Fallen remembered at Dieppe monument unveiling

A surviving veteran of the 1942 Dieppe raid, Maurice Snook poses with a newly dedicated monument recognizing the sacrifices made by the Essex Scottish Regiment. The unveiling took place Aug. 19 in Windsor.

Essex men among those that gave their lives at Dieppe

By Andy Comber - August 25, 2010

In the early morning hours of Aug. 19, 1942, Allied forces mounted a major raid against the German defences at the French port of Dieppe. Almost 5,000 Canadians took part in the raid, among them 32 officers and 521 soldiers of the Essex Scottish Regiment, including many local young men.

Censorship laws prevented the newspapers of the day from publishing the names of the soldiers taking part in the raid. There was no exception for the Essex Free Press. The fear was the lists would fall into German hands, allowing them to check off the names of any men captured or killed, and thereby identify soldiers that may have escaped and gone into hiding.

"This inspires an intensive search, which will almost inevitably result in the soldiers being found and imprisoned," stated a report in the Aug. 28, 1942 Essex Free Press.

Early official reports were positive but lacked details of the Dieppe raid. In the following paper, a caption with pictures related to Operation Jubilee indicated that the Canadians had landed in France "and achieved their objective."

"The landing was completed and the Canadians destroyed artillery posts and radio locations centres near Dieppe."

It would be more than three months later when the true cost of the Dieppe raid started to strike the Essex community. That is when official news reached local soldiers' families.

"On Sunday sad news came to four families in Essex, when cablegrams were received, through International Red Cross, notifying them that their loved one had been killed in action during the Battle of Dieppe on August 19," reported the Dec. 11, 1942 Essex Free Press. Listed as killed, with pictures, were Cpl. Chas Schooley, Pte. James Balmer, Pte. Newton Barnard, all of the Essex Scottish, and Cpl. James Coltman of the Hamilton Light Infantry.

More bad news arrived in the following weeks. The family of Pte. Lawrence Gulliver learned he was also killed at Dieppe and his brother Cecil was made a prisoner of war by the Germans.

The Dieppe raid cost dearly. Of the 3,367 casualties, 1,946 were taken prisoner. Some 907 Canadians, among them 121 from the Essex Scottish, made the ultimate sacrifice.

That sacrifice was marked on Thursday, the 68th anniversary of the Dieppe raid, with the unveiling of a new monument in Windsor's Dieppe Park. The monument designed by Rory O'Conner, then an 18-year-old Fine Arts student at the University of Windsor, is identical to the one dedicated in Dieppe, France in 2006.

The monument features a "moment in time" element. At 1 p.m. on Aug. 19 each year the sun's rays pass through a Maple Leaf shaped hole and illuminate a stainless steel Maple Leaf set in the ground. This is the time hostilities ended on that fateful day in 1942.

Music from the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment Pipes and Drums and Windsor Regiment Band marked the beginning of the ceremonies. The regiment became the Essex-Kent Scottish Regiment in 1954 after amalgamating with the Kent Regiment.

Ten surviving Dieppe veterans were among over 1,000 people attending the Dieppe monument dedication. A vintage Hurricane fighter plane made flybys, symbolic of the Canadians that fought in the air over Dieppe, moments after the monument was unveiled.

The present Mayor of Dieppe, Sebastien Jumel, came to Windsor to honour the veterans and remember the sacrifices made at Dieppe. His speech was made in French, but translated in closing.

Jumel said the French people were eternally thankful to the soldiers who fought for the freedom of Europe. He said the sacrifices made at Dieppe were not made in vain, but helped the Allies to better prepare for the Normandy landings on D-Day, giving hope to France.

"We do not forget them," Jumel said. "I remember. We remember. We remember our Canadian friends."

As the crowd was asked to stand for a moment of silence to remember the fallen, an emotion-filled veteran called out "They will not grow old."

Wreaths were laid at the memorial. Young schoolchildren paid tribute, lining up and placing poppies at the base of the memorial.

Following the ceremony, many people remained to thank the veterans.