- Type of Memorial
- Garden
- WMR Reference Number
- 76617
- Description
- Part of the "Raids, Raiders, Reconnaissance & Resistance" garden within the Allied Special Forces Association Grove (WMR no. 61527).
A sandstone rockery planted with flowering heathers and ornamental conifers. The heathers are intended to represent the Plaid of the Scottish Canadian regiments who fought at Dieppe. The outer perimeter of the rockery has metal plaques on posts at intervals: three have commemorations and information about the Raid, the fourth is a coloured map of the coastline with labels identifying the position of different sections of the Allied Forces involved in the Raid. On one of the boulders is a small METAL plaque explaining the source of the sandstone.
- Inscription
- [Plaque 1]: THE DIEPPE RAID MEMORIAL GARDEN/ REMEMBERING THEIR SACRIFICE/ 'OPERATION JUBILEE'/ 18-19TH AUGUST 1942/ THE CANADIANS WHO FOUGHT IN THE RAID ON DIEPPE ACHIEVED AND SACRIFICED MUCH IN THEIR EFFORTS/ TO BRING PEACE AND FREEDOM TO THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE. THEIR TASK WAS A DIFFICULT AND COSTLY ONE,/ BUT THEIR BRAVERY WAS NOT IN VAIN. THESE SOLDIERS WERE AMONG THE MORE THAN ONE MILLION MEN/ AND WOMEN WHO SERVED IN CANADA'S ARMED FORCES DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR./ MORE THAN 42,000 CANADIANS LOST THEIR LIVES IN THIS WAR. CANADA AND THE WORLD RECOGNIZE THE/ SACRIFICES OF ALL CANADIANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO FOUGHT IN THE RAID ON DIEPPE./ THEY ACCOMPLISHED SO MUCH AND LEFT A LASTING LEGACY OF PEACE./ COMMEMORATING THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY 18TH AUGUST 2007./
[Plaque 2]: THE DIEPPE RAID - 18/19TH AUGUST 1942 - OPERATION 'JUBILEE'/ ON AUGUST 18TH 1942 MORE THAN 6,000 ALLIED SOLDIERS, OF WHICH ALMOST 5,000 WERE CANADIAN, SAILED FROM THE SOUTH COAST OF/ BRITAIN TO ATTACK THE GERMAN HELD FRENCH PORT OF DIEPPE./ THE DIEPPE RAID WAS CALLED A 'RECONNAISSANCE IN FORCE' BY THE COMBINED OPERATIONS PLANNERS, AND WAS INTENDED TO BE BOTH A/ MORALE BOOSTER WHEN THE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR WERE GOING BADLY FOR THE ALLIES AND ALSO AS A TESTING GROUND FOR A FULL SCALE/ INVASION OF FORTRESS EUROPE. THE DIEPPE RAID TURNED OUT TO BE A MILITARY DISASTER, WHERE NOTHING WAS ACHIEVED AND ABOUT/ 60% OF THE 5,000 SOLDIERS WHO EVENTUALLY LANDED ASHORE WERE EITHER KILLED, WOUNDED OR CAPTURED./ THE SOLDIERS WHO LANDED FOUGHT BRAVELY AND THE FOLLOWING WERE AWARDED THE VICTORIA CROSS:-/ [Names...]/ THE CANADIAN SOLDIERS BORE THE BRUNT OF THE CASUALTIES, WITH 907 KILLED, 2,460 WOUNDED AND 1,874 TAKEN PRISONER./ OF THE 2,210 ALLIED SOLDIERS WHO RETURNED TO BRITAIN ONLY 236 WERE UNHURT. 200 OF THESE WERE MEN WHO HAD NOT BEEN ASHORE./ IN THE SKIES ABOVE DIEPPE 71 PILOTS AND 10 AIRCREW WERE EITHER KILLED OR MISSING. THE ROYAL AIRFORCE LOST 106 AIRCRAFT/ AND THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE LOST 13. THIS TURNED OUT TO BE THE HIGHEST LOSS IN A SINGLE DAY DURING THE/ SECOND WORLD WAR./ EFFORTS TO DOMINATE THE WATERS AROUND DIEPPE RESULTED IN 81 ROYAL NAVY OFFICERS, 469 OTHER NAVAL RANKS AND 34 SHIPS BEING LOST,/ INCLUDING THE DESTROYER HMS BERKELEY AND 5 TANK LANDING CRAFT./ THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THAT VALUABLE LESSONS WERE LEARNT DURING THIS RAID, WHICH HELPED TO SAVE COUNTLESS LIVES TWO YEARS LATER/ WHEN ON D-DAY THE 6TH JUNE 1944 THE COMBINED MIGHT OF THE ALLIED INVASION SWEPT ASHORE IN NORMANDY AND PUT AN END TO/ 4 YEARS OF TYRANNY AND EVENTUALLY FREED THE PEOPLE OF EUROPE FROM ENSLAVEMENT./ COMMEMORATING THE 65TH. ANNIVERSARY 18TH. AUGUST 2007/
[Plaque 3]: THE DIEPPE RAID - 18/19TH AUGUST 1942 - OPERATION 'JUBILEE'/
[Left-hand column]: GROUND FORCES UNDER THE COMMAND OF/ MAJOR GENERAL JOHN HAMILTON ROBERTS/
2ND CANADIAN INFANTRY DIVISION/ 4TH. CANADIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE/ THE ESSEX SCOTTISH REGIMENT/ THE ROYAL HAMILTON LIGHT INFANTRY/ THE ROYAL REGIMENT OF CANADA/ 5TH. CANADIAN INFANTRY BIRGADE/ THE BLACK WATCH (ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT) OF CANADA/ THE CALGARY HIGHLANDERS/ 6TH. CANADIAN INFANTRY BRIGADE/ LES FUSILIERS MONT-ROYAL/ THE QUEENS OWN CAMERON HIGHLANDERS OF CANADA/ THE SOUTH SASKATCHEWAN REGIMENT/ 14TH. ARMOURED REGIMENT (THE CALGARY REGIMENT)/ 3RD. LIGHT ANTI-AIRCRAFT REGIMENT (ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY)/ 4TH. FIELD REGIMENT (ROYAL CANADIAN ARTILLERY)/ THE TORONTO SCOTTISH REGIMENT (MACHINE GUNS)/ UK/ NO. 3 AND 4 ARMY COMMANDO - NO 10 INTER-ALLIED COMMANDO/ ROYAL MARINE 'A' COMMANDO/ USA/ 1ST. UNITED STATES RANGER BATTALION/ FRANCE/ RESISTANCE FORCES
[Right-hand column]: NAVAL FORCES UNDER THE COMMAND OF/ CAPTAIN JOHN HUGHES-HALLETT RN/
8 DESTROYERS:-HMS ALRIGHTON, BERKELEY, BLEASDALE, BROCKLESBY,/ CALPE, FERNIE, GARTH AND ORP SLAZAK (POLISH)/ 1 GUNBOAT: HMS LOCUST/ 9TH. MINESWEEPER FLOTILLA, 13TH. MINESWEEPER FLOTILLA,/ 9 LANDING SHIPS/ 12 MOTOR GUNBOATS, 4 STEAM GUNBOATS & 20 MOTOR LAUNCHES.
AIR FORCES UNDER THE COMMAND OF/ AIR VICE MARSHALL TRAFFORD LEIGH MALLORY/
ROYAL AIR FORCE FIGHTER COMMAND NO. 11 GROUP/ SQUADRONS/ 46 SPITFIRE, 3 TYPHOON, 8 HURRICANE, 4 MUSTANG, 5 BOSTON/ 1 BLENHEIM & 2 BEAUFIGHTER/ ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE/ 9 FIGHTER SQUADRONS/ UNITED STATES ARMY AIR FORCE/ 97TH BOMBARDMENT GROUP/ 4 BOMBER SQUADRONS B-17'S/
COMMEMORATING THE 65TH. ANNIVERSARY 18TH. AUGUST 2007/
[Plaque 4, map]: OPERATION JUBILEE
[Plaque 5]: THE DIEPPE RAID MEMORIAL/ THE 'OLD RED SANDSTONE' USED IN THE CREATION/ OF THIS GARDEN WERE (sic) EXCAVATED FROM A QUARRY/ AT CONSALL HALL LANDSCAPE GARDENS ON THE/ STAFFORDSHIRE MOORLANDS/ THEY WERE GIFTED BY/ BILL PODMORE OBE/