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The following story appears courtesy of and with thanks to Ronald Parker and Father
Major Maurice Albert Parker:

The Canadians set about familiarizing themselves with their exotic new surroundings. With whatever free time they had, they visited various sites of interest around Kowloon and the island; the rest of the time they spent getting to know their battle stations and the lay of the land.
At first the Canadians were stationed on the mainland. Brigadier Lawson knew that if war were to come it would not be fought on the mainland. He knew Hong Kong Island was the ultimate objective, and battle ground.
Lawson had his troops transported to the island every day to run battle drills and to become even more familiar with its topography. His foresight was to prove valuable indeed when the fighting began.
From an interview with Rifleman John Beebe, No.18 Platoon, Royal Rifles of Canada.
"We lost no time in getting down to work, taking up our posts on guard duty at the permanent dugouts and shelters. These were our future battle stations and we got familiar with the lay of the land during our three day sessions on guard duty. In the following two weeks we got to know the place even better and to like it very well. We drilled hard every morning for two or three hours. We had our own rifles and Brens and although our heavy equipment never arrived, there was plenty of British heavy equipment and we were well-trained in its use."

Continued....
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