ItB次元官网网址檚 been a long, long time since Horace B次元官网网址淕erryB次元官网网址� Gerrard was a prisoner of war in Second World War work camps in Hong Kong and Japan.
Still sharp at 95, Gerrard, has no problem remembering details of his time as a prisoner of the Japanese army following the ill-fated battle for Hong Kong in 1941. One of hundreds of Canadian servicemen captured following the surrender, he is today one of just 14 surviving veterans from that theatre of operations.
The affable Langford resident was in the spotlight this week, honoured for his amazing 68 years as a member of the Public Service branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, located in a heritage building behind the old QueenB次元官网网址檚 Printers on Government Street.
He also accepted the presentation of a wall plaque from the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association dedicated in his name, which spotlights various facts about the Hong Kong battle and the taking as POWs of many Canadians.
After a brief thank you speech, Gerrard, also the last living member of Royal Canadian Corps of Signallers from that era, chatted with the B次元官网网址 about his wartime experiences and the conditions he lived in.
B次元官网网址淭he first year as a prisoner [in Hong Kong] I didnB次元官网网址檛 even have a blanket, I had a piece of very light canvas and I used to just throw it down, lay on it and pull it over me,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淲hen we got into Japan, they gave us four blankets and we thought, B次元官网网址榦h my God, this is really good.B次元官网网址� But they were made from wood fibre and they laid together like boards. There was really no warmth in them.B次元官网网址�
After arriving in Japan he was put to work at a shipyard in Tokyo Bay, then in January of 1943 he and others were shipped to the mountains, where Gerrard found himself working in a blacksmith shop. The work was hard, the hours long and there was little in the way of nourishment provided.
B次元官网网址淵ou were hungry all the time, all the time hungry. And of course then a lot of fellas got hit with dysentery and it would run them down.
B次元官网网址淵ouB次元官网网址檇 see a fella and heB次元官网网址檇 get some disease and being in a weak condition heB次元官网网址檇 die of several diseases,B次元官网网址� he said.
B次元官网网址淚 remember one guy, he was 58 pounds. I got weighed once, that would be in B次元官网网址�43, my average weight was about 150 or 155, and I was down to 113.B次元官网网址�
While he suffered from various conditions while a prisoner, he was discharged B次元官网网址淎1,B次元官网网址� meaning he didnB次元官网网址檛 need to go to a military hospital before heading back home.
Other former prisoners werenB次元官网网址檛 as fortunate, however.
Duncan resident Gerry Tuppert, B.C. regional director for the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association, said that segment of Canadian Second World War military history left many suffering.
B次元官网网址淚t lasted 17 days, but in my estimation the real battle was the three years and eight months of survival, the constant deprivation and the conditions [in the work camps and living quarters],B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淒isease was rampant after the first year and they lost a lot of men. Then they were shipped off to Japan as slave labour.B次元官网网址�
TuppertB次元官网网址檚 father, whose image pre- and post-capture graces an association ID card hanging around his sonB次元官网网址檚 neck, was among the Canadian soldiers captured by the Japanese in 1941. He worked in a coal mine and suffered lifelong effects, Tuppert said.
B次元官网网址淢y dad never drove a vehicle when he came back his eyesight had deteriorated so much B次元官网网址� He worked in a coal mine, he had coal dust and he had bronchitis all his life.B次元官网网址�
The family members of Hong Kong veterans Tuppert has spoken to brought up other physical effects of the time as a prisoner of war. B次元官网网址淭hey would say, B次元官网网址榦h dad would always walk with a limp because he was beaten,B次元官网网址� or something else happened. These are the things that are important to know and appreciate. There were huge sacrifices made.B次元官网网址�
GerrardB次元官网网址檚 daughter Pat White and grandson Kevin White were on hand for TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 presentation, as were many current Legion members. Some of them will no doubt be at the Victoria cenotaph Nov. 11 to see Gerrard lay a wreath on behalf of the Hong Kong veterans, a task he has undertaken for decades.
ItB次元官网网址檚 his way of maintaining a link to a past that was dark in many ways, but bright in how it made him feel a part of something bigger, fighting against tyranny with other Canadians.
