Enlisting at Age 15
Heroes Remember
Enlisting at Age 15
Transcript
Description
Mr. Ewing describes his determination to join the service which included multiple attempts at enlisting.
Kenneth Alexander Ewing
Kenneth Ewing was born in 1925, the 4th oldest of 12 children. His father was a civil engineer for the province of New Brunswick which enabled them to manage fairly well during the Depression. His father was a Lieutenant in the First World War and signed up as an engineer in the Second World War from 1942 to 1945. Mr. Ewing quit school in Grade 10 at the age of 15 to join the army. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to join the Merchant Navy and joined the militia in the spring of 1940. He then joined the N.B. Rangers (militia). In November 1940, he went active with the Royal Rifles. He did his basic training in Botwood, Newfoundland, guarding the port. He did further guard duty in Botwood, Gander, and St. John's, Newfoundland, Valcartier, Quebec, and Saint John, New Brunswick. He was posted to Hong Kong as a rifleman in "A" Company. He was taken POW and sent to a slave labour camp in Japan where he endured beatings, disease, and very poor living conditions but considered himself lucky since other Canadians had been executed.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 2:56
- Person Interviewed:
- Kenneth Alexander Ewing
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Canada
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Rifles of Canada
- Rank:
- Private
- Occupation:
- Rifleman
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Mr. Ewing remembers when he found out he was being deployed overseas to active duty, not to Europe, but rather Hong Kong. He recalls the voyage and explains how the troops arrived in Hong Kong but a lot of their heavy weaponry did not.
Japanese Invade Hong Kong and Take POW’s
Mr. Ewing describes his situation in Hong Kong when the Japanese invaded the colony. He remembers his first contact with the enemy and shortly thereafter being taken as a prisoner of war.
Surrender to the Japanese
Mr. Ewing describes his experience immediately after his surrender to the Japanese in Hong Kong.
Life in a Prisoner of War Camp
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Effects of Poor Diet
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Slave Labour in Japan
Mr. Ewing gives a vivid account of life as a slave labourer in Japan during the Second World War.
The Japanese Guards in Tokyo
Mr. Ewing describes the guards in the slave labour camps in Tokyo and tells a story about the only time he received extraordinary punishment.
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The Shinegawa POW Hospital
As Mr. Ewing recounts the conditions he and the other sick men lived in, we understand more about Japanese war prisons.
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The War Ends in Japan
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Return to Civilian Life
War camps and illness weakened Mr Ewing physically but they did not affect his mind and his return to normal life.
Feelings Towards the Japanese People
Though he was taken prisoner by the Japanese and not always treated in the best of ways, Mr Ewing explains why he does not hold a grudge toward the people of Japan.
Doing what Must be Done for Remembrance
Mr Ewing holds no grudge towards the government that blindly sent him in a hopeless situation and explains what he does to make sure it does not happen again.
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