August 19, 1942 Dieppe

Hi Everyone,

I found this page of Dieppe stories in the CBC News online and just wanted to share the link for this anniversary:

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-71-2359...ct_war/dieppe/



Karmen.

[Jon Skagfeld]

The 65th anniversary of the Dieppe raid co-incided, to the day, with the annual Canadian National Exhibition's Warrior's Day Parade, in Toronto.

I was in attendance and, at Fort York Armouries, visited the Sergeants' Mess of the Royal Regiment of Canada (I was a Company Sergeant Major with the Royals in the 'eighties.)

I produced a piece of polished gravel (chert) taken from the Dieppe beach, given to me by MLUer Bruce Parker upon his visit there a couple of years ago.

One of the Royals' Mess members held the piece of stone and you could almost feel the...what?...feelings, emotions, electricity, sheer power of the effect that this small item could evoke in a person.

Moving.

[Garry Shipton (RIP)]

Coming in on the ferry from Newhaven,looking at the white cliffs at each end of the beach,my only thought was that this was a good defensive position.To the left of the harbour entrance was a cement casement which had fallen onto the beach.But from where it fell from halfway up the cliff was a perfect golfball indentation,indicating the amount of fire directed at this particular battery.Having a 4 hour layover for the train to Paris,I walked the main beach.The stones underfoot would move to my footsteps easily.No wonder the Calgarys' couldn' get the tanks up on to the promenade.I then took a trip out to the cemetary wiith a French cab driver who was excited because we were, des Canadiens, to take us there (and guarentee too get us back to the train station in the inner quay entrance to the harbour.Looking at the ages of the dead brought tears to my eyes(18,19 ,20 ,21)and I didn't have any Kleenex.I'll never forget these sacred sights as long as I live.