Dieppe

[barriefield-brian]

How to start? Ottawas official stand is that the 8th recce were not at the Dieppe raid but in their war diary there were in fact 5 officers and 4 other ranks present. The diary names the officers but not the or's. Anyone know how I can find the names? I have talked with many of the vets but they dont remember who went. My grandfather was maybe one but looking for proof. I know they liberated Dieppe but some were there on the raid. Any help would be appreciated. Thx Brian

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by barriefield-brian

How to start? Ottawas official stand is that the 8th recce were not at the Dieppe raid but in their war diary there were in fact 5 officers and 4 other ranks present. The diary names the officers but not the or's. Anyone know how I can find the names? I have talked with many of the vets but they dont remember who went. My grandfather was maybe one but looking for proof. I know they liberated Dieppe but some were there on the raid. Any help would be appreciated. Thx Brian

Brian
Here is the Order of battle..(Who went)

Who were the officers listed in the diary..??You may want to start there..
The Essex Scottish were there and only one officer survived the raid that wasn't killed,wounded or taken prisoner..
That was Major Father Mike Dalton..and the reason he survived ..he wasn't there..(If I knew the other names I would check Father Mikes diary..there are many men mentioned..)
The night they left on the raid,he was at a meeting for all the service padres and it was such a secret that no one told him they were leaving..just up in the middle of the night and the whole regiment took off.



Events | The Canadians in Order of Battle | The Dieppe Raid : Canadian Army units in the Dieppe raid

Canadian Army units in the Dieppe raid
Canadian Armoured Corps
Royal Canadian Artillery
Canadian Infantry Corps

• 2nd Infantry Division
o 4th Infantry Brigade
• Royal Regiment of Canada
• Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
• Essex Scottish Regiment
o 6th Infantry Brigade
• Fusiliers Mont-Royal
• Queens Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada
• South Saskatchewan Regiment
o 5th Infantry Brigade
• Three platoons of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada
• Calgary Highlanders
o Toronto Scottish Regiment (Machine Gun)
o 14th Armoured Regiment (Calgary Regiment)
o Detachment of 3rd Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment
o Detachment of 4th Field Regiment
o Detachments from the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps

[Bill Miller]

Brian,

I know you have a lot of documentation on the 8th Reece. Do you have access to their Part 2 orders?? (lists of postings, awards, punishments, etc.). They are not normally accessible via regular archive War Diary requests since they contain so-called "private" information. Particularly tough to access "uncensored" for disbanded regiments with no current museum affiliation.

Anyway, if these officers and OR's were officially attached or loaned to another unit for the raid it would probably be listed in the Part 2's. You could make a request to the Archives under the access to information and privacy act ($5 fee). Make your request VERY specific for what you are looking for and also bracket the dates. Part 2's were often written "after" the fact, so they usually reference dates and events weeks after they happened. COncerning these individuals and the DIeppe raid you may want to concentrate on July '42 to Sept'42 (July in case they were attached/loaned prior to the raid for other reasons)

I've been lucky to get the Pt. II's for the 1CACR with only a handful of blacked out items, but it did take a few attempts, pleading letters and probably a more than sympathetic archivist.

Do the diaries mention any idea of why these fellows were at the raid?

Bill.

[jim sewell]

Attached are some pictures of the Dieppe Cemetery, 950 are buried here.

[barriefield-brian]

Thank you for the replies. Maybe the part 2 orders would shed some light. It was always said my grandfather was on the Dieppe raid but I wondered if they mixed up when they were liberated. Anyway here is a page from the war diary naming all the officers who were there. I dont know why they were there or if they were attached to another regt. for the raid. Thx Brian

[Bill Miller]

Brian,

That's a very interesting WD entry. FOr the CO to go along with the other officer's sounds like they may have been observers, but then again two were wounded?? If I read the entry correctly, "Capt. (Honorary) Alistair Buchan" was a padre!?...

I think the Pt II's are your best bet, outside of finding some private diary or other personal correspondence to back up this WD entry. DO you have the appendicies for the August '42 war diary? I'm really surprised that there isn't any further explanation considering they took casualties.

Bill.

[barriefield-brian]

I only have this page from this time period, may have to order the micro-film again and study it closer. I mainly copied from the time they landed til the end of the war. Brian

[klambie]

A few thoughts:

Agree with Bill Miller that Pt II Orders are the best bet to get all of the names. To expedite getting things started, this will probably be an ATIP 8(2)(j) request, so mentioning that and the aim of the research should get you the appropriate forms quickly. An emphasis on the goal of compiling a complete list of all 8 Recce members who were on the Dieppe raid should increase the chances that it will be approved.

If you haven't already, get a copy of your grandfather's personnel file from LAC. Anything in Part II Orders should be reflected in his personnel file. If you don't see anything mentioning Dieppe or related dates in his file, you probably won't find anything on the others in Pt II Orders.

If you re-order the war diary on microfilm, make a good check of Pt I Orders (as far as a month or two after the raid) that are preserved in the diary. These sometimes included embarkation rolls for operations.

[barriefield-brian]

Thank you for all the ideas. I did acquire his personnell files, the only entry near that date is a cancelled leave but it looks too late (november). Also missing from his file is any kind of write-up for his MID. All I know is it was awarded for action in Caen and Falaise. Anyone know if there is a master file out there? Thx Brian

[klambie]

MiD citations are rare, particularly after D-Day. I have a reference called 'Courage and Service' by Service Publications that will probably include it if it exists. Post or PM a name and I can take a alook.

[barriefield-brian]

Thank you for the offer but I have that CD. It lists the MID but there is no write-up. There were some on micro-film included with the War Diary so I assumed there was a write -up on each one. Maybe a hit or miss thing? Thx Brian

[klambie]

Citations were not required, so generally aren't available in official sources. I've had some success with the Reginas using an Awards file located in their archives that includes a variety of citations, many of which were never submitted. By inference you can sometimes get some details on the likely origin of the award.

[barriefield-brian]

Did find a tidbit of info. The 8th recce personnel involved in the Dieppe raid were "special communications officers" whatever that means. Cheers Brian

[Lang]

Can the Canadians tell us how many troops landed at Dieppe? We visited there last year and can see how the tanks had trouble getting off the beach even without opposing fire.

A thing I find interesting about the list of participating units above is how heterogenus the force was. Was the reason they were so fragmented (must have caused huge command and control problems) everyone realized it was a suicide mission from the outset and they did not want to risk wiping out an entire single major formation? Everyone knows a star team will beat a team of stars every time.

Just a note on the Hon before the captain's name. It is like General Sir Douglas Haig. This stands for Captain, the honorable, Bill Smith. Meaning he was the son of a Lord or Baron. The British Army still use this title in formal documents but in day to day military correspondence he would normally just be referred to as Captain Bill Smith. Your fellow was either a Brit attached to the Canadians or a Canadian holding on to his hereditary title.

Lang

[georgs bisset]

my uncle corporal Roy Watson was commanding "BLUEBELL" on the dieppe raid with george volk, doug brownlee, trooper milburn and Q/CPL william mcbryan. the regiment has been very helpful and i recently met trooper Ray Gillburt who was with Roy on the raid in a tank named "BEEFY". he knew Roy very well . god bless george bisset

[DougSowden]

Hi,
First time posting, and I joined to get the same sort of answers as given in this thread. Who were the 4 OR's from the 8th RECCE, 14th Canadian Hussars who were attached to the South Saskatchewans for the Dieppe raid?
My late father-in-law, Donald Edward Smith, told me that he was on the beach at Dieppe, and waited to be taken off. He also mentioned his admiration for Col. Merritt.
The names of the 5 officers from the 8th Recce are given, as shown in the thread...but no names for the OR's.
Is it possible that they were part of the bodyguard for the inspection of the German radar site inland? Don was a prairie-dog popping marksman from Sceptre, Sask. and may have been assigned for his rifle skills.
If someone gets the names of the 4 other ranks, I would appreciate knowing.
Thanks

[Eric B]

Hello

For those who have not read the revealing book about Dieppe " One Day in August" by David O'Keefe. I put it on the must read list. The truth about Dieppe is now known as it was a cover up raid to collect a copy and data on the German Enigma machine. The Allies at the time were desperate to crack the code at any cost. Dieppe was the closest German Naval port.

It became larger than intended to cover up the true reason from the Germans... and those in the know where sworn to secrecy for life.

I just discovered I had a relative with the British Commandos who was Naval intelligence. He most likely would have been one of those in the know.

Eric

[barriefield-brian]

Originally Posted by DougSowden

Hi,
First time posting, and I joined to get the same sort of answers as given in this thread. Who were the 4 OR's from the 8th RECCE, 14th Canadian Hussars who were attached to the South Saskatchewans for the Dieppe raid?
My late father-in-law, Donald Edward Smith, told me that he was on the beach at Dieppe, and waited to be taken off. He also mentioned his admiration for Col. Merritt.
The names of the 5 officers from the 8th Recce are given, as shown in the thread...but no names for the OR's.
Is it possible that they were part of the bodyguard for the inspection of the German radar site inland? Don was a prairie-dog popping marksman from Sceptre, Sask. and may have been assigned for his rifle skills.
If someone gets the names of the 4 other ranks, I would appreciate knowing.
Thanks

will look it up. have the part 2 orders that names all.

cheers brian

[Jon Skagfeld]

A propos this site:

Tomorrow is the 73rd anniversary of the raid.

I'll be expressing my respects in my own private way.

[barriefield-brian]

Here is the 4 other ranks on the Dieppe raid. Cheers Brian
Trooper Gratrix H.J.
Trooper Major L.R.
Trooper Poisson G.F.
Trooper Tyman A.F.