Important day in my family history for sure. The Essex Scottish Regiment landed at Red Beach, my Dad among them. He was captured that day and spent the rest of the war as a POW, or as he liked to say "as a guest of the Germans". He suffered life long consequences of his experiences in that camp. They were often starving, he said the only thing that saved them were the Red Cross packages. His camp was in Poland.
I've been to Dieppe twice, brought his grandsons. It's an emotional place. His Regiment usually sends a group of soldiers there every year and every year at 5:00 am they are down on the beach, having a shot of whiskey and making a toast to the boys!
|