Ralph Orville Huntington (1923-1942) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Rifleman Ralph Orville Huntington

Born 26 Jan 1923 in New Carlisle, Bonaventure Co., Québec, Canada

Ancestors

Son of Hiram Calvin Huntington and Lucy Jane (Irvine) Huntington

Brother of Edward Calvin Huntington, Alva May (Huntington) Lyons and Aubrey Leonard Huntington

[spouse(s) unknown]

Died 11 Oct 1942 at age 19 in Hong Kong

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Melissa McKay

[send private message]

Profile last modified 10 Apr 2021 | Created 22 Sep 2016

This page has been accessed 556 times.

Biography

Rifleman Ralph Huntington served for in World War II
Service started: Jun 1940
Unit(s): Royal Rifles of Canada R.C.I.C.
Service ended: Died while a POW 11 Oct 1942

Rifleman Ralph Huntington was a Prisoner of War in Hong Kong during World War II.

Ralph was born in 1923. He was the son of Hiram Huntington and Lucy Irvine. Ralph Huntington was a rifleman in the Royal Rifles of Canada R.C.I.C. He died of Diphtheria while POW in 1942. He is buried in Sai Wan War Cemetery, Chai Wan, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, Plot: VIII. C. 11.

Rifleman Ralph Huntington (E30261), of New Carlisle, Quebec, enlisted with the Royal Rifles of Canada in June 1940. In November 1941, he was deployed to the Pacific with other members of 'C' Force. From the East, they travelled across Canada by CNR troop train, picking up reinforcements enroute. Stops included Valcartier, Montreal, Ottawa, Armstrong ON, Capreol ON, Winnipeg, Melville SK, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Jasper, and Vancouver, arriving in Vancouver on Oct 27 at 0800 hrs.

The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the local soldiers that were with Brigade Headquarters from Winnipeg to BC travelled on a CPR train to Vancouver.

All members embarked from Vancouver on the ships AWATEA and PRINCE ROBERT. AWATEA was a New Zealand Liner and the PRINCE ROBERT was a converted cruiser. "C" Company of the Rifles was assigned to the PRINCE ROBERT, everyone else boarded the AWATEA. The ships sailed from Vancouver on Oct 27th and arrived in Hong Kong on November 16th, having made brief stops enroute at Honolulu and Manila.

Equipment earmarked for 'C' Force use was loaded on the ship DON JOSE, but would never reach Hong Kong as it was rerouted to Manila when hostilities commenced.

On arrival, all troops were quartered at Nanking Barracks, Sham Shui Po Camp, in Kowloon.

They fought valiantly in the defence of Hong Hong when the Japanese unexpectedly attacked the city a month after his arrival. After several days of intense fighting, however, the allies were forced to surrender to the Japanese on Christmas day 1941.

Rifleman Huntington became a prisoner of war at Fort Stanley until transferred on Dec 30 1941 to North Point Camp. There he contracted diphtheria and on Sep 26. 1942, he was transferred to Shamshuipo POW camp, Kowloon, Hong Kong, ^[1] where he passed away on October 11, 1942 and then was buried at Sai Wan War Cemetery." Grave Reference: VIII. C. 11.

Built by the Hong Kong government, North Point Refugee Camp was completed in November 1938 to accommodate the influx of refugees from the Mainland. The camp comprised 26 huts of timber construction with concrete floors, except the kitchen which had brick walls. Access to the camp was via Kam Hong Road (St) and Marble Road. Similar refugee camps were constructed in Ma Tau Chung and King's Park The camps were run by the Medical Department with some aid received from charitable organisations. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong it was used as a Prisoner of War camp. ^[2]

North Point Camp was severely damaged during the Japanese invasion of Hong Kong Island on the night of December 18, 1941. It mainly held Canadian and Royal Naval prisoners. North Point was used as a POW camp almost immediately ,non-Chinese civilians from the area were interned there as were the first men of West Brigade who were captured in the battles at the beachheads, Jardine's Lookout, and Wong Nai Chung Gap. After a few months, the Royal Naval prisoners were moved to Sham Shui Po POW Camp and North Point became purely Canadian. Conditions at camp were overcrowded and unsanitary the two main threats that the prisoners faced were disease and the lack of food which proved fatal for the POW's. ^[3]

Sai Wan War Cemetery is in the north-east of the island of Hong Kong, in the Chai Wan area, about 11 kilometres from the centre of Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. At the entrance to the cemetery on Cape Collinson Road stands the memorial to those who died in Hong Kong and have no known grave. ^[4]

Sai Wan Bay Memorial ^[5] honours those men of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. Of the 2,071 names, 228 are Canadian. The Memorial, which is in the form of a shelter building 24 metres long and 5.5 metres wide, stands at the entrance to Sai Wan War Cemetery, outside Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. From the semi-circular forecourt, two wide openings lead to the interior of the building. The names are inscribed on panels of Portland stone. The dedicatory inscription reads:

1939-1945

THE OFFICERS AND MEN WHOSE MEMORY IS HONOURED HERE DIED IN THE DEFENCE OF HONG KONG IN DECEMBER 1941 AND IN THE ENSUING YEARS OF CAPTIVITY AND HAVE NO KNOWN GRAVE

The northern side of the Memorial is open, and four granite piers support the copper roof. From a commanding position 305 metres above sea level, it looks out over the War Cemetery where some 1,500 men lie buried, and across the water to Mainland China - a magnificent view of sea and mountains.