Articles: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operation JUBILEE (4).

Deep Cuts, Clash in Channel, and Saskatchewan Unit and More.

News Reports From The Winnipeg Tribune, August 22 1942.

[Front page photograph as found in The Tribune on August 22 1942]

Introduction:

I do not know how long the piper played his lament for those killed or wounded at Dieppe, or for those still missing and unreported up to the time he played his first note.

I do know he would not have filled the air with mournful sounds as long as it would take to read the names of those on casualty lists and who never returned to England, or friends, wives, children, mothers or fathers.

At your convenience, please link to the full (Aug. 22) issue of The Winnipeg Tribune.

* * * * * *

Canadian War Correspondent Ross Munro writes fine descriptions of the action taken by his nation's troops in the early morning hours of August 19:

About the pipers... Al Kirby, RCNVR and Combined Operations, manning a landing craft destined for the beaches near Dieppe, recalls the following in memoirs:

Plowing through the wall of mortar fire the noise was deafening, but more than that the concussion of each burst pressed on our ears as though we were being smitten with giant pillows. I looked down along the line of landing craft and so far no one seemed to have been hit yet.

The Germans seemed to have our range now as the explosions were gushing water all around us. How they could be landing so close without hitting us was almost unbelievable. I am half soaked from the water cascading down on me as I crouch down behind the smoke generator.

Looking over the top of the canvas cover, I see the Cameron Platoon Commander pointing off to his right. Looking in that direction, I am amazed at the sight of a piper standing up on the focs'l of the second boat over, playing away as though he was alone in a field of heather in the rolling hills by Loch Lomond.

Shortly before touching the beach the din is joined by the staccato chorus of a number of automatic weapons from the cliffs that spring from either side of the stoney beach in front of us. The roar, the crash, the rattle and smash have reached such a crescendo that it fairly blocks out my ability to appreciate what is taking place around me.

Page 53-54, Combined Operations, by Londoner Clayton Marks.

[The above photo can be seen in pristine condition in an earlier entry.
Explore Photographs re Dieppe in Blog Archive, right margin]

In more than one book, memoir or news report we will read about a clash between Allied and German forces in the English Channel that took place about two hours before the scheduled landings at Dieppe. It was during this chance meeting that Canadian forces suffered their first casualty, Sub. Lt. Clifford Wallace.

Photo and details as found in St. Nazaire to Singapore Volume 1, page 60.

Some readers may already know that Major-General "Ham" Roberts later became somewhat of a scapegoat for failures associated with the Dieppe Raid, and unfairly at that. Unfortunately he was heard saying to his men, "It will be a piece of cake." He likely never lived that statement down. 

How long would it take to read the name of one of those 'Killed in Action' as listed below? Three or four seconds? How many names could one read in one minute? Fifteen to twenty?

If that was the case, we would need to read steadily for 10 minutes to cover 150 - 200 of the names of those men lost at Dieppe. And we would only be just beginning. 

More news reports about the Dieppe Raid will follow.

Please link to Articles: Dieppe Raid 1942 - Operation JUBILEE (3).

Unattributed Photos GH