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At first light the following day, the Japanese Army set its sights on Hong Kong. Gander’s war had begun.
General Maltby, Commander of the British Garrison in Hong Kong, who was now fully convinced of the Japanese intent to invade Hong Kong, gave the order to activate the garrison. Maltby had always feared that the Japanese would launch a seaborne attack, which explained the concentration of defences on the south of the island. The north side, facing the mainland, was less well fortified; this area included the Lye Mun Gap, which at its narrowest point was only 450 yards across. In an attempt to cover as much ground as possible the general decided to split his defences. West Brigade, comprising the Winnipeg Grenadiers, was commanded by Brigadier Lawson. Gander and the rest of ‘C’ Force formed part of East Brigade, under Brigadier Wallis. They were to be stationed in the Lye Mun region, with three company platoons and four reinforcement platoons. Scattered amongst them were small detachments of the Scots Guards, the Middlesex Regiment, the Hong Kong Defence Corps, and the Rajputs and Punjabis of the Indian Army.
After news broke of the attack on Pearl Harbor the men had been confined to barracks. As a result of a breakdown in communications, Gander and the men had no idea that the battle for Hong Kong had begun just hours after the Japanese attack. The first the British heard of it was when an Intelligence Officer assigned to monitoring the Japanese broadcasts picked up the following message at 4.45 a.m on 8 December 1941:
The Army and Navy division of Imperial Headquarters jointly announced at six o’clock this morning (Tokyo time), December 8, that the Imperial Army and Navy forces have begun hostilities against the American and British Forces in the Pacific at dawn today.
Within hours of receiving Maltby’s orders to leave the mainland, every kitbag was packed and ammunition was being loaded onto the ferry that would take them from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island. It was the first clue the men received to there being a declaration of war. The second clue was the appearance of Japanese bombers overhead and the howl of the air-raid siren over Kowloon. Then the bombing began.
The wind and rain lashed down as the soldiers landed on the island, laden with kitbags, ammunition, supplies and a very wet Newfoundland dog. ‘Come on buddy, not far to go now and we’ll be home and dry,’ said Fred Kelly, as he gently persuaded Gander to keep up with the rest of the Royal Rifles who were hurrying to take up their positions across 15 miles of the eastern part of the island.
Safely ashore, Gander stayed close to Fred. His dense coat hung heavy with rainwater and it slowed his pace as he clambered to keep up with his fellow soldiers. Fred was concerned that the dog might catch a chill and so he promised Gander a drying down when they reached their camp. Makeshift camps were being set up, and men and ammunition moved into position. There were not enough tents for every man there but the men were tired enough to sleep anywhere as the rumble of artillery continued throughout the night.
The assortment of coastal guns, manned pillboxes, minefields and barbed-wire fences that encircled the island came immediately under attack. The Royal Navy presence consisted of one destroyer, and the Royal Air Force retained a maximum of three torpedo bombers at Kai Tek Airport. On the morning of 8 December Japanese fighter aircraft destroyed the airport in one single attack. On their second run, the Japanese planes dropped leaflets demanding the surrender of Hong Kong. The British refused.
As the sirens wailed relentlessly and the sky filled with the darting shadows of fighter planes, the soldiers hurried to stock the wooden pillboxes that were strategically placed in a line of defence that was to protect against any landing from the sea. It was a race against time to get men and guns into place before the invaders made it ashore. It was a difficult time for Gander, who wanted to be at Fred Kelly’s side every second but had to content himself with spending his time confined to the makeshift barracks. But like any other good soldier, he took his turn on watch at night.
Shells exploded all around and the sky flashed burnt orange. Huge sheets of flame carved into the inky sky as the men worked frantically to move the boxes of ammunition that still lay where the ferry had landed. With nowhere to store these vital supplies out of the driving rain, cover had to be found urgently. The pillboxes were already packed with crates of equipment but still more had to be crammed into the tiny space available. Fred decided that a pillbox was the best place for Gander while all the work was going on. Although he wasn’t upset by the steady shelling that became a constant background noise, Gander liked to be so close to Fred that he was in danger of getting in the way. He didn’t whine or whimper or cause his friends a problem, he just liked to be close to them. The thud of the shelling continued into the night. Exhausted and desperate for rest, the men found a space to sleep not knowing if sleep was possible.
Gander was happy to have the men around him. Fred was convinced that the dog sensed the stress of the situation and was always very good at choosing the man who looked the most tired and anxious to get his full attention. Laying his head on the man’s lap, Gander heaped his full weight on too. No one wanted to move him. Wherever the dog lay, he brought a special peace and to the ‘chosen’ person he brought a tranquillity that was unknown in that place at that time. The dog was the perfect partner. Man’s best friend. The one individual who could bring a kind of peace where peace seemed impossible.
Over the next five days the Japanese superiority in the air gave their infantry an advantage on the ground. Marching into the New Territories without opposition, a wave of khaki started to wash over the mainland. The Punjabis attempted to stem the advance by demolishing bridges and destroying road and rail links but it did not slow the enemy taking ground. By 10 December the Japanese had swarmed into and over the populated mainland city and were ready to make an approach on the island.
By the morning of 13 December, all British, Canadian and other forces that had remained on the mainland had been evacuated to Hong Kong Island as the Japanese invasion proceeded at pace. The total defence force of over 14,500 men was now on the island. Seeing this action as a retreat, the Japanese were quick to make another demand for surrender. The British governor, Sir Mark Young, refused. Determined to smash the desperate Allied defence, the Imperial Army intensified the shelling from the mainland, taking out ammunition dumps and supply depots, and wreaking havoc on the communication lines.
Wave after wave of shelling and artillery battered the island’s coastal defences. The roadside pillboxes, so easy to pinpoint from the air, were systematically shelled all along the north shore, which made the line of defence strain under the attack. The Japanese advance seemed unstoppable. The area around the Lye Mun Gap, where Gander and the rest of ‘C’ Force were positioned, was now coming under threat. Between 10 December and the 17th, the units sustained heavy casualties, but still the British refused to surrender to the Japanese invaders. A message was sent to them:
The Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Hong Kong declines most absolutely to enter into negotiations for the surrender of Hong Kong, and takes this opportunity of notifying Lieutenant-General Takaishi Sakai and Vice-Admiral Masaichi Nimi that he is not prepared to receive any further communications from them on the subject.
Undeterred by British defiance, Lieutenant-General Sakai issued his own declaration in response:
On Thursday night, December 18, Japanese Imperial Forces will land upon the Island of Hong Kong at suitable situations between North Point and Lye Mun.
By late evening on 18 December 1941, the Japanese launched their attack on Hong Kong, coming thick and fast into the Lye Mun Gap. Boatload after boatload of soldiers in khaki landed, and they came screaming up the beach towards the Canadians, opening fire as they ran. There was no time for Fred Kelly to secure Gander in a pillbox. The onslaught was fast and furious, and every man reached for his rifle to fire at the running targets. The Royal Rifles held their section, sweeping the beach with heavy gunfire. Gander stayed close to Fred, who had no choice but to give the dog freedom. There was no time to do anything else. It was now Sergeant Gander’s time to prove his reputation as a ‘soldier dog’. He didn’t have a gun or a bayonet but his sheer size was enough to strike fear into the heart of the advancing army. As the Japanese streamed from their boats and onto the shore, the Canadian forces stood their ground. Rifles raised, they met the challenge of the Imperial Army. Then right in front of Fred and his comrades, Gander rose onto his hind legs. Like a bear, he ran at the Japanese soldiers, baring his teeth. Not even Fred Kelly could stop Gander now. The dog had seen his friends cut down by bombs and now by bullets and bayonets, and his loathing for the Japanese was instantaneous. He stood six foot tall on his hind legs, staring into the stunned faces of the Japanese soldiers as they ran screaming from the dog that they later called the ‘Black Devil’.
Fred thought Gander’s aggression must have stemmed from the memory of the day they arrived in Kowloon when two Chinese men had tried to abduct him. Until then he had trusted everyone. But that day he learnt there were people to be wary of and the picture he had in his mind matched the look of the soldiers facing his friends right now. For a while Gander waged his own personal war against the Japanese soldiers. If he was afraid, he did not show it. He was fearless and determined to repel the enemy and the Royal Rifles were proud to have him on their side. Time after time he ran in growling at the soldiers, who seemed too shocked to raise their rifles in the attack. Gander was a mascot but at that moment he was a brave soldier too. Gander remained determined to see off the enemy. That he remained alive seemed a miracle, even to the Riflemen serving at his side.
The Royal Rifles gave everything they had to try and stem the flow of the attack. From their slightly elevated position they had a clear view of the enemy and their Bren gun barrels were dangerously hot to the touch from the intense volume of fire. But the invaders kept coming and coming, screeching at the Canadians, with their long bayonets flashing. The Canadians were forced back and ‘C’ Force was soon in danger of being encircled by the Japanese. Withdrawing southwards to avoid entrapment, the men had another problem – the safe evacuation of the wounded. For those still standing, this was a priority. But by this time the men were also fighting a huge battle against exhaustion. For over a week they had been on continuous front-line duty and the effects of no sleep, no hot food and being constantly under attack were taking their toll on everyone. If they slept at all it would be in a weapon pit or where they collapsed, exhausted, on the roadside. All around, the injured lay amongst the dead, waiting to be taken to safety, but sometimes this could take hours and sitting in an almost constant hail of bullets left them vulnerable.
The remainder of ‘C’ Force had been forced back down the Lye Mun Road and into the Tai Tam Gap towards the Stanley area. All the time the men were using the sides of the road for shelter from the hail of grenades. The constant Japanese attacks made it difficult for the Royal Rifles to attend to the wounded, who now lay all over the road and in the ditches where they sought shelter. Fred Kelly, like his comrades, was exhausted from the fighting and Gander realized his friend needed his attention now. They lay together in a ditch, but not to rest. From there, Fred noticed another group – this time of wounded Canadians – stranded in the middle of the road. They were about 200 yards away and it looked as if they had been caught in a ferocious exchange of crossfire and were now unable to move in either direction. Then Fred saw Gander standing on the roadside beside them. He had felt the dog move away from him but had not realized where he was going.
‘Gander! Get down Gander. Down I said!’ Fred Kelly yelled at the dog, afraid that the Japanese would see him first and shoot him. But Gander had already seen his wounded friends and bounded towards them with his usual enthusiasm, only to see several Japanese soldiers moving in fast, their rifles raised in the direction of the wounded. Without hesitating, Gander ran towards them. Growling and baring his teeth, Gander sent them, running and shrieking, in the opposite direction, a look of terror in their eyes. Gander’s intervention gave his own men time to recover the wounded without losing ground. It was another brave show by the fearless Canadian dog.
Afraid that Gander would not be so lucky in the next onslaught, Fred took him just a few yards away to one of the pillboxes and secured it as best he could. The pillboxes were still being used as ammunition stores and shelter but most of the action was now being seen on the roadside. ‘Now you stay there buddy, until this mess is over…OK? I will come back for you,’ Fred said, as he patted Gander’s huge head for what he knew could be the last time. Fred was uneasy about leaving Gander this way but he was sure that the dog could not be that lucky again. Why the Japanese didn’t shoot him was a real puzzle. As they saw him as the ‘Black Devil’, maybe they were afraid to do so. No one knows, but it was clear that Gander was lucky to be alive.
Injured soldiers lay everywhere and as the fighting continued through the night, Gander remained on watch. In the early hours of 19 December, the Royal Rifles had begun to make their way into the hills on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Unable to get a clear shot on their target, the Japanese began tossing hand grenades up the hillside towards the men on the off chance they would wound anyone in the vicinity of the blast. But as fast as they were thrown up the hill the Canadians threw them back down before they exploded. And so the lethal game of ‘catch’ went on.
While the defending Royal Rifles engaged in the dangerous game with the grenades, Captain Garvey and six of his men were making their way into the hills to gain a better view of their target. At this moment a shell hit close by and all seven men were wounded in the blast. Unable to move forward, they immediately became the new target for the Japanese grenades. Blown in several directions by the blast, the men dragged themselves to a point at the side of the road where the captain lay. It was as if the Japanese were watching them, giving them time to move closer together before hitting them with a shower of grenades. One grenade fell just short of the group. One of the men reached for it and tossed it back. Another two grenades landed in the group and were tossed away by the Canadians. Then, as if in slow motion, the men watched a grenade drop into the middle of their group where no one could reach it. The clink of the metal hitting the road seemed to echo for just a moment. Rolling and smoking on the uneven road, the grenade came to a sudden stop. The men quickly located it and every hand moved towards the grenade but all were short. It was just out of reach. Transfixed in their moment of panic and disbelief, they didn’t see Gander approaching from behind. No one saw the dog move in. He came from nowhere and, as if he knew what would happen next, he streaked in. Feeling the breeze from the dog’s massive body on the move, the men watched in awe as Gander rushed in and picked up the hissing grenade in his mouth. He ran for several yards away from the wounded defending Canadians until the grenade detonated in his mouth, killing him instantly.
The wounded Canadians watched horrified as the grenade exploded. Gander was thrown into the air by the blast. His body lay motionless on the road. Captain Garvey and his men survived and each of them knew they owed their lives to their big black mascot dog.
Gander’s body lay on the road all night as the fighting continued. The Canadians fought on to defend their grip on the island and were being pushed back all the time as the grenades continued to be thrown in. No one could reach Gander’s body and they had to leave him where he lay. Those who witnessed his bravery had no idea that Fred Kelly was unaware of the dog’s death. As far as Fred knew, Gander was in the pillbox where he had left him, away from the fighting. As the news of Gander’s bravery made its way through the line, Fred learnt of Gander’s heroic deed. The dog had died saving the lives of his friends. Fred had assumed that at the height of the shelling the dog was in the pillbox where he usually slept at night. ‘When they started shelling. I think he must have got scared and ran out of the pillbox,’ said Fred later. ‘It was pitch dark. I didn’t see him run and if I had I would have tried to stop him. But I didn’t see him go or save Garvey and his men. That damn dog was a friend to all of us.’
As the sun rose the next morning, the men could see Gander’s body still lying on the roadside. It was trapped in the open ground between the two fighting forces where no one could reach him. All the time the men were being forced back by the enemy soldiers, making it impossible to rescue their friend’s body. Fred Kelly was Gander’s closest friend and the sight of the dog lying dead was more than he could bear. He had served with that dog alongside him since the regiment was stationed at Gander Airfield. They had travelled together the thousands of miles by train and boat to fight on the front line in Hong Kong. They had shared so much together and to have the friendship end this way without a goodbye or being able to bury Gander’s body was too painful. ‘I think my pals were afraid to tell me that the dog was dead. But I could see that he was dead and I hated that I couldn’t go near. To think he was gone hurt me so much and I’m not ashamed to say that I cried. I missed my old pal so much.’
On Christmas Day 1941, Hong Kong was forced to surrender to the Japanese Army. Fred Kelly and his fellow survivors were ordered to come forward and were immediately transported to prisoner of war camps. Those who survived the horror of the camps returned home to Canada but they never forgot their mascot dog, Gander. The men were taken prisoner before they had the chance to collect Gander’s body from the roadside where he died. The image of the dog lying there haunted the men for all the time they were prisoners of the Japanese and afterwards in peacetime. They never forgot Gander’s bravery and the way he made the ultimate sacrifice for his friends. Those who were saved that cold night in December knew they owed their lives to the dog and they still harboured the hurt they felt when they had to leave him behind.
The exact time of Gander’s death is unknown but it’s almost certain that his war ended in the early hours of 19 December, within a few hours of the death of another war hero, Sergeant-Major John Osborn. Osborn, an English-born veteran of the First World War, was the first Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross in the Second World War, and it was the only VC awarded for action during the battle for Hong Kong. On the night that Gander saved the lives of seven of his friends in the Royal Rifles of Canada, Sergeant-Major Osborn of the Winnipeg Grenadiers was leading an attack on Mount Butler just a few miles away. Having taken the hill and held it for three hours with only bayonets for weapons, his company was finally forced out by enemy gunfire. Separated from the main battalion, Osborn ignored the rattle of enemy machine guns to gather his men together and lead them to a safer position. When the Japanese began throwing grenades, Osborn began throwing them back. For a while he kept pace with the constant stream of missiles but suddenly one landed too far from his reach. Instinctively, Osborn shouted to warn his men away as he selflessly dived onto the grenade. He was killed instantly but his bravery saved the lives of many others.
Fifty-four years after the fall of Hong Kong a group of veterans were relating the story of Sergeant-Major Osborn to Jeremy Swanson, commemorations officer of the Canadian War Museum. Their memories were to be included in a special exhibition to honour the heroes of the battle in which over 300 Canadians lost their lives and 500 were wounded. The veterans, many of them injured during the fighting for Hong Kong and then held for three years as Japanese prisoners of war, were describing Osborn’s selfless act of bravery when one of the men said, ‘Yes…just like that goddam dog!’ It was the start of the conversation that the men had been waiting to have for over half a century. They wanted to relate, not how they had suffered but how a huge, brave Newfoundland dog had saved their lives. They told of the dog’s courage and companionship and how they had always wanted a medal for Gander. They wanted the world to know about their gallant mascot.
In Ottawa, Canada, on 27 October 2000, Gander’s handler, Fred Kelly, accepted the PDSA Dickin Medal -the medal recognized internationally as the animals’ Victoria Cross – on behalf of Gander. The medal is the highest honour any animal can receive for bravery in conflict and it was the day the veteran soldiers and their families had longed for. For Fred Kelly it was, he said, ‘the best day of my life!’ Gander’s Dickin Medal went on to form a proud part of the Canadians’ Defence of Hong Kong exhibition at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. To the veterans who meet each year to remember friends fallen and heroes lost, Gander is a hero still.
The Hong Kong Veterans Association of Canada (HKVAOC) is still a very active group of veterans and their families, who continue to fight for the recognition of that period of sacrifice. In August 2009 they succeeded in seeing the unveiling of a memorial wall depicting the battle and the names of the people lost in the conflict. The unveiling was a proud and long-awaited moment for the surviving veterans of the Battle of Lye Mun. It was also the foundation stone for the memorial that will go on to feature a bronze of Canada’s canine hero – Gander.
During the battle for Hong Kong Gander proved that he was a ‘soldier dog’. He was no longer a child’s pet, he was a war dog who slept, ate and drank only when he was not facing the enemy. Gander was not trained to be a messenger or a guard dog, like so many other pet dogs were during the Second World War. He just found himself on active service and did what he had done from the start – he gave his friends comfort, companionship and a cosy reminder of home so very far away. But in the throes of battle, Gander was the soldier dog that the hostilities made him.
Gander is now recognized as a Canadian hero of the Second World War. But to his soldier friends he will always be their best pal.
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