大象传媒

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

The situation on the Mainland was critical. Brigadier Wallis was under heavy attack and was forced to withdraw all his troops to the island. To cover their withdrawal Maltby ordered "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers to the mainland to hold the line while the Royal Scots, the 2/14 Punjabs and the 5/7 Rajputs moved to Kowloon for evacuation.

The Grenadiers were under the command of Captain Alan Bowman who had been a school teacher in Winnipeg. He used his men with great skill, holding off the Japanese time and again as the Royal Scots, Rajputs and Punjabis began the move back to the island.
The 2/14 Punjabs began to withdraw on December 10/11 moving under cover of darkness.. The 5/7 Rajputs, having protected their withdrawal by holding the vital position of Devil's Peak from the Japanese, followed. Had the Rajputs lost Devil's Peak, the entire mainland force would have been in dire straits. With the Grenadiers in position to cover the withdrawal of the Rajputs they began their march to Kowloon.

On December 12, the Royal Scots were the first to reach Kowloon. With the arrival of the Rajputs and the Punjabis in Kowloon transport was arranged to take them to the Island of Hong Kong. They used every form of water transport at hand, but the main stay of the operation was the fleet of MTB's. Their participation was critical to the successful withdrawal.
In the meantime Captain Bowman, still fighting a rear guard action, awaited instructions to withdraw "D" Coy of the Grenadiers. It never came. Finally, on his own initiative, Captain Bowman led his troops to the ferry docks at Lye Mun and sent word to HQ on the island that he was coming, and to expect his arrival. He advised he was going to use the ferry to make the crossing. He was told ... "The ferry is no longer running".
A half mile of open water is a bit of a swim for a soldier loaded down with equipment, so Lt. Wilfred Queens-Hughes, Transport Officer for the Grenadiers approached the ferry boat Captain and ... at gun point ... persuaded him to make the crossing. Much to the surprise of the Grenadiers a funeral cort猫ge, complete with a horse-drawn hearse, crowded aboard and made the trip to Hong Kong with them. With the Japanese at their backs "D" Company of the Winnipeg Grenadiers were the last to cross from Kowloon to Hong Kong. A twenty year old farm boy from Manitoba, John Grey, missed the ferry, was captured by the Japanese ... and executed. Grey entered the history books as the first Canadian infantry man to die in WWII.
The first demand for surrender came from the Japanese even as the mainland troops were crossing to the island. It was summarily refused by the Governor.

Continued...
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