Description
Mr. Hurd says that from his perspective Sham Shui Po was well laid out and spacious enough to accommodate the two Canadian regiments and their respective stores.
Lionel Hurd
Lionel Hurd was born on February 3, 1907 in Maple Leaf, P.Q. He was the eldest of three sons. After finishing school he went to work in a lumber yard, and then out to the gold mines in Kirkland Lake. In 1936 he became a surveyor. Despite being married with two children, Mr. Hurd enlisted in 1940, serving as a Captain at an internment camp near Quebec City. He then took a demotion to Lieutenant in order to join the Royal Rifles. Mr. Hurd was soon a Captain acting as regimental quartermaster. After the fall of Hong Kong, he was fortunate to be imprisoned with the other officers, thus avoiding much of the misery experienced by the non-commissioned ranks.
Transcript
Well, first impression was a good impression. The quarters were excellent, better than we had in Canada. We had, particularly for administrative purposes, each company had its’ own storage, we didn’t have to all work out of one building so that was great. The barracks were much better and more spacious than we had in Canada. That’s where the two battalions, it was designed for two infantry battalions and it was well designed, I thought.
Interviewer: As the quarter-master, what duties did you take on once you arrived at Sham Shui Po Barracks?
Well, you’re in charge of feeding the men and getting everything they need. We were there about three weeks before the hostilities started and we had our stores pretty well in order, each company, I had distributed and each company had their own stores. That took an awful load of me, now they’re yours, you administer them, use them as you needed.
Interviewer: As the quarter-master, what duties did you take on once you arrived at Sham Shui Po Barracks?
Well, you’re in charge of feeding the men and getting everything they need. We were there about three weeks before the hostilities started and we had our stores pretty well in order, each company, I had distributed and each company had their own stores. That took an awful load of me, now they’re yours, you administer them, use them as you needed.
Metadata
Sham Shui Po was a Good Layout
Medium
Video
Owner
Veterans Affairs Canada
War or Conflict Term
Second World War
Location/Theatre
Hong Kong
Campaign
Hong Kong
Person Interviewed
Lionel Hurd
Branch
Army
Units/Ship
Royal Rifles of Canada
Military Rank
Captain
Recorded
Duration
1:24
