Lance Corporal Wilfred John McDowell

Conflict:

WW2

Regimental No.:

D109917

Cause of Death (in war):

Survived

Branch:

Army

Regiment:

Canadian Provost Corps

Battalion:

Force C / Brigade Headquarters

Company:

Date of Birth :

Place of Birth:

Huntingdon, Quebec

Date of Enlistment:

Age at Enlistment:

35 years 9 months

Date of Discharge:

Age at Discharge:

40 years 5 months

Date of Death:

Age at Death:

67 years 5 months

Country Born:

Canada

Trade or Calling:

Telephone lineman / electrician

Next of Kin:

Hazel McDowell (wife), Huntingdon, Quebec

Address at Enlistment:

Huntingdon, Quebec

Religion:

United Church of Canada

Place of Enlistment:

Montreal South, Quebec

Was a Prisoner of War:

Yes

Height:

6 ft 1.0 in / 185 cm

Weight:

160 lbs / 73 kg

Chest:

38.0 in / 97 cm

Expansion:

3.0 in / 8 cm

Marital Status:

Not Specified

Prior Military Experience:

Saw Service in:

Pacific

Place of Discharge:

Montreal South, Quebec

Discharge Type:

Regular/End of Service

Discharge Notes:

Honourably discharged 8 March 1946 at Montreal South on demobilization / return to civil life. After repatriation, administrative orders in November-December 1945 briefly recorded him AWL and then S.O.S. as a deserter, but the relevant AWL/deserter orders were subsequently cancelled by amendment. The final operative discharge remained the normal 8 March 1946 demobilization discharge.

Battle Died/Wounded:

Length of Service:

1695 days in service

Buried at:

Ranks

Conflict	Rank	Regiment	Branch	Unit
WW2	Lance Corporal	Canadian Provost Corps	Army	Force C / Brigade Headquarters
Lance Corporal is firmly established by late-war/pay/medical/discharge records; exact appointment date still requires reconciliation.
WW2	Private	Canadian Provost Corps	Army	No. 14 Company
Enlisted as Private; transferred to No. 14 Company.

Awards

Conflict	Award	Action	Date of Award	Date of Citation	Source
WW2	1939-45 Star
WW2	Pacific Star
WW2	Canadian Volunteer Service Medal & Clasp
WW2	War Medal 1939-45

Prisoner of War Information

Conflict	Camp	Location	Country	Notes
WW2	Sham Shui Po	Hong Kong	Hong Kong
WW2	North Point	Hong Kong	Hong Kong
WW2	Sham Shui Po	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	In august 1942, embarked with about 500 POWs, including roughly 250 Canadians, for transport to Japan in crowded ship holds.
WW2	Niigata 5-B	Niigata-Rinko	Japan	Arrived in Osaka after transport via Formosa. Began forced labour at a coal mine operated by Rinko. Post-liberation medical assessment recorded beri-beri, pellagra, frostbite/cold injury and malnutrition. Evacuated from Manila and moved through Guam on repatriation route.

Service Chronology

1905-10-04 — Born.
1941-07-17 — Enlisted in the Canadian Army as a Private.
1941-07-20 — Proceeded on command to No. 14 Provost Company.
1941-09-15 — Classified Motorcyclist Class II.
1941-09-29 — Transferred/posting to No. 14 Company, Canadian Provost Corps.
1941-10-17 — Struck off strength No. 14 Company on reposting to Force C composition.
1941-10-24 — Taken on strength Headquarters Force C.
1941-10-27 — Embarked Canada with Force C.
1941-11-16 — Attached to Royal Rifles of Canada for rations and quarters.
1941-11-21 — Attached to Corps of Military Police Hong Kong.
1941-12-25 — Captured at Hong Kong and became a prisoner of war.
1941-12-27 — Taken to Sham Shui Po after the Hong Kong surrender.
1942-01-23 — Transferred to North Point Barracks.
1942-10 — Returned to Sham Shui Po.
1943-08 — Embarked with about 500 POWs, including roughly 250 Canadians, for transport to Japan in crowded ship holds.
1943-09-02 — Arrived in Osaka after transport via Formosa.
1943-09-06 — Began forced labour at a coal mine operated by Rinko.
1943-12-02 — 1948 interrogation summary places him at Niigata Camp 5B from this date.
1945-06-01 to 1945-11-19 — Later granted Japanese Campaign Pay for 172 days.
1945-09-05 — Post-liberation medical assessment recorded beri-beri, pellagra, frostbite/cold injury and malnutrition.
1945-09-08 to 1945-09-12 — Evacuated from Manila and moved through Guam on repatriation route.
1945-09-18 — Disembarked in Canada.
1945-09-19 to 1945-11-04 — Granted 42 days disembarkation leave plus travel time.
1945-11-06 — Administrative record began an AWL entry.
1945-11-12 to 1945-12-04 — Hospitalized for detailed examination of POW-related disabilities.
1945-12-03 — Court of Inquiry administrative record declared him illegally absent and S.O.S. as deserter.
1945-12-28 — Amendments cancelled the relevant AWL/deserter administrative orders.
1946-03-07 — Release Medical Board reviewed residual POW-related disabilities and referred him to DVA.
1946-03-08 — Honourably discharged on demobilization / return to civil life.
1946-03-21 — Wartime will returned after discharge.
1946-05-09 — Wrote to Army authorities about delayed War Service Gratuity, stating that he had received no payment since discharge and was in need of money.
1946-06-05 — Again wrote regarding unpaid War Service Gratuity; stated he was unable to work, Victory Bonds used as collateral were falling due, and his dependants’ allowance through DVA had also been delayed.
1946-06-20 — Paymaster-General advised that his War Service Gratuity application had been received and passed to Treasury for payment.
1948-06-15 — Gave sworn statement for United States/United Nations war-crimes investigation.
1949-04-26 — Japanese Campaign Pay formally authorized by After Order No.119.
1973-03-12 — Died at Queen Mary Veterans Hospital.

Notes

Was a POW at Hong Kong December 25th, 1941
February 13th, 1942 - baby girl born hg 1942-02-25
Article after release hg 1945-09-26
BIRTH 04 OCT 1905 DEATH 1970 (12 Mar 1973)
POW info:
McDowell was closely connected with Huntingdon before and immediately after the war. His wife Hazel and parents William and Elizabeth lived there, and his correspondence after discharge used P.O. Box 362, Huntingdon. By 1948 he was living at 9 Edward Street, Valleyfield and described himself as a janitor. His wartime will, executed 17 July 1941, was returned to him in March 1946. In May-June 1946 he corresponded repeatedly with Army authorities about delayed War Service Gratuity payments, explaining that he was unable to work and was experiencing immediate financial pressure.
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62114/records/63709?tid=&pid=&queryId=b449be69-214a-4e5d-a186-7d799a9530cb&_phsrc=PwO171&_phstart=successSource
ATIP Request confirmation number EA2026_0171014

Additional Service Notes

Enlisted in the Canadian Army on 17 July 1941 and served with the Canadian Provost Corps. He joined Force C, embarked from Canada on 27 October 1941 and served in Hong Kong. Captured when the Hong Kong garrison surrendered on 25 December 1941, he was first held at Sham Shui Po and North Point camps in Kowloon. He was later transported to Japan in 1943 and ultimately held at Niigata Camp 5B, where his sworn testimony describes forced labour for a coal company and severe mistreatment of prisoners. He remained under Japanese control until 1945. After liberation he was evacuated through the Pacific and returned to Canada in September 1945. Post-liberation medical records document nutritional deficiency/avitaminosis with beri-beri and pellagra, frostbite/foot problems, poor vision, neurological symptoms and acquired effort syndrome. He was hospitalized at Montreal Military Hospital from 12 November to 4 December 1945 and discharged from the Army on 8 March 1946.

[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]

Additional Next of Kin Notes

Wife Hazel McDowell, Huntingdon, Quebec, was next of kin. The July 1941 family form records one daughter, Eunice, age 3. His father William McDowell, a labourer, and mother Elizabeth McDowell were both living in Huntingdon in 1941. The 1973 obituary names son Robert and daughters Patricia and Joan, as well as brother Clarence and sister Edna.

[Previous notes - manual reconciliation required]

Research Notes

McDowell's file contains unusually detailed evidence of Japanese POW conditions and later war-crimes investigations. In a sworn statement, he said that after the Hong Kong surrender he was taken to Sham Shui Po, then to North Point Barracks on 23 January 1942, and back to Sham Shui Po in October 1942. He described extremely poor rations, beatings, dysentery, beri-beri and skin disease among prisoners. In August 1943 he was among about 500 prisoners, including roughly 250 Canadians, shipped to Japan in crowded coal-filled holds. He described an approximately nine-day stay in a hatch at Formosa, arrival in Osaka in early September 1943, and forced labour beginning 6 September at a coal mine operated by Rinko. A 1948 interrogation summary separately states Sham Shui Po 27 Dec 1941-23 Jan 1942, North Point 23 Jan-Oct 1942, Sham Shui Po Oct 1942-Dec 1943, and Niigata Camp 5B from 2 Dec 1943 until September 1945. That camp-summary chronology conflicts in part with the detailed 1945 deposition's August-September 1943 transport dates and must be retained as a source conflict rather than silently harmonized. His testimony documents beatings by guards and camp authorities, forced labour despite illness, theft or diversion of Red Cross food, and deaths of prisoners after punishments. He was interviewed again in 1948 for the United Nations/United States war-crimes investigation. Occupational history before enlistment included farm work, carpentry, telephone line work, electrical and steam-fitting apprenticeships, qualified electrician work, canning-plant foreman work and construction electrical work. By June 1948 he gave his civilian occupation as janitor and lived at 9 Edward Street, Valleyfield. Post-captivity medical evidence includes beri-beri/avitaminosis, pellagra, poor vision/amblyopia, frostbite or foot injury, partial right-index ankylosis, neurological complaints, effort syndrome and anxiety. Japanese Campaign Pay was later awarded for 1 June-19 November 1945. His War Service Gratuity computation records 1,696 qualifying service days, including 1,422 overseas-service days. Post-discharge correspondence adds useful social context: on 9 May 1946 McDowell wrote from Huntingdon that he had received no War Service Gratuity payment since his 8 March discharge, said later-discharged men had already received cheques, and stated that he was in need of money. On 5 June he wrote again that he was still unpaid, that Victory Bonds pledged as collateral were about to fall due, that he had been unable to work, and that there had also been a hold-up in his dependants' allowance through DVA. The Paymaster-General advised on 20 June that his gratuity application had been received and passed to Treasury for payment.

Survivor of WW2