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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1952-10-15, Page 9ED ESD..Y, OCT. 15th, 1952. �nnlRr���b•7 '; , F • ,. - d -THE LUCKNOW SENTINEL, LUCKNOW, •ONTARI4k ' PAG•E' NINE' leiI..acIi.tyre's L.,ettei Paris, Sepitember 1952; Dear Campbell: • It- is year since my departure! from Luc now and the time for; the .promised letter has now .ar- rived.. In . the pat few ,months' my tr.,avels have covered a''good part of continental • Europe and. of the. British Isles bust perhaps your readers would,be interested in this sunn ier's trip. For • the ,long ; summer .;vacatibh T made, ,plans to spend. two months 'study-.• ing in Paris and to attend a.. stud-. encs' conference in northern Ger- • many. This �arran�geinent provid- ed an , excellent opportt}nity for Mrsiting Dieppe while eriroute to Pari arid: „for :visiting :some .of the'. ;firsts ":•7war• battlefields while- enroute' to and from Germany, The following account is mostly concerned' with' these areas but it ` is not .meant • to be complete because.even the Zig-zag .route 1• took.. by motorcycle did not lake mi rrie to di.' places as Passchen- dael and Ypres. Another .point is that although my, French . is quickly improving ', it wias. some- times .difficult to. acquire correct inforrr`ration • from rapidly -speak- ing Frenchmen .Frenchmen and if: sorne of your readers have more accurate information .I. hope they ',will par- don me for my unintentional . er tors.. .After four hours .on the Eng - dish Channel .. an Englishman., pointed Ito the;coast-line ,and. said `,`There ,is 'Dieppe town wn of 22,000 is situated in a large break in the 'chalk cliffs' which are al- most as •prorriinent ...aa .,they are at Dover,::On. the Cliffs on. both sides evidence of. German gun emplacen4 ents appeared like huge cliff -swallow '. nests.: These'' guns had: fired on: 'the. Allied force of 15Can- adians, half of 'whom were .an- adians, , which. had attacked on: 'August 19th, 1942 While attempt- .ing_a recenn�arssance ori .a 15 -mile front ..this' force remained for about;' ten' .hours. on the 'French coast, but irk,: so. doing lost over half :of •its` �men,...some : of whom • ,were 'killed, some, of Whoni Were taken prisoner. ' A few minutes' . after . disem barking: at Dieppe I walked on • the beach with a`'Frenchman. who had been there when the raid took place. It was he Who : ex7 planned how the Commandos who had landed .first had only suc- ceeded, in destroying .one of . the two huge pill=boxes guarding the ' town. The element .of surprise had been. lost; *hen' a German.: sea patrol ham spotted the convoy in the Channel and the fact that the .Germans ' knew the original code and when it was iso be changed. leadeveryone. to believe • that a security leak had occurred 'in England. Besides'•. after 'D; Day the Allies "'captured movie films ' of thee. whole .operation. and this • seemed • to, ; pro'ee that the raid was expeoted. The' attack itself when in actual progress must Bove been seriously hampered by the' `geography of the beach and by the lay -out' of the Own. n.: Near, 'the water is 'a steepeight or ten foot slope composed of rocks the size'of'baseballs which caused all but a few of the tanks' tread to spin, vainly' at the water's edge, —The top `of-th-e hsps se:i°ated- from bhe .town.by• a hundred yd. strip of flat' ground. which pro vided the Germans with an ideal gunnery range; The scene of the .fiercest fighting • on the first street . is' now called` "La .Place. Du Canada and farther along ,is a Hotel' Du Ca.nadia. and a Can- adian memorial :garden, . ' • . •• • A friendly .gendarme on 'hear- , ng .i was Canadr,an 7 invited me to his home for supper and there, aided by his daughter who had nursed the.Can,adian wounded in the,hospital after the attack, her. provided,a most !fascinating first .hared :account of the raid At five. .o'clock in :the morning they, heard. the,boom .01:guns and the ,whine of shells, and fearing :that the own was, going to be destroyed, as Boulogne arid Calais had .been, they~ roti tothe shelters Later tr .man "shad • rushed. in to say 'that • the Canadians ..had landed and Oat the Canadian . flag was ,fly - Ing on th'e. town hal'1. Everyone began to think that*for them• ,the occu:pation';had ended. (butt at four' ,o'clock ,the same man returned • to say that the troops. had all been withdrawn, • Then on; emerging i from the shelters they saw •the smashed guns /and the dead and wounded that were lying every- where on the beach .andin the streets. The dead are now bur.- ied near DiepPe and the ;nurse and myself 'went southward • far four miles in order to see the eemetery-rvhaeli is designated Canadian but ,which includes many British gravies. The French •are..justifyably .proud of their triable •to . the Allied dead and the veterans and others would be grateful: for the . attention this beautiful 'plot of. ground receives' fro�rn the War .Graves Commis:, -sion and from the Frei h in the country ,about Dieppe. It is . sit- uded on one of the. • beautiful French hillsides and just inside the 7nar'ble gate posts .is a huge marble 'block onwhich is inscrib- ed "Their. nain;e liyeth fox ever..= more In one corner is a stone shelter in which can be fauna a list of the dead . and •a book for, visitors' signatures: The con't,in- uity of thesuperbly tended lawns is •ibroken' only, by .the ten.'double rowsof white. marble 'headstones' and by the roses: growing beside these. On Most inscriptions. one. Can read the soldier's name,:his regiment land .number hit on• others one only sees: "Ari'• Un- known:: Soldier n- knawn :.,Soldier . of aCanadian (Regiment" kand on still others only the words "An, Unknow'rr. Soldier; Known Unto God". .. • • While in. • the., ce netery my 'friend spoke of ,how.: the `French come every year• to the memorial, service and 'the • following .sen tences miay hlep to .explain their faithfulness. The nurse. pointed. to the harvest ' workers in :the . field and described• haw the Germans.: had stood' in ;siirilar ;places with eoeked-guns-wh=ile•-the-French de- Pied them in order to carry .the dead on their shoulders fraxn''the. 'beaches Ifotfr ;miles .away:. The 'Germans'. were furious, but`the French, are fiercely •proud: that they succeeded in laying out the cemetery;. and . in keeping the; identificationlists. in spite of .all. German' interference. ' On. the•:r..eturn to Dieppe we went ., down' the 'same • long ' hill down which the 'Canadian 'tanks hadadvanced in colurirn in 1944.` At first. the -French ran inside because, believingthe tanks to be Gerrnan, they feared lest they would t �,be killed by one of the shells that the Germans had been firing ,with cruel abandon ,at' any thing in sight. .The Canadians,. knowing that the enemy ..had Withdrawn, advanced without much 'Caution and 'my friend r.e_ called• •.how they had stood up, in the open gun turrets and ook- ed in .all' directions only to see no one, It wasmy host, the . gen-. darrne, who first recognized the Canadian insignia and •then ran into '.the streets shduting "The Allies: • are here'. The ,nurse laughed and• described how : they. had distributed, the hidden wine. I'• am. sure the 'words "We were .so . glad to see therm and "They were made most welcome" _ will revive: old 'memories ',for the, -Lit-CO-0;Y veterans.- I. heard soirre- good stories .on the _ less 'serious side, but .I would not' attempt to de. justice 'to them •here, • At tliis time my visitto .Dieppe had come >to an end and 'early next Morning I praceede.d to- wards Paris. This. hundred. mile journey" passes through some of France's richest farmland : and; ane sees a great .variety of i eth ods ranging.from hand sickles, to binders .pulled Eby •horse,§ . in tan- dem, to large combines. Soon I was on the outskirts. of Paris 'and after gassing,, round'. the, "Arc IDe Triomphe", 1` droi^edown the Champs -Elysees; to..La Place. De, La Concord and thence through. ,the heart0of the city tb,,Univer- sity of the Sorbonne in the south, - ern section. The city' which is. the 'World's, most densely' pope- •fated. per acre of ground is bea- tiful beyond description but if 1 a.n1 to follow my original plan to describe' the :battlr-.fields I must make only the briefest of com- rne;.ts on it, Paris has a very powerfdl comrnUrrist element and one soon notices the' "Ridway go Home" signs • and the very pre •valent communist papers,. It' is. estimated that forty percent of the French populace are cam- munists and this Prompted a Ger- man general to create a furor by stating that the French army now is even 'worse than it was in 1940, . This cogn... ist :group. helps explain' the bitter anti-Am- erican feelings; but nonetheless some Amerigan tourists in Europe have left an • unsavory reputation. behind mbeoause-of their-corduct,":. '(Continued Next Week) BROTHER • OF LOCAL LADY PASSED AWAY • On Thursday, • October 2, 1952,.. .Thomas Welsh::: passed away in Kincardine General Hospital of, ter a lengthy illness, which he bore . with wonderful . patience. He .was born . on December 2, 1882, in Huron Township, a son of the late Matheson and Ghris- tine 'Welsh and•.spent 'his :entire life .on. the 4th: Concession where WOLF ;UBS Twenty-four 'Cubs turned out he enjoyed farming andwas in- terested in .the' affairs of the community., He is survived by, hi wife, the former Laura • .Humphrey, three daughters and two •, sons,, 'Rita,' Mrs. S. Irwin, Huron' township;: 14ar,I orae, Mrs. T. Wildfong,' Pres- ton; Bernice; Mrs. G. Mayers, Of Dayf , Ohio; Murray ofTpgnto: and 'Tommy at home'; Four sisters also survive:. 'Elizabeth of 'Luck= now, Mrs: T. Elliott of Oshawa, Mrs. G. Beatty of Varna, Mrs, R. Rutherford of Ottawa. A ' sister Agi • es,. •Mrs. W. Hackett,` and a brother 1Vfurrar predeceased hirn. • The funeral 'was held'from his late residence don Saturday, ' Oct- ober . 4th with, interment : in Rip- ley cemetery.' The Rev. J. C. Hut- ton eonductd the serviceand the pallbearers were Delbert Wilson;' Jim Scott, Roy. Geddes, Jack Scott, .Leslie Wardell and Bert Irwin. ` r last.we'ek's ';meeting •which as; highlighted bythe Invest- it a of • .Cubs: Murray Hunter, Gary MacDonald, .Kenneth Mac- Donald,. Tq'n:. Rathwell, Rae Thomson and Tom W:asney: Apela told the story of Mowgli, and Baloo and Bag'heera conducted games.. Preparations were madefor Apple. Day:.' • Ail CCubs are reminded . to eon- tinue work on their Leaf .Col - kin to- be----handed--in--short y; "•-"'" -- ROOT 'BEER : 4 eimfantr machine gunners The Canadian Infantry Soldier is .a vital part of our expanding defence forces. In Korea he has:. built a wonderful reputation for his courage and• ability. Wherever he goes, the 'Canadian' Soldier has away of winning friends of impressing both friend and foe with his. outstanding training' and soldierly, qualities. The Infantry Machine Gunners are an integral • part of the Canadian infantry regiments With their ,heavy and accurate firepower, the Infantry Machine Gunners' have time and again in Korea proved how extremely important they are in attack and. defence. Play your part in Canada's most important business today, defence.. _Yon are eligible if . yourares...17 to 40 yearsoLage,._(.tradesinen _ _- -.._. • to 45), 'physically fit and' ready to serve anywhere. ' :: •Apply to. the 'nearest Recrui g Depot: N�13 Personnel Depot, Wallis House, Rideau & Charlotte Sts., Ottawa, Ont. . No. 5 Personnel :Depot, Artillery Park, Bagot Street, Kingston, Ont. Canadian Army Recruiting• Station, 90 'Richmond St. 1J�/., Toronto, Ont. No. 7 Personnel Depot, .Wolseley Barracks,.Qxford &.Rliiabeth,Sts,,tondon, Ont. Army Recruiting Centre, 230 Main Street West, NorthBay, Ont. • .' Army Recruiting Centre; •Jcinies St. Armoury, 200 James St. N., Hamilton, Ont, AtzaW -o • llama viiiimit.iiitirmatiraz • w. it, 14 ' '8 M. 1.4 M Alt :7