Killed at Dieppe on August 19, 1942
The search for Joseph McKenna's records took me to Dieppe
Introduction:
I was first introduced to Joe McKenna by reading his name in the short list above (complied by my father), of three ratings (sailors) and one officer, all members of RCNVR and (I assume) Combined Operations, who were killed at Dieppe on August 19, 1942. And as I've read my father's Navy memoirs, and those of others, I have learned a little bit more about Joe, e.g., where he came from, some aspects of his Navy training, and details about his death during the tragic raid on the French coast during the mid-point of World War II.
Details about Joe grew substantially when I found his official Canadian Navy records, from enlistment to the date of his death, at an online source. And having a neat stack of stories and records now at hand, I compile them here as a way to pay respect to a young, brave man who voluntarily placed himself into the line of fire and - in the blink of an eye - lost all opportunity to grow old with a family of his own back on Prince Edward Island.
I also share details here about how to find military records in Canada so that readers who are of the mind to find more about a relative's World War II history can do so without too much difficulty.
I also share details here about how to find military records in Canada so that readers who are of the mind to find more about a relative's World War II history can do so without too much difficulty.
My second introduction to Joe McKenna occurred when I read the following in my father's Navy memoirs:
Much has been written about Dieppe so I will not enlarge upon it too much. My opinion is - it was a senseless waste of blood. The Germans were ready because we (i.e., the Allies) ran into a German convoy in the channel. The element of surprise was lost.
News report from two days before Dieppe Raid.
The English Channel was a busy place and perhaps
German forces at Dieppe were doubly alert.
Photo credit - The Winnipeg Tribune
The times of arrival at beaches were to be during the night, but some turned out to land in full daylight up against cliffs unable in any way to be scaled. No softening up of defences by bombing was ever carried out.
I will make it short and say I will remember it as a complete, useless waste of good Canadian blood and no one - even those who say we learned a valuable lesson there - will ever change my mind. No mock raids were held, as for St. Nazaire against home defences. It was simply a mess.
I lost my first comrades at Dieppe. Others were wounded. O/S Richard Cavanaugh - killed. O/S Jack McKenna* - killed. A/B Lloyd Campbell, London, Ontario died of wounds after his legs were nearly cut off by machine gun fire. Imagine Higgins boats made of 3/4 inch plywood going in on a beach like that.
Lieutenant McRae, our commander, Stoker Brown, and others I can’t recall were taken prisoner. And lots of people don’t even know Canada’s navy was represented at Dieppe. (The only other comrade I lost was Coxswain Owens, the man who left me stranded that night in Irvine. He was killed in North Africa, our next safari).
Page 20 - 21, "Dad, Well Done"
In 1996, about 20 years after writing his Navy memoirs, my father wrote an article for his hometown newspaper, entitled 'Looking Back From Later On, The 50th Anniversary of Dieppe', and it included more details about the raid and those injured or killed:
A small flotilla of landing craft had incredibly bad luck when in mid channel, at 0347. They unexpectedly met with a small German convoy composed of one reasonably large ship and five small trawlers and E- boats. In the ensuing fire fight one of our Canadian naval officers Sub/Lt. C.D. Wallace was killed and lies buried at Dunkerque.
If any ship in the German convoy realised what they saw and got a message ashore then the cat was out of the bag hours before the landing. It has never been clear in my mind how the Allied masterminds had more knowledge of the beaches at North Africa, Sicily and Italy than they did of the beaches of France, less than 75 miles away.
I lost my first comrades at Dieppe. Others were wounded. O/S Richard Cavanaugh - killed. O/S Jack McKenna* - killed. A/B Lloyd Campbell, London, Ontario died of wounds after his legs were nearly cut off by machine gun fire. Imagine Higgins boats made of 3/4 inch plywood going in on a beach like that.
Lieutenant McRae, our commander, Stoker Brown, and others I can’t recall were taken prisoner. And lots of people don’t even know Canada’s navy was represented at Dieppe. (The only other comrade I lost was Coxswain Owens, the man who left me stranded that night in Irvine. He was killed in North Africa, our next safari).
Page 20 - 21, "Dad, Well Done"
In 1996, about 20 years after writing his Navy memoirs, my father wrote an article for his hometown newspaper, entitled 'Looking Back From Later On, The 50th Anniversary of Dieppe', and it included more details about the raid and those injured or killed:
If any ship in the German convoy realised what they saw and got a message ashore then the cat was out of the bag hours before the landing. It has never been clear in my mind how the Allied masterminds had more knowledge of the beaches at North Africa, Sicily and Italy than they did of the beaches of France, less than 75 miles away.
In the North African landing November 8, 1942, when dawn broke I was astonished that my landing craft was on the beach only a good stone’s throw away from a sidewalk cafe. Good reconnaissance.
At the actual landing amidst the hellfire that August morning 54 years ago (1942), one Canadian landing craft was struck by cannon fire and heavy machine gun fire. One seaman was killed and the coxswain severely wounded. The stoker, Robert Brown DSM, although wounded himself, and our commanding officer tried to free the craft and worked feverishly to help the wounded, to no avail. Mercifully, after the day which seemed like eternity, they and the wounded coxswain were captured. The coxswain, Lloyd Campbell of London, died October 21 despite very good German medical attention and is buried in Berlin. Richard Cavanaugh, the seaman, lies at his rest at Dieppe.
Stoker Brown, DSM and commanding Officer Robert McRae returned to Canada after POW Camp. I have visited both men. Mr. McRae lives in Toronto and taught as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Brown’s life is a story in itself. He was accepted, at an early age, into the band of Six Nation Indians at Ohsweken, Ontario. I attended his funeral in March, 1989 and he is at rest among his native friends in the Anglican cemetery.
At the actual landing amidst the hellfire that August morning 54 years ago (1942), one Canadian landing craft was struck by cannon fire and heavy machine gun fire. One seaman was killed and the coxswain severely wounded. The stoker, Robert Brown DSM, although wounded himself, and our commanding officer tried to free the craft and worked feverishly to help the wounded, to no avail. Mercifully, after the day which seemed like eternity, they and the wounded coxswain were captured. The coxswain, Lloyd Campbell of London, died October 21 despite very good German medical attention and is buried in Berlin. Richard Cavanaugh, the seaman, lies at his rest at Dieppe.
Stoker Brown, DSM and commanding Officer Robert McRae returned to Canada after POW Camp. I have visited both men. Mr. McRae lives in Toronto and taught as a Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. Brown’s life is a story in itself. He was accepted, at an early age, into the band of Six Nation Indians at Ohsweken, Ontario. I attended his funeral in March, 1989 and he is at rest among his native friends in the Anglican cemetery.
One other Canadian sailor killed was Joe McKenna of PEI. His body was transported back to England and is buried in a small church cemetery amidst floral surroundings at Newhaven, the port from which he left that needless day.
So much has been written and captured films televised, with many reasons given for the raid. Possibly much was learned but I am convinced much more was lost.
Page 72 - 73, "Dad, Well Done"
As my father says, "much has been written" about the Dieppe Raid, and I have listed a good deal of material and presented many high-quality photographs (most from the Imperial War Museum, UK) on this website. Please click on 'Dieppe' under the 'click on Headings' section in right hand margin.
Commanding Officer Robert McRae, mentioned above by my father, writes - most poignantly, in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War, pages 60 - 66 - about his experiences on the day of the raid, the loss and wounding of his crew, his capture, and march to a German POW camp.
Following is an excerpt from McRae's writing about the Dieppe Raid:
In the same book we can read about many other facts and details related to the raid, including portions of text that include the scene and action in which Joe McKenna participated and where and when he met his death. See page 58 of St. Nazaire to Singapore (same book as mentioned above).
And in another text, Combined Operations, written and compiled by Londoner Clayton Marks, we not only read Commanding Officer Robert McRae's words in very good context, we find a paragraph that sets the stage for our understanding of Joe McKenna's fate:
So much has been written and captured films televised, with many reasons given for the raid. Possibly much was learned but I am convinced much more was lost.
Page 72 - 73, "Dad, Well Done"
As my father says, "much has been written" about the Dieppe Raid, and I have listed a good deal of material and presented many high-quality photographs (most from the Imperial War Museum, UK) on this website. Please click on 'Dieppe' under the 'click on Headings' section in right hand margin.
Commanding Officer Robert McRae, mentioned above by my father, writes - most poignantly, in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War, pages 60 - 66 - about his experiences on the day of the raid, the loss and wounding of his crew, his capture, and march to a German POW camp.
Following is an excerpt from McRae's writing about the Dieppe Raid:
As found in St. Nazaire to Singapore, Volume 1, Page 61
And in another text, Combined Operations, written and compiled by Londoner Clayton Marks, we not only read Commanding Officer Robert McRae's words in very good context, we find a paragraph that sets the stage for our understanding of Joe McKenna's fate:
Sub-Lieutenant C.D. Wallace was the first Canadian casualty. He was killed in the dark hours of the morning, when the Flotillas on the extreme left flank of the assault made the fatal encounter with a German convoy.
Photo and caption as found on page 60,
St. Nazaire to Singapore, Volume 1
Clayton Marks continues:
Lt. J.E. Koyl, a Canadian who was to figure in many happier landings, was boat Officer of a Flotilla which included thirty-three Canadians. It left its parent ship, "Duke of Wellington", at 0334. As the craft neared the beach shortly after five, they came under heavy fire from shore. They managed to land their three platoons of the Canadian Black Watch near Puys; but as they were withdrawing the British Flotilla Officer was seriously wounded and Lt. Koyl took charge. Continuing seaward, he transferred the wounded Officer to a British destroyer, and about 1200 when the evacuation of the beach was ordered, led his craft in again through heavy fire from shore and attack from the air. Before he could beach, however, he was ordered to turn back. German batteries were laying down a curtain of steel that made evacuation an impossibility.
Meanwhile, Sub-Lieutenants A.A. Wedd and J.E. Boak(**), each in command of one of the landing craft (Personnel) which had sailed directly from England, came into shore with their Flotilla a little east of Dieppe harbour. Passing through smoke and into the fire from the German weapons of all calibers, they landed their troops and withdrew. They were sent in an hour or so later to Dieppe harbour itself, but were recalled almost immediately and re-routed to one of the beaches near Puys.
Meanwhile, Sub-Lieutenants A.A. Wedd and J.E. Boak(**), each in command of one of the landing craft (Personnel) which had sailed directly from England, came into shore with their Flotilla a little east of Dieppe harbour. Passing through smoke and into the fire from the German weapons of all calibers, they landed their troops and withdrew. They were sent in an hour or so later to Dieppe harbour itself, but were recalled almost immediately and re-routed to one of the beaches near Puys.
Photo Credit to Combined Operations Page 25, by Londoner C. Marks
As they reached the inner fringe of the smoke shrouding the beach, they came upon a group of Canadian soldiers crouching on a capsized landing craft just off shore, and pinned down by fire. Although the soldiers waved and shouted at them to steer away(**), the craft ran close alongside, heaved ropes across and managed to rescue three of the men. Then, as the fire from shore blazed up to new intensity, the Flotilla was ordered to turn back from the beach. It was not to go in again. Like all of the other Flotillas, it was to have the memory, most poignant for the Canadians, of having left behind many of the soldiers it had brought ashore.
Unhappy as the immediate results of Dieppe were, the performance of the Canadians in the landing craft had been worthy of their brothers in the Army; and some of them remained with the soldiers as prisoners.
Unhappy as the immediate results of Dieppe were, the performance of the Canadians in the landing craft had been worthy of their brothers in the Army; and some of them remained with the soldiers as prisoners.
Pages 26 - 27, Combined Operations
(**Boak; the soldiers waved...: I highlighted a name and phrase that will appear shortly with more detail, directly related to Joseph A. McKenna).
After the book Combined Operations was published and distributed at Navy Clubs and reunions in the early 1990s, another pair of Navy, Combined Operations (C. Ops.) and Dieppe veterans (David Lewis and Len Birkenes) took it upon themselves, with the help of Lewis' wife Catherine "Kit" Lewis, to write and compile more stories and photographs of their own World War II experiences and of their close compatriots in the RCNVR and C. Ops.
I have mentioned the two volumes already, and provide a link to them (e.g., St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War), and on page 58 of Volume 1 we read the following account that connect us to vivid details concerning the aforementioned Sub. Lt. Boak and "the soldiers (who) waved and shouted at them to steer away", and Canadian sailor Joseph A. McKenna from Prince Edward Island.
From St. Nazaire to Singapore:
I have read that the writers of the above account (Lewis, Birkenes) had access to some Navy report or news report, and were not going solely by memory. At the end of the account (Page 59), they mention Lt. R. McRae and the number of his landing craft, but not his eventual capture and march to a German POW camp. The writers also add a personal comment about the circumstances surrounding McKenna's death, as well as thought about 'lessons learned'.
"The whole business of dodging in and out of the smoke screen" set up some of the chaotic circumstances and experiences (certainly not all; there was a war on) in which Canadian sailors and soldiers found themselves, including Joe McKenna. Strategies and "what ifs" I cannot discuss here due to lack of time and space, but I can provide more details about the scene described on pages 58-59 now that I have Joe McKenna's Navy records on hand.
That we have records and more stories to share is in some ways a tribute to the men who were at Dieppe that day, to those who did not return as well as to those who did.
*O/S Jack McKenna - 'Jack' is a name I have seen my father use only once, and O/S (Ordinary Seaman) is the rating that appears on Joe McKenna's Navy records. Did Joe complete the necessary testing while overseas to move up to the AB rating (Able Bodied Seaman) that we see attached to his name in the very first list ("...Ratings and Officers Killed in WW2") at the top of the first entry in this report, and in another written account? I will scan the records closely with hopes of finding out.
Another reference to Joe McKenna has him working or residing in Souris, PEI.
More to follow from Joe McKenna's official Navy records.
Please link to Video: Rare Footage re the Dieppe Raid.
Unattributed Photos GH
(**Boak; the soldiers waved...: I highlighted a name and phrase that will appear shortly with more detail, directly related to Joseph A. McKenna).
After the book Combined Operations was published and distributed at Navy Clubs and reunions in the early 1990s, another pair of Navy, Combined Operations (C. Ops.) and Dieppe veterans (David Lewis and Len Birkenes) took it upon themselves, with the help of Lewis' wife Catherine "Kit" Lewis, to write and compile more stories and photographs of their own World War II experiences and of their close compatriots in the RCNVR and C. Ops.
I have mentioned the two volumes already, and provide a link to them (e.g., St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amphibious War), and on page 58 of Volume 1 we read the following account that connect us to vivid details concerning the aforementioned Sub. Lt. Boak and "the soldiers (who) waved and shouted at them to steer away", and Canadian sailor Joseph A. McKenna from Prince Edward Island.
From St. Nazaire to Singapore:
I have read that the writers of the above account (Lewis, Birkenes) had access to some Navy report or news report, and were not going solely by memory. At the end of the account (Page 59), they mention Lt. R. McRae and the number of his landing craft, but not his eventual capture and march to a German POW camp. The writers also add a personal comment about the circumstances surrounding McKenna's death, as well as thought about 'lessons learned'.
Photo Credit - St. Nazaire to Singapore, Page 59
"The whole business of dodging in and out of the smoke screen" set up some of the chaotic circumstances and experiences (certainly not all; there was a war on) in which Canadian sailors and soldiers found themselves, including Joe McKenna. Strategies and "what ifs" I cannot discuss here due to lack of time and space, but I can provide more details about the scene described on pages 58-59 now that I have Joe McKenna's Navy records on hand.
That we have records and more stories to share is in some ways a tribute to the men who were at Dieppe that day, to those who did not return as well as to those who did.
From my father's copy of St. Nazaire to Singapore. Page 59.
He wrote Joe's name beside the passage after reading the story.
Joe was lost, but not forgotten by his Navy mates
*O/S Jack McKenna - 'Jack' is a name I have seen my father use only once, and O/S (Ordinary Seaman) is the rating that appears on Joe McKenna's Navy records. Did Joe complete the necessary testing while overseas to move up to the AB rating (Able Bodied Seaman) that we see attached to his name in the very first list ("...Ratings and Officers Killed in WW2") at the top of the first entry in this report, and in another written account? I will scan the records closely with hopes of finding out.
Another reference to Joe McKenna has him working or residing in Souris, PEI.
More to follow from Joe McKenna's official Navy records.
Please link to Video: Rare Footage re the Dieppe Raid.
Unattributed Photos GH
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