Wounded on Green Beach
The Dieppe Raid
Wounded on Green Beach
Transcript
We got a message from the headquarter's ship
that we were to evacuate at a certain time.
And I passed that order on to,
to the companies and went to the position
that I thought was appropriate and to
supervise the actual evacuation.
And, and this was down on the beach.
Interviewer: So you're down on the beach and
you're in charge of the evacuation procedures,
and you notice the Royal Navy bringing
in the landing craft, and they're getting ready
ready to take your regiment off.
Right
Interviewer: What happened then?
Well they came in, in the usual RN style,
pretty good you know.
And they were suffering casualties themselves.
And yet they nevertheless kept coming,
and the drill we had was after the troops who
were going, were going to evacuate under fire,
after they felt the sand or shale under their feet,
they were to, the order was
“Boats and bodies”
I think was the expression used.
Get people into the landing craft and
break up your organization you see.
And this was being done
and people were getting off.
At some time during this process a soldier
was hit very close to me and he was,
he would have drowned, he was sinking so
I grabbed him and pulled him up where
he was within his depth at least.
And then I got hit, and I had
the same experience.
So that's how I got wounded.
Interviewer: After you'd been wounded
how is it that you weren't put on one
of the landing craft and evacuated?
I don't think you'd do that to the colonel.
Interviewer: The colonel is expected to stay
until..
No, but he's supposed to know what to do.
Interviewer: So are you telling me you
should have known what to do and,
which was to get on the landing craft?
No, but what I...yes. I'm saying that I
should have known what to do and
I did know what to do, which was continue
and come on and not to evacuate myself.
I was to help evacuate the others.
Description
Colonel Merritt was wounded as his troops were evacuating Green Beach. He recalls the activity.
Meta Data
- Medium:
- Video
- Owner:
- Veterans Affairs Canada
- Duration:
- 04:29
- Person Interviewed:
- Charles Cecil Ingersol Merritt
- War, Conflict or Mission:
- Second World War
- Location/Theatre:
- Europe
- Battle/Campaign:
- Dieppe
- Branch:
- Army
- Units/Ship:
- South Saskatchewan Regiment
- Rank:
- Colonel
- Occupation:
- Company Commander
- Date modified: