Royal Regiment of Canada
Landing on the Blue Beach at Puys, the Royal Regiment of Canada, led by Lieutenant-Colonel D.E. Catto, planned to begin the battle in the darkness of the night. Their landing delayed, the Regiment arrived on shore as the sun was rising. Without the element of surprise, their enemy was strategically placed, heavily armed and waiting. Heavy casualties were suffered immediately.
Few members managed to advance beyond the heavily wired 10-foot-high seawall at the head of the beach. Those who did (including L-Col Catto) were unable to return. Most, including three platoons of reinforcements from the Black Watch of Canada, were pinned down by unrelenting machine-gun and mortar fire and could not evacuate.
Of the 554 members of the Royal Regiment of Canada who participated in the Dieppe Raid, 227 died in or as a result of the raid—the heaviest losses of any of the units involved. In addition, 136 were wounded and 264 became prisoners of war (POWs). Only 65 made it back to England. Only 44 of the Black Watch’s 111 troops returned. Four died in or as a result of the raid, eight were wounded and 63 taken prisoner.
The plaque reads:
ON THIS BEACH
OFFICERS AND MEN OF THE
ROYAL REGIMENT OF CANADA
DIED AT DAWN 19 AUGUST 1942
STRIVING TO REACH THE HEIGHTS BEYOND
You who are alive on this beach,
remember that these men died far from home
so that others, here and elsewhere, might freely
enjoy life in God’s mercy.