in saving Australia." In a summary of the controversy over C Force, the British historian Tony Banham wrote in 2015: "Clearly the Canadian authorities did not send their most battle-ready formations to Hong Kong. They sent two unready battalions with a varied quality of officers, generally good NCOs and a wide spectrum of men. They also—through unfortunate timing – sent them too late. This work does not attempt to explore those limitations , but to point out that to accept them and then conclude that everything that went wrong afterwards was therefore 'the fault of the British' is unrealistic". The Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association dedicated the Hong Kong Memorial Wall on Sussex Drive at King Edward Avenue in Ottawa, Ontario, on 15 August 2009 to the 1,977 Canadians who sailed to Hong Kong in 1941 to assist the British in defending the colony against the Japanese invasion. The names of 961 members of the Royal Rifles are etched on one side of the wall and the names of 911 Grenadiers are on the other side of a six-metre concrete wall covered in granite, with the upper part shaped as a mountain landscape. The 106 members of the Brigade Headquarters, including doctors, dentists and chaplains are listed on either end of the memorial. The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada erected a memorial rock with plaque near the Hong Kong Memorial Wall on 15 August 2009, which describes the Canadian role in the defence of Hong Kong. "In late 1941, 1,975 Canadians arrived in Hong Kong to reinforce the garrison. They fought with courage and determination against overwhelming odds after the Japanese attacked on 8 December. Many distinguished themselves under fire, including Company Sergeant-Major John Robert Osborn, who won Canada's first Victoria Cross of the Second World War, During the seventeen-day battle, 290 men died. After the surrender, 267 more perished during long years of harsh captivity. The Canadians' role in the defence of Hong Kong stands as an eloquent expression of their lasting honour." Books and articles References Government of Canada Publications - Canadian Participation in the Defence of Hong Kong, December, 1941 Further reading Battle of Hong Kong Canadian World War II brigades Ad hoc units and formations of Canada Military of Hong Kong under British rule