1912–1994
Toronto Necropolis
Section N Lot 105
In October 1941, Kathleen “Kay” Christie, a Toronto nurse, seized an unexpected chance to serve overseas. “I had five minutes to decide,” she later recalled. A week later, she boarded a train to Vancouver before sailing on the Awatea along with nearly 2,000 Canadian troops. Their destination was revealed mid-voyage: Hong Kong.
Kay arrived on November 16 and began work at the British Military Hospital. Three weeks later, Pearl Harbor was attacked, and Hong Kong came under siege. Shells struck the hospital, forcing staff to crowd patients onto the ground floor. Amid the chaos, Kay and fellow Canadian nurse May Waters worked tirelessly, improvising care as food and medical supplies dwindled.
On Christmas Day, Hong Kong surrendered. The hospital became “Prisoner-of-War Camp A,” and Kay earned the grim distinction of being one of only two Canadian nurses taken prisoner during World War II. For eight months, she endured hunger and deprivation, while still caring for the wounded with ingenuity, such as making soup in steel helmets when pots were scarce.
In August 1942, Kay was moved to Stanley Internment Camp, where conditions were harsh and privacy non-existent. Finally, in September 1943, after a prisoner exchange arranged by the International Red Cross, Kay began a 10-week journey home aboard the Gripsholm. She returned to Canada with a profound appreciation for freedom and life.
Kay Christie died in 1994 at age 82. Her grave at the Toronto Necropolis marks the resting place of a woman whose courage shone in the darkest hours.
Sources:
• Hong Kong Veterans Commemorative Association – Nursing Sister Kay Christie
• Valour Canada – Kay Christie: Canadian Nursing Sister POW
• Cabbagetown People – Kay Christie
• The Canadian Encyclopedia – Battle of Hong Kong
• Mount Pleasant Group – Kay Christie
Photo: hkvca.ca
