CO129-590-25 Accounts of events leading up to surrender and subsequent treatment of prisoners- etc 23-4-1942 - 28-9-1943 — Page 132

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of service being offered. In the result, the methods adopted were those I have already described, and I have expressed my opinion on that.

In considering the character of these additions, as well as in considering the question of the selection of the units, we should remind ourselves once again that, in October, 1941, there were no hostilities in the Pacific and the best inform opinion available to the Canadian authorities was that hostilities would not arise in the near future. The telegram of the 26th of October stating that the con- sensus of opinion that war in the Far East was unlikely at present has already been quoted textually. The evidence of General Crerar and General Stuart, already quoted textually, was to the effect that the information at their disposal in September justified the belief that there would be sufficient time after the arrival at Hong Kong to carry out the necessary training to bring the recruits who had not gone through their full period up to the required level of training in weapons, as well as otherwise. In truth, the evidence as a whole, and especially the evidence of General McNaughton, General Crerar and General Stuart satisfies me that opportunity for this training was available and General Crerar's conclusion is justified that on the 8th of December the expeditionary force was in fact fit to meet an attacking force in superior numbers. Nor in this connection can we properly overlook General Grasett's confident assurance, conveyed to General Crerar, that with two additional battalions the Hong Kong garrison could withstand any attack the Japanese could bring to bear against it for an extended period. Nor can we overlook the telegram of October 30th, which as already observed, seemed implicitly to suggest that the advent of Canadian reinforcements would assist in maintaining peace. General Crerar's view is that there were grounds for thinking that the arrival of the Canadian force in Hong Kong might influence the situation in the Far East in favour of the maintaining of peace.

One further matter relating to the training of the expedition should be mentioned. The expedition sailed from Vancouver on October 27th and reached Hong Kong on November 16th; hostilities with Japan did not break out until December 8th. There was thus a total of six weeks in which training of the expedition as a whole could go forward approximately three weeks on the ship and three weeks in Hong Kong. Brigadier J. K. Lawson, Colonel Home and Colonel Sutcliffe were all officers who had great experience and placed great stress upon training. It is inconceivable that thy would not have made full use of this interval of six weeks to repair any deficiencies in training.

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There is considerable evidence to suggest that training was in fact vigor- ously carried on between October 27 and December 8. Before leaving Ottawa, Brigadier Lawson asked for information about weapons in which the two battalions were not practised so that he could make arrangements for training in those weapons on shipboard.

In his report written shortly before arrival in Hong Kong Brigadier Lawson reports as follows:-

Training has been carried out regularly since October 30. Emphasis has been laid on physical training, weapon training, P.A.G. (pro- tection against gas) and such specialist training as could be carried out. Special classes have been organized for officers and N.C.O's. including a special P.T. class for the more senior officers. A series of lectures for officers and warrant officers was commenced after leaving our first port of all, dealing with conditions likely to be met in the Far East, races and religion, military geography, health in the tropics, characteristics of Indian Army troops likely to be met and the Japanese Army.

Lectures

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were also given to all troops on sanitation and hygiene in the tropics and on security

This report is confirmed by an extract from a letter written by one of the junior officers on November 9, in which is described the activities on board ship.

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This officer stated he was up at 6.30 a.m. and attended the officers' lecture from 7.15 to 8.15 a.m.; parades took place between 9.00 and 11.30 a.m., and between 2.00 and 4.30 p.m.; he delivered two lectures each day; at 4.45 p.m. attended an officers' P.T. class for half an hour, and spent the evening in study and at

lecture at 10.00 p.m.

Weekly reports sent by cable from Hong Kong indicate that training con- tinued vigorously after the arrival of the expedition. These messages report specifically that weapon training was carried on and that operational exercises were undertaken.

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