Crossing the English Channel to Dieppe
The Dieppe Raid
Crossing the English Channel to Dieppe
Transcript
And we were given the ammunition and we had some meals
and then we you know, sat around shooting crap, and talking
and just what's it gonna be like. You know what kids talk about,
And we're getting into action at last, and you know,
this is gonnna be great. I'm gonna get souvenirs
and all this sort of stuff till we finally got into the,
oh I don't know how far we were off Dieppe and than they
loaded us in the assault craft and put us down into the water.
And then we started for the shore.
Interviewer: Were you able to see the shore from
that assault craft?
No, because every time we raised our head up, the sergeant,
you know, "Get your bloody head down,
or you're gonna get it blown off",
because you could hear bullets, you know, not bad.
But anyway we got closer and closer until they did
lower the ramp and of course as soon as they lower the ramp...
Interviewer: Ok,
so from a fair distance off, bullets were coming out?
Oh yeah, and shells.
Interviewer: So you knew then there was no surprise?
Well, it wasn't that heavy at that moment
until we got a little closer and then we knew it was no surprise.
Especially when they dropped the ramps
and the guys started running off, well
they were getting knocked down all over.
I mean we, I was on a TLC, that would be a tank landing craft
right beside a Bren gun carrier and we, we went off it,
and it got a direct hit and there was a little scout car with us
and it got, and he got a direct hit. So we were right beside
the Bren gun carrier and we plunked down there,
well my sergeant, he crawled forward and he got ten feet ahead
and he was shot in the foot, broke his leg, went ahead
and bandaged him up but later on he got one through the head.
And we lost two of our ammunition carriers
so we're down to three men. Number 1, 2, and 3 on the mortar,
all the rest are gone and of course there's guys laying
all over the place, you know they're...
and the, I was right beside a tank that had the tread off
and he was firing away and firing away.
I'm getting gradually deafened as he's firing. And, a funny thing
about this tank that's firing, it's only a couple years ago
I was at a reunion and one of the Calgary tanks
where there and there was a bunch of Veterans sitting around,
you know telling stories, and this one Veteran's there
and I'm telling him, "Gosh" I said "when I was up in Dieppe
there I'm laying beside this number ten tank
with the tread blown off it", and I said
Description
On board ship, Mr. Curry and his comrades are on their way to a landing at Dieppe.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 03:31
- Person Interviewed:
- Kenneth Curry
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Battle/Campaign:
- Dieppe
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- Royal Hamilton Light Infantry
- Date modified: