Being Briefed about Raid

Heroes Remember

Being Briefed about Raid

Transcript

We did all this training and about the 2nd of July we were ordered aboard the motherships that we had been training on and our brigadier, Brigadier Lett, called the troops together and with headquarters, the headquarters people, about one hundred of us, and the Essex Scottish who we were with on board ship and he said, “Okay men, this is it, we’re going into France!” And you never heard such insane cheering in your life. The troops were so anxious to get into action. We’d been there three years with this awful training. We now saw a chance to get into action and so on. Well, we were aboard ship from the 2nd til the 9th and we had paratroopers that were supposed to land on either flank. The winds were too strong so they decided to scrub it. But all the troops had been briefed, you know, about the raid and so on. But we went back to our barracks in England from the Isle of Wight and I’m sure five thousand Canadians guzzling beer in the pubs and so on, talked an awful lot about the forthcoming raid and so on.

Description

Mr. Hart recalls the Dieppe briefing given to the troops and the excitement shared at the thoughts of active battle.

David Hart

Mr. Hart was born in Montreal, Quebec on July 8, 1917. One of seven boys, Mr. Hart joined the army reserves and high school cadets later graduating from college as an accountant. Joining with the Fourth Divisional Signals in 1937, he then joined active service August 1939. Mr. Hart continued on with his service as a signalman with the Royal Canadian Corps Second Divisional Signals taking part in The Dieppe Raid as a sergeant. For his part in this historical event, Mr. Hart received the Military Medal for bravery, awarded to him by His Majesty King George VI at Buckingham Palace. Upon returning to Canada, Mr. Hart continued on with his accounting career. Having great pride for his service, Mr. Hart has returned to Dieppe six times and with this being the 75th Anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, along with his wife and son, he will be joining the Canadian delegation in recognition of this commemorative event. At 100 years of age, Mr. Hart continues to enjoy life with his wife of 99 years of age, still residing in their own home. Mr. Hart continues to promote the importance of the Dieppe Raid so that Canadians will truly understand the sacrifice that was given during this battle. He and his wife now reside in Montreal, Quebec.

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