147 The Royal Canadian Legion MANITOBA & NORTHWESTERN ONTARIO COMMAND www.mbnwo.ca GARD, Fred WWII Fred enlisted on September 14, 1939 and took his basic training at Minto Armouries and Fort Osborne Barracks. He served with the Winnipeg Grenadiers as a Private. He went to Jamaica on the ship, Queen Virginia, in May 1940. Mostly he guarded German and Russian prisoners of war. He even guarded Rudolf Hess. He returned to Canada in the beginning of October 1941 on two weeks leave. They then went to the west coast and got on a ship at Vancouver, travelling in a convoy. They were on the ocean for about three weeks. They landed in Hong Kong in November 1941. The Japanese had invaded Hong Kong on December 8, 1941. Fred was taken prisoner on December 18, 1941, then Hong Kong fell to the Japanese on December 25, 1941. He spent some time at North Point Camp. The Japanese then moved him to Sham Shoo Poo Camp then to Camp Kalloon in China. Later the prisoners were loaded on a ship to go to Japan. They were put down in the hold. It was so crowded they had to stand upright for four days, they even slept standing up! They got off the ship at Nagasaki on the fifth day. All they had on their feet were sandals and they had to stand in the snow for about two hours. Then, they were loaded on a train and taken to Yokohama, where they worked in shipyards. They were then taken to the coal mines. Their food consisted of one cup of boiled rice three times a day. When the war ended, the Americans started to drop food which was a good treat for the former prisoners. Fred was with Roy Stodgell all the way through everything. While in Japan, after the war ended, they were close to Mount Fujiama. There was a volcano there. Thousands of Japanese jumped into the volcano committing harikari. Fred returned to Guam by plane, then to San Diego by the ship, Iowa, and then by train to Winnipeg. He was discharged on March 12, 1946. After the war, he resided in Fisherton. GARD, Jack WWI Jack signed up on February 4, 1916, and went overseas in April 1916 with the 61st Battalion Canadian Infantry. This outfit was disbanded and he was transferred to the 44th Canadian Infantry Battalion. He trained in England then crossed the channel to Le Havre, France, in early July. From there, he went to Ypres and Salient, Belgium, sometime in September 1916. They marched from there to Somme, France. Jack was wounded at Regina Trench, near Courcelette, on October 25, 1916 and ended up in Dr. Stephen’s Hospital in Dublin, Ireland in November 1916. In April 1917, he was sent to Epsom, England. He was convalescing there until July 1917, at which time he was sent back to Canada. He then was convalescing at Tuxedo for two or three months. Finally, he got his discharge certificate on January 31, 1918. Jack resided in Winnipeg with his wife Myrtle.
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