Dieppe Radio Logs

[Jordan Baker]

In our museum collection we have a set of original notes taken during the Dieppe Raid. They were written while on the HMS Culpe. I can't imagine they are the "full" radio logs but more of a "benchmarking of events" as they unfolded.

Anyway below is the 11 sheets we have starting from the begining to the end. I've posted the originals followed by a transcript of what they say. Some of the writting was hard to read but I managed to figure it out one nightshift at work.

One thing that I ask, Can you while your reading try and figure out just who all the "coded names" are refering too. Some are easy to figure out but others Im not too sure.

Here is a list of the names I have. I may have missed 1 or 2, if you find any others please add them and post up your suggestions for the rest.

"Bob" = RHLI for Lt/Col Bob Labatt
"Doug" = possibly RRC or BlackWatch
"Cecil" = SSR for Lt/Col Cecil Merrit
"Joe" = ?
"Johnny" = ?
"Fred" = ?
"Rob" = ?
"Goose" = Calgary Highlanders for Lt/Col Ryan Gostling
"Freddy" = ?
"Ham" = for Gen Ham Roberts
"Bill" = ?
"Charlie" = ?

The other one that I can't figure out is "Hunters Force". Could this be the RCE group with the Jeeps tasked with blowing up the sea wall?


Ok, now for the notes.

Sheet #1



0506 SSR landed unopposed
0525 Essex landed
0550 RHLI landed
0635 no word from RRC
RHLI and tanks held up on beach
0700 RHLI held up in heavy arty fire
0705 Joe landed
0710 Smoke, on east side of 0808, trying to get more air support
0712 Essex report rate of fire on beach increasing (arty)
0713 RHLI captured casino
0716 air support on west headland at 0745hrs
0720 Essex FOO instructed to get naval support on East side

FBLO is working on bombardment (on back of above sheet)

Sheet #2



0730 RHLI report mg fire from west and also from tobacco plant
0742 Doug landed on blue beach
0748 A.D. Fred suffering heavy casualties
0800 Bomber squadron over head will bomb East headland on request of Essex
0807 commence second attempt to land
0813 active mg position in front of tobacco factory Bob request Johnny to move forward to take it out

Sheet #3



- Landed on Green Beach unopposed for first 4 minutes – 0510hrs
- First Planes Over head 0511
- First flight Tanks landed 0540
- Bob landed 0528 hrs
- Reported to Force 0541
- Touched down, under heavy enemy arty fire Tanks landed ok- unable to get Troops ashore as Ramp Broken. 0610
- Fred Cross Beach to houses 0609
Our Boat Disabled, unable to land
- Bob Requests help from Fred L st (possibly “Left Side”) Casino 0720
- Fred held up on Beach 0720
- Cannot get in Touch with doug 0720

Sheet #4



- Essex “B” Set out of Action 0740
- Bob (Fred “scratched out”) – get Johnny Forward 0745 – still Held Up
- Charlie still on Beach 0755
- Doug Landed Blue Beach 0755
- Bob wants Johnny Fwrd
- Bob still L of Casino but slightly S.
- Bob wants intruder Supt on White Beach
-Enemy Plane Shot down by A.A. from Boats 0820

Sheet #5



- Hunters force still on Beach 0813
- Cecil taken limited objective wants permission to abort again, Heavy Casualties
- Rob Requires H E + Smoke on West Headland O.P 0840
- FMR in severe difficulties must be taken off or will be wiped out 0843
- 221685 – 220685 Bob Requests Bombing
- Joe Reports he is Completely Surrounded 0905
- Goose can retire to Green Beach
- Cecil can retire to Green Beach
- White Beach rather sticky numerous casualties Johnny unable to get off

Sheet #6



- Bob at Casino Awaiting Air Support 0915
- A Coy Freddy out of Touch with doug
-Freddy situation same
- Vanquish 1100 HRS. at 0930hrs.
-Bob requires Bombardment interval on Buildings Front of white beach
- Goose + Cecil together occupying defensive posn around Green Peter 1005
- Johnny requests air support on both headlands before Vanquish and suggests Vanquish earlier as Amm running low, 1000

Sheet # 7



- Vanquish Through to Freddy
- Red Peter reports Situation Critical
- Cecile Requests support to take out gun on west Cliff edge of Green Peter
- Bob requests Continuous smoke + intruders on Front buildings White Beach 1049
- reply Cannon fighters due there now
- Enemy Bomber Do.17 Shot down by Spitfires 110-5
-taken under tow and headed for home 1125

Sheet #8



- 1208 Bill to Ham : request continuous Bombers and smoke support to be continuous as enemy can see boats 400 yards from shore also forming boats must come all together
- Bill to HAM smoke seems to have reached Beach
- Sherwood assumed control from Ham 1225
- Report received Brig Lett wounded and on Hospital Ship
- Light Craft urgently needed on Red + white Beach

Sheet #9



- Liet McCoy
- 1232 – from Bill to Ham general sit quiet, request situation report
- Ham to Bill- sit rep, Large no (#) taken off Green Beach, according to men, have lost a lot of boats on Green Beach + are now assisting
- only 6 boats landed at yellow – many wounded on
- from Bill – now waiting at Red + White beach for boats /- no word of Joe

Sheet #10



- 1243
- From Bill to Ham – White Peter not good Red Peter not so bad because fewer light people
- Rce Lieut Molder 2nd Coy
- 1301 Bombard bldgs and pill boxes along promenade – Enemy closing in- from Bill to Ham
- 1305 – Bill to Ham
- must have quick support, Enemy closing in on Beach – bring it up please
-Bill to Ham
-1307 we are evacuating off, H. to Bill can you give us any cover…

[Jordan Baker]

Sheet # 11



…. On beach
- Ham to Bill can you give us any cover
- no answer

-1308 – there seems to be a mass surrender of our troops to Germans – our people have surrendered
- 1309 – Ham to Bill are you afloat.


Any help that can be given in regards to my questions above would be most appreciated.

Thanks

[maple_leaf_eh]

These are primary sources to history. The tear-off pads, the pencil writing, the timelines, the callsigns, the questions and the responses. It doesn't get any more 'raw' than this.

BTW, how do these compare in size to the modern Canadian field message pad?

[Jordan Baker]

I would have loved to have heard the actual radio chatter going on and not just what the poor quy writing down what he caught. Im sure there was so much more then this but you can only write so fast. The other interesting thing is that these sheets all came from the same pad yet 3 different people were writing. One the originals you can see the imprints from the previous page.

That last entry really gets to me.

Whats the dimensions for the modern pads and I can measure these next week.

[Ed Storey]

Here you go.

[maple_leaf_eh]

What you don't see on the top photo is the hard cardboard covers. The back is stapled to the binder section, and the front has a two-fold fabric hinge. The bottom pic is the current style with a coil binding. Each has a half-dozen pages of carbon paper in the back, a 1/4" grid and perforations to tear off used pages.

When CANFORME EOD Tp departed Kuwait City in Apr '91, we left our consumables behind with our US hosts. Cases of rations with the little questionaire survey. Jugs of various POL. We steered our friends to the bricks of plastic wrapped Field Message Pads (FMPs). 'Yes, First Sergeant you really want some of these for yourself. And the rest of you, how about those rolls of 2-ply toilet paper?' They are not interchangeable.

[Marc Montgomery]

very interesting to see the first post ===SSR landed unopposed ==?!?!?!?!
That seems to run counter to everything I've heard or read?

[Bruce MacMillan]

From the official history of the RCSigs...

"The attack on the right flank at Pourville by the SSR and the Camerons , planned to coincide with that of The Royal Regiment at Puys, brought some initial success for both regiments."

"As the LCT bearing 6th BDE HQ pulled into White Beach, the regiments reported successful landings, some progress toward objectives."

It was after the reserves (Les Fusiliers Mont-Royal) landed that the fighting was the fiercest.

"It was not long before a message came through from them reporting themselves surrounded."

[klambie]

This article (p. 2) notes a 0740 message "Doug landed three companies intact at Blue Beach ... all going well" and links it to LCol Douglas Catto of the RRC

Vanquish was the code word for withdrawal

http://walrusmagazine.com/articles/2...ructing-dieppe

[Jordan Baker]

Just updating the list

"Bob" = Lt/Col Bob Labatt, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
"Doug" = Lt/Col Doug Catto, Royal Regiment of Canada
"Cecil" = Lt/Col Cecil Merrit, South Saskatchewan Reg
"Joe" = Lt/Col Joe Dollard Menard, Fusilier Montreal
"Johnny" =Lt/Col Johnny Andrews, Calgary Tanks
"Fred" = Lt/Col Fred Jasperson, Essex Scottish
"Rob" = ? possibly duplicate of “Bob”
"Goose" = Lt/Col Ryan Gostling, Cameron Highlanders
"Freddy" = ? possibly duplicate of “Fred”
"Ham" = for Gen Ham Roberts
"Bill" = ? possibly Major Bill Sucharov, Royal Canadian Engineers or Brigadier William Southam
"Charlie" = ?
“Hunters Force” unknown, possibly Scout Cars

[Robert Bergeron]

Extraordinary find Jordan ! Robert