vet and in particular the Winnipeg Grenadiers (as a native Manitoban), he and Allison became familiar with each member of the Pilgrimage and their particular story. He referenced some of these individual stories in his addresses at the various ceremonies to personalize and give ownership to the event. He was a remarkable man and will be sorrowfully missed by all who knew him. Our sympathy was extended to Allison and family on behalf of the HK and the HKVCA.

"We will remember them"

C.O.F.E.P.O.W

This acronym stands for Children (and Families) of Far East Prisoners of War. I have recently met Carol Cooper (over the internet) who is the Director of this group. She has a wonderful web site located at www.cofepow.org.uk In my correspondence with Carol, I have learned that they have had a couple of tree plantings as a memorial to their veterans - here are her words,

"We have only planted two, as yet, but both occasions have been very successful. The first one was planted in the gardens of a Crematorium in Norwich, where most of our local members live. It just seemed appropriate to plant it there and they were very accommodating and let us choose the spot. Our tree was an umbrella shape (or will be as it grows bigger) and turns lovely orange, mauve and red shades in Autumn. It is surrounded by a circle of pretty red bricks with a bronze plaque.

We have a nice story attached to this tree. We held a Dedication and Remembrance Service before the planting of each tree and when we planted the first one, we asked a very good friend ours, the Secretary of the Norwich Fepow Branch, Fred Eva, if he would address the congregation and say a few lines. This he did and we were all very moved. But eighteen months later he died and it was his wish that his ashes were planted around the roots of our tree. Wasn't that wonderful. We now know that our first tree will always flourish in memory of all Far East Prisoners of War - it has Fred looking after it.

Our second tree was planted in the grounds of Elstow Abbey in Bedford. One of our members live close by and she approached the Vicar. This Abbey has strong connections with the Fepows and it has a separate Alter which was dedicated to them some years ago and an annual Service is always held there by the Fepows. Naturally they were very pleased that we wanted to plant a tree there also in their memory. It was a grand occasion and the large Abbey was packed to the brim with lots of dignitaries being present. The annual service is on the 3rd June and we will all go."

I agree with the COFEPOW that our soldiers should be remembered in some way and what could be more fitting than trees. Environmental issues aside, the trees would symbolize the strength, endurance and steadfastness of our soldiers. Even though the enemy destroyed the body, we their seed have inherited their qualities and will always remember the sacrifices they endured on our behalf. On our recent Pilgrimage to Japan in December, a Canadian Maple was planted in Yokohama cemetery where so many of our soldiers were murdered in prison camp.

With this thought in mind, maybe HKVCA would entertain a project of this type.

Last Post

† Jack Goodey, September 9, 2000

• †Raymond Pellor, December 11, 2000

• †Tom Bourbonniere, February 4, 2001

• †Jim Houston, February 8, 2001
• †Ike Friesen, March 8, 2001

Our thoughts and prayers are extended to the families and friends.