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Remembrance Day:
Bravery, Stupidity and Truth
by Clare Westcott, November, 2006
Bravery and stupidity often go hand in hand, and military history unhappily is rich in examples. See-saw hill taking battles between generals in the first war almost became a sport, and were rationalized as the cost of war….by generals who lived to so rationalize by watching the killing of tens of thousands through binoculars.
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And there were witless sons of highborn men who bought their commissions in spite of serious character flaws. Lord Cardigan was handsome, arrogant, and a brigadier general. Unfortunately he was also stupid. No one saw it as an omen when he was given command of The Light Brigade on April Fool`s day in 1854. Apparently he was great with his boots off for it was said whole villages were populated by him with the children his wife denied him.
Torrents of tears and grief from wives, mothers and sisters was made less sad by knowing their husbands, sons and brothers fought and died bravely for king and country — to keep the world free from tyranny. And many did. But countless died to prove or disprove the battle theories of incompetent generals…..and politicians.
A few short years ago many watched the drama of China evicting Britain from Hong Kong, the world`s richest island. The place where two untrained Canadian battalions were sacrificed to the Japanese in 1941.
Speaking about the battle for Hong Kong earlier this year Prime Minister Martin said, "……the soldiers showed unimaginable courage, facing a force that was far larger and better equipped."
Indeed they were. It was his predecessor, Mackenzie King who sent green troops from Canada, untrained and unequipped.
A cover-up followed and lies were told — not unlike what brought on the Somalia Inquiry of a decade ago into how the bureaucrats and military brass were managing the armed forces.
So what`s new? Absolutely nothing. Politicians and governments have been hiding the truth from people for hundreds of years.
Whether it was the Crimean massacre at Balaclava or the senseless slaughter in the mud of France, those who died still cry out to be remembered……and avenged. If only by making public the circumstances of why they are dead and calling to account those responsible. Drawing a curtain around shameful decisions deludes the public and dishonours the men and women who gave their lives. Those brave souls we honour each year on Armistice Day.
Is anyone alive to tell of the tragedy of the Ross rifle? At the second battle of Ypres, in the face of the first poison gas attack, soldiers threw away their faulty Canadian made Ross rifles and picked up Lee-Enfields from dead British soldiers. The Ross rifle was made in Canada, and was known to be a product of patronage. It resulted in needless death for many Canadian soldiers. Eight thousand died at Ypres. The rifles jammed and wouldn`t fire. In spite of this, the Second Division was sent to France with Ross rifles, and the results were the same, with solders throwing away their useless weapons. It was not until July 1916 that all Ross rifles were replaced by the Lee-Enfield and the Minister of Militia fired.
On Christmas Day in 1941 Hong Kong fell to Japanese troops. What happened in the next three and a half years was in a way a sequel to the shame of the bloodletting at Ypres and the Somme……..and it in turn was a kind of sequel to the infamous military blunders of Lord Cardigan`s Light Brigade.
None of these events should have happened as they did. Hundreds of thousands of young men should not have died. Can we not learn from our mistakes? Or is it not possible because the truth about bureaucratic bungling and flawed leadership is hidden from us.
Ottawa tried to shut down the Somalia Inquiry just as it was making life uncomfortable for the government - saying it was taking too long and costing too much. Thus leaving it up to future historians to connect the dots. Not good enough.
The five massive volumes of the report were released on July 2, 1997 by the Minister of National Defense. The same Minister was fired from Cabinet in May, 2002 for awarding an untendered contract. In March this year the Prime Minister appointed this same man to the Senate. $70,000 a year — and an extra $15,000 if he bothers to show up, tens of thousands in expense money, plus free business class flights for the whole family - and a lifetime gold plated pension.
The Somalia Report makes for dispiriting reading. It is laced with harsh words. Words like failure, morass, shame, scandalously deficient, leadership shortcomings, alarmingly substandard, deliberate tardiness, falsification
of documents, and most scary of all, cover-up. A bit like words Justice Gomery might use. Canadian voters seem to have a limitless tolerance for lies and political corruption.
By no means have we got the market cornered on hiding the truth. Even the historically lovable Franklin Roosevelt slammed down the national security curtain when the commanders at Pearl Harbour tried to show Washington was not without blame for the unpreparedness of December7th. The public and the press called it a "cover-up."
President Kennedy`s know-it-all advisors said the Bay of Pigs invasion by a CIA sponsored brigade would be "A piece of cake." The smart-ass advisors didn`t have to storm the beach. It was a tough fight and close to 100 were killed. …..and it was equally tough for the public to penetrate the cover-up that followed.
A decade or so later a major cover-up was orchestrated by President Nixon and his sycophantic henchmen. Watergate had all the skill and cunning of the Keystone Cops. By this time we had television so we could see and hear the lying — and the later confessions in the comfort of our living room.
Not telling the whole truth is a thriving cottage industry that flourishes in the capital city of most countries around the world.
The days of veterans, many of them war heroes, sitting as parliamentary lawmakers in Ottawa is gone. Qualified men by the dozen from all the armed services and all political parties provided both government benches and the opposition a window of wartime experience, though which the elected members, and thus the voter, could watch and scrutinize the defense establishment and the forces, on an almost daily basis, making it hard to hide the truth
Time has replaced the warrior members of Canada`s parliament. No longer are there veterans like Kincardine`s Andy Robinson who sat in the House of Commons from 1945 to 1962. Lt. Robinson served four years overseas in the first war and four more years in the second. Or the likes of experienced military men like Chubby Powers, Paul Marineau, Rodney Adamson - and Col. Pierre Sevigny who lost a leg in battle and won medals from England, France, Poland and Belgium.
Soldiers like Col. George Drew, Lt. Henry Jones, Lt. John Diefenbaker, Flying Officer Lester Pearson, Major George Hees, General George Pearkes, Naval Lieut. Alfred Hales brought experience and encouraged high standards of conduct by their very presence in Parliament.
And lucky for Canadians, one seasoned veteran of the last war is still there. Although Trooper Douglas Fisher is no longer a Member of Parliament, he has a close watch on the place from the press gallery. As a seasoned columnist for the Toronto Sun he seeks the truth and pulls no punches.
One of the greatest was legionaire Bert Herridge. He and Doug Fisher were together in the Commons in the C.C.F. caucus for a decade. Known as the Laird of the Kootenays, Herridge lost a limb in the Battle of the Somme in 1918 and was often at odds with his own party over military policy.
How fortunate voters were to have the experience of D-Day hero and Military Cross winner John Chester McCrae, or Marcel Lambert, who waded ashore at Dieppe, or fighter pilot Walter Dinsdale, who came home to Winnipeg to become Captain Dinsdale. Leader of the Salvation Army band, Member of Parliament and Minister of Northern Affairs.
Had machine gunner Gordon Churchill, or Seaforth Highlander`s Major Davie Fulton, or Wing Commander Angus McLean, who crawled across half of Europe to escape capture after he was shot down, or Victoria Cross winner Milton Greg, been on the Commons benches in the early 1990s, there is a good chance there would not be a Somalia scandal or an inquiry costing taxpayers $20,000,000.
But…..back to the real story of the Hong Kong debacle. For 18 days the six units from the Commonwealth tried to defend "The Gibralter of the Orient." Two were from Canada — the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada. Heavily outnumbered, they fought beyond what was expected of them and were marched off to spend four years in wretched prison camps. Some were sent off to Japan to work in slave-like conditions in mines. Five hundred and fifty died.
This was a sad and powerful tale of bungling and heroism that is worth remembering now. England`s war office knew Hong Kong`s military defenses were a travesty — with helmets from the Boer War and 25-year-old rusty weapons from the first war.
Churchill`s Chief of Staff urged that the colony be demilitarized so it would not be "needlessly condemned to death." In October, 1940 the Island`s governor urged the withdrawal of the garrison to avoid the slaughter that could follow if the island was defended against attack.
General Edward Grassett, retiring commander of the British forces in China was generously considered an expert in the behavior of the Japanese although he had spent less than three years in Asia. He pushed the idea the Japanese were bluffing and he wanted to show some muscle by strengthening the garrison with more troops. There is no record of his volunteering to lead them.
In those days all military intelligence came from the British who were woefully unaware that tens of thousands of Japanese combat troops were massed across the Hong Kong border beyond the "Gin Drinkers Line", a mere 20 miles away. But they did know that the Japanese were ravaging and raping China and that Tojo and his power-mad crowd were in control — and the worst could happen.
General Grassett convinced the Governor to join him in making a request to London for troops — and the request was denied. The new British commander in the Far East then sent a telegram of support for troops which came to the attention of the Prime Minister. Churchill had no illusions and he wrote. "This is all wrong; If Japan goes to war with us there is not the slightest chance of holding Hong Kong or relieving it. It is most unwise to increase the loss we may suffer there….."
Grassett stubbornly continued to push for more troops — even after he heard of Churchill`s views. Recalled back to England in the summer of 1941, he returned via Ottawa where he met his old friend Harry Crerar, then Chief of Canada`s General Staff. By now, defending Hong Kong seemed an obsession. Not unlike the hill-taking obsession of first war generals in France.
General Grassett was born in Toronto and he and Crerar attended Kingston Royal Military College together shortly after the first war. Crerar stayed in Canada while Grassett rose to prominence in the British army.
His stop-over in Canada and his zeal and persistence in getting Canadian soldiers shipped to Hong Kong may have been more a gesture of vanity than a wise military undertaking. Was it a wish to join his uncle in Canada`s history books? In the summer of 1885 Lt. Colonel J.H. Grassett commanded Toronto`s 10th Royal Grenadiers in the battle of Batoche in Manitoba, which resulted in the capture of Louis Riel.
Because of his supposed knowledge of the war in China and his claim to know the Japanese military mind, and no doubt with at least the moral support of his friend General Crerar, then Chief of Canada`s General Staff , he was able to sell his idea of sending troops from Canada to the British military command. On the strength of his advice they advised Churchill that he should reverse his stand. After all, his last command was that of the Hong Kong garrison so it was assumed he should know. Or should he?
For generations after Wellington`s victory at Waterloo, Britain looked to generals for leadership and guidance. Not always a good idea. Remember the handsome Commander of the Light Brigade at Balaclava, Major General Lord Cardigan. His biographer said, "The melancholy truth was that his glorious golden head had nothing in it.
On September the 19th a "most secret" telegram was sent to the King government asking Canada to send one or two battalions to defend Hong Kong. Thus, fate and stupidity saw a government move with death wish speed and by October 2nd two battalions had been picked.
Many of the men in the Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Winnipeg Rifles had never fired a mortar or thrown a hand grenade….some had not even completed their basic training. One unit was brought back from Jamaica where it was guarding German prisoners. The other returned home to Canada from where they had been sent to fight off a German invasion of another British Island colony we now call the province of Newfoundland.
Col. John Lawson, director of military training checked out both battalions and said they were insufficiently trained and not recommended for operations. A month later, no doubt to his dismay he was told he was to command the very men he advised against sending. And worse, because they were not at full strength close to 500 reinforcements had to be found, and some were 17 year olds with less than 50 days in the army.
Only a week of weapons practice was scheduled before they left but they had to use empty mortars and dummy grenades as there was no ammunition. By late October they were issued with tropical gear and thought they were going to India.
General Grassett convinced Whitehall the Japanese would be afraid to twist the tail of the British lion, but Col. Lawson, to his great credit believed the Nippon army, having routed Chaing Kai-sheks soldiers felt they could beat the strung-out British. Here we had a smart Colonel - and a dumb General.
Within days 2,000 men and two female nurses boarded the Awatea in Vancouver — a New Zealand ship built to accommodate only 540. Fifty men jumped ship and deserted — but Col. Lawson was more concerned that their 200 vehicles and other vital equipment was not on board,
The lack of speed and the incompetence of Ottawa`s quarter master general`s branch resulted in their ship sailing without their military transport and equipment — but enough musical instruments for two bands was loaded on board.
What was about to happen left little time for parades and band concerts. Their gear and mobile equipment sailed a week late on an American ship and it failed to reach Hong Kong before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. It finally ended up with the U.S. army in Manilla.
The night before sailing Canadian military headquarters in London cabled Ottawa saying the possibility of war with the Japanese was unlikely. The message also said there were only 3,000 soldiers across the border facing Hong Kong and the Canadians soldiers had no reason to be apprehensive about their Hong Kong venture. Seems they had spin doctors even then.
They arrived in Hong Kong Sunday November 16, 1941. A mere 21 days before the Japanese went to war by attacking Pearl Harbour.
One day after Pearl Harbour Japanese aircraft bombed Hong Kong`s Kai Tak airport, just south of the border in British territory. About the same time Japanese soldiers crossed the gin drinkers line separating China from the British territory on their march to Kowloon. They had orders to capture Hong Kong within 10 days.
A surprise attack on December 11th took Kowloon with little effort or loss to the Japanese, leaving Hong Kong only a mile across the bay to be defended by 11,000 troops of the Empire — from Scotland, Canada and India.
What Churchill predicted was about to come true. The brave but ill equipped defenders, spurred on no doubt by the desperation of their plight were stubborn and tenacious in resisting the Japanese. Having to fight on beyond the 10 days allotted by their commander so angered the invaders they became cruel and vicious. The result was some of the most savage atrocities of the war in the Pacific. Nuns were raped and murdered in the streets. Hospital patients were bayoneted and mutilated in their beds and nurses were raped on the bodies of dead patients. In spite of General Grassett`s wisdom Hong Kong was truly indefensible. On Christmas Day it fell.
Of the 1,975 souls that sailed from Vancouver on the Awatea, 557 died, most in prisoner of war camps.
Prime Minister King, under strong pressure from Canadians, especially from the Premier of Ontario and much of Canada`s press, established an official investigation under Chief Justice Sir Lyman Duff. It was to be a one man closed-door investigation that was expected to exonerate the King government.
The finished report did exactly that. It discredited the charges made against the government and stated that the soldiers left for Hong Kong "well trained and well equipped." There was a hint that the support of the King government`s actions suggested, that although Sir Lyman`s favour could not be bought - maybe it could be rented.
There is little doubt that King`s choice of Duff was designed to benefit the government, and subvert justice. A kind of pay-back for extending his term as Chief Justice.
Crerar is not covered with roses either. He took off to avoid appearing before the Royal Commission. General McNaughton (who later ran twice for the Liberals) hid him away in England claiming he was needed for secret military activities.
Ontario Premier Drew sent King a 32 page letter critizing Duff`s report asserting that it had distorted the evidence that was placed before the commission. He called for a drastic overhaul of the military and requested that his letter be tabled in Parliament. The Prime Minister refused on the grounds that it would violate the secrecy of the Royal Commission. His "secrecy" explanation brought cynical comments from the public and much of the press.
Canadian Press obtained a copy, and sent a 7,000 word summary of it across Canada. Papers were warned by the government not to print it, and all complied — except the Winnipeg Tribune, who printed nine columns of excerpts. Colonel Drew, the Ontario Premier, who was severely wounded in the first war, was threatened by the King government with prosecution and jail in an effort to shut him up — but it failed.
The Liberal government stubbornly rode out the storm ignoring the claims of cover-up. Then, bad luck for Canada and good luck for Mackenzie King. The Dieppe raid came along. The Hong Kong debacle became old news and the daring raid on the French coast drove Justice Duff`s Report from Parliamentary debate.
It wasn`t until 1948 that King was forced to come up with the truth and release portions of the Duff Report. General Maltby, former British commander in Hong Kong said publicly, "The Winnipeg Grenadiers and the Royal Rifles of Canada arrived in Hong Kong inadequately trained." Finally the truth. But eight years late for Bob McClure.
No less a person than Dr.Robert McClure, a missionary to China, a surgeon and medical doctor extraordinaire fought MacKenzie King with the truth, and sadly lost. The man who was to become the first non-ordained Moderator in the United church was summoned to Ottawa in 1940 by King because he publicly criticized the government. McClure spoke out about Canada supplying nickel to Japan.
For years he had personally seen the Japanese invaders wantonly killing Chinese civilians. He believed they could one day send the nickel back as bullets into the bodies of Canadian soldiers. In Munroe Scott`s fine biography of McClure he tells of a private meeting where King admitted large quantities of Canadian strategic metals were being exported in the direction of Japan. However, King severely reprimanded McClure for speaking out about it and told him if he did not make a public apology he would go to jail.
Prime Minister King`s political astuteness was so obviously and ashamedly shallow for not knowing the truth of what Dr. McClure was saying. He was intimidated into apologizing for criticizing the exports to Japan. In Hong Kong a year later, over Christmas, the nickel did come back to us, killing 290 soldiers and wounding 483.
In Ted Ferguson`s sad, but excellent book, Desperate Siege: The Battle of Hong Kong, one story suggests our Canadian post war diplomacy closely mirrors our wartime stupidity.
Thirty five years ago two dozen veterans of the ill-fated Hong Kong expedition gathered in a hillside cemetery overlooking the crown colony to honour the fallen comrades they had fought alongside at Christmas 30 years before.
A bugler sounded the last post and the surviving veterans bowed their heads in two minutes silence. At a reception later the men were praised as heroic defenders by a Canadian official. He then explained that on their upcoming visit a few days later to the Canadian war cemetery in Yokohama the Japanese requested that they not wear their uniforms. Also, the firing party must leave their rifles at the airport — and if they wanted to honour their dead comrades with the last post the bugle must be taken to and from the cemetery concealed in a bag.
The Canadian Embassy in Tokyo had agreed to these requests with the comment…. "After all gentlemen, we don`t want to risk offending the Japanese, do we?"
Frank Casson and I were the same age, we were classmates through elementary and high school. He enlisted in 1942. The name Frank Albert Casson is carved in the granite on the cenotaph in Victoria Park in Seaforth. His name will be called out and a bugle will play the last post at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month.
For 60 years now he has been in the cold ground, reminding us that the truth must always be told. We must learn from the deadly folly of the Light Brigade and the death and stench of bodies in the fields of Flanders — as we must learn from the dead who lie in Hong Kong. Find out the truth and tell it to those whose right it is to know. Anything short of the truth brings shame and dishonour to us all in the eyes of all those who gave up their precious lives,
Frank was killed at the hands of the Japanese. He was 21. He should not have died - and that`s the truth.
