-The Journey through World War 2-
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentforth Regiment)
Battle at Clair Tizon- August 11, 1944 and the return to Dieppe after two years.
They contributed to the battle at Clair Tizon, and then had an emotional reunion at Dieppe with their fallen comrades.
Colin Gibson
We had no artillery or Armour support of any kind. When the enemy began to throw all that stuff at us there was little we could do but look for shelter. I moved my platoon into the shelter of some old German slit trenches, then made a run for it to tell company headquarters what I had done. I came under some machine-gun fire and was grazed in the left arm… I hopped into Lieutenant Holder’s slit trench. There was somebody else- not Holder- already there. When Holder came back there wasn’t room for the three of us, so I made a dash for one of the carriers standing nearby.
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About then Jerry really began dropping the mortar shells on us. I was hit in the right leg. Gordie Holder jumped out of his trench and put a shell-dressing on me, under fire all the time. Then Gord was hit on the shoulder, and I was hit twice more, on the other leg and arm. If it hadn’t been for that dressing I think I’d have died from loss of blood
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20 RHLI were killed, 100 wounded.
Report of the RHLI visiting the Dieppe cemetery
It was hard to discover the feelings and emotions of the men in the battalion who had lived through that eight hours of hell on the beaches, but it was apparent from the looks and the expressions on their faces that they were enjoying the fulfillment of a desire that could only be satisfied by the capture of Dieppe, and capture by their Regiment alone.
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A report reached BHQ that the cemetery containing the men who fell at Dieppe was nearby and Major J.M. Pigott, Major J.B. Halladay and other members of the battalion were photographed by the graves of those whom had known so well. Among others, Lietuenant Sparky Bell was idneitified in the number series from 560 to 600. The cemetery is a monument to the French spirit of resistance and an outward display of their affection for the Canadians and the cause for which they were fighting. Each grave marked, numbered and tabulated as far as it was possible by the French civilians
