Bren gun: A lightweight machine gun with a bipod that held up the barrel when the gun was fired from a fixed position. A Bren gun carrier was a small armoured vehicle that ran on treads like a tank.
buttress: a prop or support built to steady a structure.
chevron: a V-shaped stripe embroidered on an army uniform. One chevron signified a lance-corporal, two a corporal and three a sergeant. Soldiers of these ranks were called NCOs (non-commissioned officers) and were not considered to be ranking officers.
commando: member of a special fighting force used to make destructive raids; the name was first used in the Boer War.
convoy: a group of ships travelling together with a protective escort.
destroyer: a small, fast, warship usually armed with guns and torpedoes.
Luftwaffe: the German air force during World War II.
militia: a volunteer military force that is called on in times of emergency.
minesweeper: a ship that clears away floating and underwater explosive mines.
mortar: a portable weapon used to fire shells at high angles over short distances.
Nazi: a member of the political party, headed by Adolf Hitler, that held power in Germany from 1933–1945.
Padre: a name that means “father,” used for a chaplain in military service.
palliasse: mattresse filled with straw.
pillbox: a low-roofed concrete gun emplacement for a machine gun or anti-tank gun.
POW: a prisoner of war.
private: the lowest ranking soldier in the army.
RAF: Royal Air Force.
Rileys: a nickname for the soldiers of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.
“Scots wha hae”: words that begin the Scottish national anthem: “Scots wha hae wi’ Wallace bled.” (Scots who have with Wallace bled.) William Wallace is the Scottish hero depicted in the movie Braveheart.
seawall: a wall built to protect a beach from being washed away.
shells/shellfire: explosive rounds fired by artillery.
Sten gun: a British submachine gun used throughout World War II, known for its simple design and low production cost.
tube ladder: a lightweight ladder made of aluminum tubing that was carried in five-foot lengths.
U-boat: from the German word “Unterseeboot,” meaning submarine.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Every effort has been made to trace ownership of visual and written material used in this book. Errors and omissions will be corrected in subsequent updates or editions.
Grateful acknowledgment is made for permission to reprint the following:
Cover cameo: Private Lefebvre, Royal Canadian Army Service (R.C.A.S.C.) who is wearing a version of the Canadian Parachute Qualifying Badge, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 19 March, 1943, Lieut. Ken Bell / Canada. Dept. of National Defence, Library and Archives Canada / PA-198346.
Cover scene: Canadian infantrymen taking part in an assault landing training exercise, Seaford, England, 8 May, 1942, Library and Archives Canada / PA-144598.
Cover details: (front cover) Aged journal © Shutterstock/Bruce Amos; aged paper © Shutterstock/Filipchuck Oleg Vasilovich; Tape © Phase4Photography; belly band © ranplett/istockphoto; (back cover) label © Shutterstock/Thomas Bethge.
Image 1: Canadian troops embarking in landing craft during training exercise before raid on Dieppe, France, ca. August 1942, Canada. Dept. of National Defence/Library and Archives Canada, PA-113244.
Image 2: Commandos charge ashore from a landing craft during training in Scotland, 28 February 1942; Lockeyear W (Lt), Malindine E G (Lt)/Imperial War Museum, H 17477.
Image 3: courtesy of Terence Macartney-Filgate Collection.
Image 4: courtesy of Jayne Poolton-Turvey.
Image 5: Hut 19B, Stalag VIIIB, courtesy of Fred Engelbrecht.
Image 6 and 7: courtesy of Terence Macartney-Filgate Collection.
Image 8: Emaciated former-POWs at Stalag 11B at Fallingbostel, 17 April, 1945, Hardy (Sgt)/Imperial War Museum, BU 3865.
Image 9: Private Ron Reynolds of Toronto’s Royal Regiment of Canada, courtesy of Ron Reynolds.
Image 10: Sergeant-Major Harry Beesley of the British Number Three Commando Group, courtesy of Jack Beesley.
Image 11: Padre John Foote, courtesy of Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Museum.
Image 12: Map by Paul Heersink/Paperglyphs.
The publisher wishes to thank Dr. J. L. Granatstein, author of The Generals: The Canadian Army’s Senior Commanders in the Second World War; In Canada’s Army: Waging War and Keeping the Peace; and Who Killed Canadian History?, for sharing his historical expertise; and Barbara Hehner for her careful checking of the factual details.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Although Prisoner of Dieppe is a novel, the events described in it all actually took place. Alistair and Mackie are fictional characters, but their experiences are similar to those of real-life soldiers. Sergeant-Major Kewley, Sergeant Hartley and Lieutenant Whitman are also fictional, as is Private Pullio. But all the other characters — from commanders Hedley Basher and Douglas Catto to Stalag VIIIB’s Spitfire to Harry Beesley, Sid Cleasby and Bill Lee — are real people.
So is Chaplain John Foote, who became the first Canadian chaplain to be awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the British Commonwealth. He died in 1988; the armouries on James Street in Hamilton, Ontario, are named for him. Stan Darch, who received a pair of shoes on the march into captivity, still lives in Hamilton and attends the Hamilton Dieppe commemoration each year on August 19. The family of Ron Reynolds had a special com-memoration on August 19, 2010, when they scattered Ron’s ashes on Blue Beach at Dieppe, as he had requested in his will.
Ron Reynolds always spoke of Harry Beesley with awe. The man who helped so many others in Stalag VIIIB never came home after the war. In December of 1944 Beesley escaped from prison camp into Poland and before long was on a rickety old train headed south to a port where he hoped to catch a boat to England. While the train was stopped at a station, the two rear train cars became uncoupled and began to roll backwards. Beesley ran after them and managed to apply the hand brake. As they slid to a stop the cars tipped over — crushing Beesley underneath them. But dozens of people inside the train cars were saved by his actions. It was a heroic end to a heroic life.
On August 19, 2007, I was in Dieppe for the 65th anniversary commemoration of the raid. The whole town was draped in Canadian flags. It was the most moving experience I have ever had as a Canadian. I also met many of the men whose stories are told in my non-fiction book on the raid, DIEPPE: Canada’s Darkest Day of World War II.
I’ve been lucky enough to write about some of history’s more exciting stories. In 1986 I worked with Dr. Robert Ballard, the explorer who found the lost wreck of the Titanic, on his bestselling book, The Discovery of the Titanic. A few years later, I wrote two books about the ever-fascinating doomed ship: Inside the Titanic, and 882½ Amazing Answers to Your Questions About the Titanic.
In 1993 I was privileged to be able to examine the diaries, letters and photo albums of the last tsar of Russia and his family. From this came the book Anastasia’s Album. Other books I have written include: Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose; To Be a Princess; The Other Mozart and Breakout Dinosaurs.
Hugh Brewster is the award-winning author of eleven books. His many awards include the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award for On Juno Beach; the Norma Fleck Award for Children’s Non-Fiction for At Vimy Ridge; a nomination for the Governor General’s Award for Carnation, Lily, Lily, Rose; a Silver Birch Award nomination for DIEPPE: Canada’s Darkest Day of World War II; and Silver Birch and Red Cedar Awards for Anastasia’s Album. More information about Hugh Brewster is available on his website.
AUTHOR’S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to acknowledge the help of Dieppe veterans and their families in sharing their memories and mementoes. Ron Reynolds provided regular inspiration and information for this book and I am gr
eatly indebted to him and his wife, Margaret. Fred Engelbrecht, a veteran of the RHLI, also has an excellent memory and store of fascinating stories. I’d also like to thank RHLI veteran Gordon McPartlin for his recollections and also Jayne Poolton-Turvey, who worked with her father, the late Jack Poolton, on his memoir, Destined to Survive: A Dieppe Veteran’s Story. Another book to which I’m indebted, particularly for accounts of life in prison camp, is John Mellor’s Forgotten Heroes. Captain Bruce Barbeau at the Royal Regiment Museum read the manuscript and provided a host of excellent suggestions including the words to the “Basher’s Dashers” song. Thanks also to Stan Overy of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum and filmmaker Terence Macartney-Filgate for their photograph collections. Special thanks go to military historian J. L. Granatstein for his expert read of the text and to my long-time colleague and editor, Sandra Bogart Johnston.
Other books in the
I AM CANADA Series
Behind Enemy Lines
World War II
Carol Matas
Deadly Voyage
RMS Titanic
Hugh Brewster
Shot at Dawn
World War I
John Wilson
Blood and Iron
Building the Railway
Paul Yee
For more information please see the I AM CANADA website: www.scholastic.ca/iamcanada
While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real people, Alistair Morrison is a fictional character created by the author, and his journal is a work of fiction.
Copyright © 2010 by Hugh Brewster. All rights reserved.
A Dear Canada Book. Published by Scholastic Canada Ltd.
SCHOLASTIC and I AM CANADA and logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
All rights reserved under International and Pan—American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read this e-book on-screen. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher, Scholastic Canada Ltd., 604 King Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5V 1E1, Canada.
ISBN: 978-1-4431-1928-3
First eBook edition: March, 2012
Prisoner of Dieppe Page 14
