A surviving veteran of the 1942 Dieppe raid, Maurice Snook poses with a newly dedicated monument recognizing the sacrifices made by the Essex Scottish Regiment. The unveiling took place Aug. 19 in Windsor.

Essex men among those that gave their lives at Dieppe

By Andy Comber - August 25, 2010

In the early morning hours of Aug. 19, 1942, Allied forces mounted a major raid against the German defences at the French port of Dieppe. Almost 5,000 Canadians took part in the raid, among them 32 officers and 521 soldiers of the Essex Scottish Regiment, including many local young men.

Censorship laws prevented the newspapers of the day from publishing the names of the soldiers taking part in the raid. There was no exception for the Essex Free Press. The fear was the lists would fall into German hands, allowing them to check off the names of any men captured or killed, and thereby identify soldiers that may have escaped and gone into hiding.

“This inspires an intensive search, which will almost inevitably result in the soldiers being found and imprisoned,” stated a report in the Aug. 28, 1942 Essex Free Press.

Early official reports were positive but lacked details of the Dieppe raid. In the following paper, a caption with pictures related to Operation Jubilee indicated that the Canadians had landed in France “and achieved their objective.”

“The landing was completed and the Canadians destroyed artillery posts and radio locations centres near Dieppe.”

It would be more than three months later when the true cost of the Dieppe raid started to strike the Essex community. That is when official news reached local soldiers’ families.

“On Sunday sad news came to four families in Essex, when cablegrams were received, through International Red Cross, notifying them that their loved one had been killed in action during the Battle of Dieppe on August 19,” reported the Dec. 11, 1942 Essex Free Press. Listed as killed, with pictures, were Cpl. Chas Schooley, Pte. James Balmer, Pte. Newton Barnard, all of the Essex Scottish, and Cpl. James Coltman of the Hamilton Light Infantry.

Retired EMS District Chief Larry Amlin, right, reviews the operation of an automated external defibrillator (AED), which is now installed at the Essex Retirees centre.

By Andy Comber - August 25, 2010

If your heart tends to skip a beat after winning bingo at the Essex Retirees Social Club, you might rest a little easier from now on.

The retirees club has joined other key public centres equipped with a lifesaving automated external defibrillator (AED). EMS Chief Brian Bildfell and Larry Amlin, a retired EMS district chief, presented AED certification to 13 people – members and staff – last Wednesday at the retirees centre.

“This is the next step in saving a life,” Amlin said. Heart attacks can happen to anyone, anywhere – making the portable defibrillator a vital first aid tool, he said.

“There is an 85 per cent success rate if done in the first six minutes.”

Club member Betty Fields said the training was made easy by the capabilities of the semi-automated unit.

“It is nothing to be afraid of,” she said.

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