Context: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (Entries No. 1 - 13).

News About World War II Events, Editorials, Cartoons, Ads and More.

Published in The Winnipeg Tribune from June 27 to August 18, 1942

Thirteen Consecutive Entries, Including Some Very Rare Items.

[Canadian soldiers race along a riverbed while conducting assault training at

Aldershot, England in August 1942. Credit - Library and Archives Canada.

As found in Training for Operation Jubilee by Caroline D'Amours ]

Introduction:

Many actions took place on several war fronts as Allied planners prepared for Operations RUTTER (July 7, 1942) and Operation JUBILEE (Aug. 19, 1942), i.e., the raid on Dieppe, France.

Over the course of approx. seven full weeks, from June 27 to August 18, 1942, scores of items published in The Winnipeg Tribune (now digitized) help inform readers about training activities, tensions amongst world leaders, pressures on top Allied leaders to develop plans for a Second Front, and more.

Many news clippings and editorials inform us of the times in which Canadian troops were preparing for their first action, and a few put the spotlight on members of the Canadian Navy who manned escort ships in convoys or landing crafts (e.g., Canadians in RCNVR and Combined Ops) that would be used in the raid on Dieppe.

I have already posted 13 entries under the heading "Context: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE" and they are organized here in consecutive order for the convenience of readers.

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (1) June 27 - 30, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (2), July 1 - 2, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (3), July 3 - 7, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (4) July 8 - 11, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (5) July 14 - 17, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (6) July 18 - 22, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (7) July 23 - 25, 1942

A Vickers gun crew relocates their weapon during training in June or

July 1942. Photo Credit - Library and Archives Canada PA177140

As found in Training for Operation Jubilee by Caroline D'Amours 

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (8) July - 30, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (9) July 31 - Aug. 3, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (10) Aug. 4 - 7, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (11) Aug. 8 - 11, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (12) August 12 - 14, 1942

Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (13) Aug. 15 - 18, 1942

Tank landing operations during Exercise Yukon II, 22 - 23 June 1942. 

Photo Credit - Library and Archives Canada C-138677

The following paragraph is an excerpt from a very informative article about Canadian troops involved in training exercises prior to the Dieppe Raid:

Please link to the full article - Training for Operation Jubilee by Caroline D'Amours 

Please link to photographs related to the Dieppe Raid.

Unattributed Photos GH

Context: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (13)

The Dieppe Raid is One Day Away, But Who Knew?

News From The Winnipeg Tribune, Aug. 15 - 18, 1942

This spit of land was (is) known as The Spit or Goose Spit, Comox, B.C.

There was life after Dieppe, but for many Canadian sailors it was darker.

Introduction:

Many young members of the RCNVR trained for and/or participated in the Dieppe Raid. A small handful were killed in the company of many hundreds of soldiers who were also killed - mowed down, butchered, while in the water, never touching the beach - or taken prisoner on August 19, 1942. And newspaper reports from that day are upcoming.

What follows is another collection of news clippings, editorials, product ads to provide context, to give a sense of the times.

As well, I include three photos of men (members of RCNVR and Combined Operations) who survived the day. Some were fortunate to drop off troops near or on the beach and retreat to safety, and survive the day; some were on leave - like my father, I'm glad he was - and were on hand when shattered landing crafts and survivors returned to Newhaven, Portsmouth, etc.

I share the photos here to demonstrate that life went on... to some degree. These men served after the raid in such places as the invasions of North Africa (Operation Torch), Sicily (Operation Husky) and Italy (Operations Baytown and Avalanche). They returned to Canada in December 1943 and volunteered again - after being offered opportunities to return to Europe or General Service - and ended up on The Spit on Vancouver Island.

They seem pretty happy as they "played a lot of ball, with good coaches" and enjoyed "heavenly" surroundings up to the time of their discharge, September 5, 1945.

They were invited to enlist for the Pacific theatre but turned it down. "We had had enough of war," said one. Unfortunately, as is often the case with those who experience times of war, war does not let go of its players easily.

Back Row (L - R): Unknown, unknown, Doug Harrison, Chuck Rose,

Joe Malone, Bill Grycan, Art Varny.

 Doug Harrison, my father, sits on the hood, far right. End of The Spit.

Before Discharge. 1945. Back (L - R) Don Westbrook, Chuck Rose, Joe Spencer

Front (L - R) Joe Watson, Doug Harrison, Art Warrick. 

Link to The Winnipeg Tribune to peruse more details, clippings, editorials, ads, etc., at your leisure.

* * * * * *

The Winnipeg unit highlighted in the headline participated in the Dieppe Raid. Other Canadian regiments are named as well, and it should be known that Canadians in Combined Operations were sprinkled among the Royal Navy crews. The Canadians Navy formed their own flotillas in the next action, i.e., the invasion of North Africa.

The invasion flotillas may have been involved in practice exercises known as Yukon I and Yukon II:

Two or three RCNVR officers must have been asked (or they volunteered!) to write reports about certain actions. Here is an article by Lt. Tate we could call "Action Stations!":

In an earlier entry, I mentioned that a film (The Commando Strikes At Dawn) was made on Vancouver Island during WW2. Article about the movie's star follows:

Good news related to U-Boat attacks:

During the 'Four-Day Talks', was an upcoming raid mentioned, a raid that might appease Stalin's repeated cries for a second front in the west?

Buck-a-beer might sound good to some readers. How about four bottles for less that a dollar, or ten cents a glass!? 

Hitler had his eye on the Caucasus region (please note the oilfields adjacent to the centre mountain range) but the battle for Stalingrad, to the north, slowed his advances. 

Casualty lists appear regularly in The Winnipeg Tribune. I search them for the names of a few men my father (RCNVR, Combined Ops) mentioned in his memoirs. No luck on that front yet. 

That being said, we can see that families across Canada were affected weekly, if not daily. 

HMS Eagle was mentioned in an earlier entry, and more details of it sinking follow:

The English Channel was a busy place, with British and German patrols getting to face off on occasion. Unfortunately, an incident similar to the one mentioned below, occurred on August 19, as landing craft approached positions offshore of Dieppe: 

More news clippings will follow.

Please click here to view Context: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (12)

Unattributed Photos GH

Context: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (12)

Stalingrad Survives, an Eagle Dies, and U-Boats Sink 

News Reports from The Winnipeg Tribune, August 12 - 14, 1942

[Photo: My father, Doug Harrison (left) missed Dieppe by one day due to a short

leave at Calshot Castle adjacent to The Solent near Southampton, where ships and

landing crafts assembled. Buryl McIntyre participated in the August 19 raid and a

London Free Press article (Feb. 1944) reports he distinguished himself admirably.

The two men were longtime school mates and friends from Norwich, Ontario, and

volunteered for RCNVR and Combined Operations at the same time, June 1941.]

Remembrance Day in Norwich. Date unknown. Doug Harrison, right.

Introduction:

News clippings photos, ads, etc. are assembled below from a Canadian newspaper published only one week before the Dieppe Raid. Hopefully they will provide readers with some sense of WWII actions taking place at the time, the mood that was "in the air," and more.

Link to The Winnipeg Tribune to peruse news reports at your leisure. I say, the more context the better.

* * * * * *

After serving two years overseas, and participating in extensive training for Dieppe, and the subsequent invasions of North Africa, Sicily and Italy, Doug Harrison and Buryl McIntyre returned to Canada and volunteered for further service on the West Coast of Canada, at HMCS Givenchy III, Comox (on Vancouver Island). One of my father's activities was to train "Zombies on Navy cutters", as depicted below (More information is provided in his Navy memoirs):

I wouldn't mind getting a few fly coils for my workshop! And two pounds of marmalade at 29 cents isn't bad either!

The island of Malta "must be fed."

England wants more of Canada's bacon, though I see they have some fine pigs of their own! 

The Eagle has not landed!

Some interesting lines appear below. "The operation will be fully planned, thoroughly backed by naval and air power." 

Compare that to what happened at Dieppe 5 days later!

More news clippings to follow.

Please link to Context: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operations RUTTER/JUBILEE (11)

Unattributed Photos GH