Language selection


Search veterans.gc.ca

Canadian Virtual War Memorial

Ewart Grenfell Starrett

In memory of:

Corporal Ewart Grenfell Starrett

December 19, 1941

Military Service


Service Number:

H/3031

Age:

28

Force:

Army

Unit:

Winnipeg Grenadiers, R.C.I.C.

Citation(s):

1939-1945 Star, Pacific Star, War Medal 1939-1945, Canadian Volunteer Service Medal and Clasp, Defence Medal, Hong Kong Bar.

Additional Information


Born:

November 19, 1913
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Enlistment:

August 28, 1939
Winnipeg, Manitoba

Son of James Johnston Starrett and Minnerva Jane Forbes, of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Husband of Esther Dohm. Father of Sharon Frances Starrett.

Brother of Lance Corporal William James Campbell Starrett, Regimental Number H-2970, 1st Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers, killed in action in Hong Kong on December 20th, 1941.

Enlisted in the Winnipeg Light Infantry - NPAM - matricula 927, from May 23th, 1935 to August 27th, 1939 to join the regular forces of that battalion. He was transferred on January 5th, 1940 to the 1st Battalion Winnipeg Grenadiers to serve in Manitoba, Bermuda with B Force, Jamaica with Y Force and Hong Kong with C Force. He had 727 days of service, including 53 overseas.

To commemorate his sacrifice, the Manitoba government named Starrett Island located on Baldock Lake in his honor in 1995.

Commemorated on Page 45 of the Second World War Book of Remembrance. Request a copy of this page. Download high resolution copy of this page.

Burial Information


Cemetery:

SAI WAN MEMORIAL
Victoria, Hong Kong

Grave Reference:

Column 25.

Location:

This SAI WAN MEMORIAL honours over 2,000 men of the land forces of the British Commonwealth and Empire who died in the defence of Hong Kong during the Second World War. The SAI WAN MEMORIAL is in the form of a shelter building 24 metres long and 5.5 metres wide. It stands at the entrance to Sai Wan Bay War Cemetery, outside Victoria, the capital of Hong Kong. From the semi-circular forecourt, two wide openings lead to the interior of the building. The names are inscribed on panels of Portland stone. The dedicatory inscription reads:


1939 - 1945 The officers and men whose memory is honoured here died in the defence of Hong Kong in December 1941 and in the ensuing years of captivity and have no known grave.

The northern side of the Memorial is open and four granite piers support the copper roof. From a commanding position 305 metres above sea level, it looks out over the War Cemetery where some 1,500 men lie buried, and across the water to Mainland China - a magnificent view of sea and mountains. The Cape Collinson area has many cemeteries. Walking up this narrow one-way traffic road, one will pass the Catholic Cemetery situated on the hillside to the left of the road, and the Hong Kong Military Cemetery on the right. Sai Wan War Cemetery is about half way up Cape Collinson Road and faces the Muslim and Buddhist cemeteries. One can also get a taxi from Chai Wan Terminus and follow the same route. Alternatively, one can board a public light bus, Route No.16M, which runs from Chai Wan MTR Terminus to Stanley. En route to Stanley the minibus will pass Sai Wan War Cemetery.

Information courtesy of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

Digital Collection

Send us your images

  • Photo of Ewart Starrett– Submitted for the project, Operation Picture Me.
  • Memorial– Remembering brothers lost … Brothers In Arms Memorial, Zonnebeke, BE … photo courtesy of Marg Liessens … May 2022
  • Memorial– Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT is one of 30 members of the Winnipeg Grenadiers, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps who are commemorated on this panel of the Sai Wan Memorial. He was one of 290 Canadian soldiers killed during the defense of Hong Kong, from December 8th to December 25th, 1941.  His brother Corporal EWART GRENFELL STARRETT, aged 27, was killed in the fighting on December 19, 1941, the day before WILLIAM was killed, and is also commemorated at the Sai Wan Memorial
  • Memorial– The brother of Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT, Corporal EWART GRENFELL STARRETT, aged 27, was killed in the fighting in Hong Kong on December 19, 1941, the day before his brother was killed, and is commemorated on this panel of the Sai Wan Memorial.
  • Newspaper Clipping– Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT and his brother Corporal EWART GRENFELL STARRETT was reported to have been Killed in Action in the Canadian Army¿s 244th overseas casualty list of the war published in the Globe and Mail on January 9, 1942.
  • Dedicatory Inscription of the Sai Wan Memorial– Dedicatory inscription of the SAI WAN MEMORIAL.  This memorial  bears the names of more than 2,000 Commonwealth servicemen, including 228 Canadians.
  • Canada and the Defence of Hong Kong– Source: Veterans Affairs Canada.
  • Canadian Casuatlies in the Defence of Hong Kong– Source: Veterans Affairs Canada.
  • Unknown Marker– The Sai Wan Memorial is located at the entrance of Sai Wan Cemetery.  1,505 Commonwealth casualties of the Second World War are buried or commemorated at this  cemetery, of which 444 of the burials are the remains of unidentified soldiers, including those of 107 Canadian soldiers, most of whom were killed or died of wounds during the defense of Hong Kong, which took place from December 8th to December 25th, 1941. This is one such grave marker.  There is a possibility that the remains of Lance Corporal WILLIAM JAMES STARRETT lie beneath this grave marker.  The unidentified soldiers are commemorated at the Sai Wan Memorial.
  • Photo of Ewart Starrett– In memory of those who served in Hong Kong during World War 11 and did not come home. Submitted with permission on behalf of the Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association by Operation: Picture Me.

Learn more about the Canadian Virtual War Memorial

To learn more please visit our help page. If you have questions or comments regarding the information contained in this registry, email or call us. For inquiries regarding the names and information found in the RCMP Honour Roll, please email the RCMP.

Date modified: