Nova Scotia/Nunavut Command of The Royal Canadian Legion www.ns.legion.ca 45 Hormidas Fredette – The last survivor of C Force Story: Gary Silliker On the 24th of April 2023, I was listening in on a webinar from the University of Ottawa about the ‘myths and memories’ of the Canadian soldiers of C Force. During the lecture I learned that Mr. George MacDonnell had died on 15 April and that Mr. Hormidas Fredette of New Minas, NS, was now the last Canadian survivor of the Battle of Hong Kong. Serendipitously, a few days earlier, I had learned that Mr. Fredette was living in New Minas. I knew I had to take time to meet with Mr. Fredette. Over that past 35 years I have had the privilege to speak with several Canadian veterans of the Battle of Hong Kong and I knew Mr. Fredette would be my last. I had a lovely and informative visit with Hormidas on 5 May. Here is some of his story. CANADA Hormidas Fredette was born in 1917 in the small town of Upper Melbourne, which is just on the outskirts of Richmond, in the Eastern Townships of Quebec (Upper Melbourne was the scene portrayed on the 1954-1974 Canadian two-dollar bill). As a teenager he found employment as a farm labourer and woodsman. Life was hard for his family as they made their way through the Great Depression. During that time Hormidas joined the local militia unit, Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, and became a very proficient operator of the Vickers machine gun. In 1940, as Canada went to war, he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Rifles of Canada. The Royal Rifles soon became part of ‘W Force’ of the Canadian army and served in Newfoundland on garrison duty from early November 1940 to August 1941. Rifleman Fredette’s last place of duty, while in Newfoundland, was in St John’s. It was there he met Lillian Mitcham – they were engaged to be married before he left Newfoundland. HONG KONG After leaving Newfoundland the battalion became part of ‘C Force’ - a contingent was made up of 1,975 Canadian army personnel designated for the defense of the British colony of Hong Kong in China. The bulk of C Force was made up of two infantry battalions – The Royal Rifles of Canada and The Winnipeg Grenadiers. The military forces of Imperial Japan had invaded China in 1937 and were known to be amassing on the border with Hong Kong. C Force departed Vancouver on 27 October and arrived in Hong Kong on 16 November. On 8 December, the British colony was attacked by the soldiers of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The entire military garrison at Hong Kong numbered 14,351 personnel (British, Canadians, Chinese, Free French and Indians). They were no match for the 35,000 battle-hardened soldiers of the IJA. A losing defensive battle ensued, which ended on Christmas Day, with the surrender of the entire garrison. Hormidas Fredette was at Fort Stanley on Christmas Day when it became obvious that the fight for Hong Kong was coming to an end. Rather than accept immediate capture, he sought and was granted permission by his platoon leader continued ... W Force on parade in St. John’s NFLD.
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