Remembrance Day

Guy Hansen, Chair, Public Relations

Arden Seven Commemorative Plaza in Jules Mager Park in St. Vital, Winnipeg. In memory of seven young men who volunteered to fight in the Battle of Hong Kong in 1941, all from Winnipeg’s Arden Avenue. George Peterson, was the last surviving member of the Arden Seven.

The Canadian 100th Regiment formed in Morden, Manitoba in 1908. It later relocated to Winnipeg and was renamed the Winnipeg Grenadiers. By 1940, the tough times of the 1930s were starting to disappear, and young Cliff Matthews casually wandered into a recruiting office. He and his brother Alfred enlisted and deployed to garrison duty in tropical Jamaica. By 1941, Britain and Canada became involved in the agony of the Second World War. While most of the fighting initially occurred in Europe, Japan opened the Pacific war on December 7 with surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor, Malaya, the Dutch East Indies, and the Philippines. Even though British defense studies concluded that Hong Kong would be extremely hard to defend in the event of a Japanese attack, Prime Minister Winston Churchill was desperate to defend Singapore and Hong Kong. In late 1941, the British government accepted an offer by the Canadian Government to send a battalion of the Royal Rifles of Canada (from Quebec) and one of the Winnipeg Grenadiers (from Manitoba) and a brigade headquarters (1,975 personnel) to reinforce the Hong Kong garrison. The two Canadian battalions boarded the transport ships, which landed in Hong Kong on November 16, 1941. The Canadians immediately began shoring up the defense fortifications. Some of them had not even fired a training rifle yet.

The battle for Hong Kong was short, lasting only seventeen days. Short of water, without adequate transportation and pounded by the enemy’s superior artillery and command of the skies the defenders did what they could to stem the Japanese advance following their amphibious landing on the island’s beaches. Japanese grenades started landing in the Winnipeg Grenadiers’ trenches and the Canadians were forced to retreat. One grenade seemed larger and was hard to grasp. Without hesitation, Sergeant Major John Osborn smothered it with his body saving the men in his unit. Nevertheless, both Matthews boys were lifted several feet by the blast. They got up dazed and were wounded shortly after. Cliff was expected to die. He lost the use of an arm but survived. John Osborn was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for exceptional bravery. The garrison surrendered on Christmas Day. The captured British, Indian and Canadian soldiers became prisoners of war, first at camps in Hong Kong and later in Japan, where they endured years of beatings, hard labor and inadequate diets.

John Matthews with grandchildren Evan and Mae in Birtle, MB. For a project in his math class, Evan had created a family tree featuring great granddad Cliff. Cliff had gone off with the Winnipeg Grenadiers to fight in the Battle of Hong Kong, 1941, and was lucky enough to return. John, a retired teacher, is representing the Retired Teachers' Association of Manitoba (RTAM).

Hundreds of the Canadian POWs died of illness or from slow starvation. Among the prisoners were seven soldiers from Arden Avenue, including twin brothers, George, and Morris Peterson. George spent the next three years as slave labor in a Japanese coal mine, while Cliff Matthews ground flour with his one good arm and his brother Alfred worked in a Japanese shipyard.

Over five hundred Canadians did not return from that battle. George Peterson of Winnipeg died just this last spring at the age of one hundred. He was the oldest member of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association. There are many memorials to the Hong Kong veterans in Winnipeg. The Army, Navy and Air Force Club on Empress Street, just north of Polo Park, is named after John Osborne. The city unveiled the Arden Seven Commemorative Plaza in Jules Mager Park in St. Vital on July 14, 2014. Although all survived being captured and taken prisoner, only one of the seven was still alive. George Peterson was part of the unveiling ceremony.

Lest We Forget.

Cliff Matthews’ great grandson, Evan Fulton is laying a wreath in Birtle, his hometown. It will be on behalf of the Matthews family, and of the Retired Teachers’ Association of Manitoba. Submitted by the PR Committee, with thanks to John Matthews, a retired Winnipeg teacher, son of Cliff Mattews. n

RTAM Photography

CONTEST

WINTER 2021 PHOTO CONTEST

The two categories are:

1. Candles: Capture the wondrous glow of candles as they light up your life.

2. Water: take a picture of the ocean, a lake, rain, ice or any surface with water drops.

Judging by Gayl Punzalan Creative Director of Blue Ink Media

Full contest rules and entry forms available at www.rtam.mb.ca and at the RTAM office.

All entries to be sent by mail, email, or delivered to RTAM no later than 4:00 p.m., April 6, 2022.