Crossing the English Channel to Dieppe

The Dieppe Raid

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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.

Kenneth Curry

Mr. Curry was born in England in 1922. He was the youngest of two brothers and emigrated to Canada with his family at the age of one. The family settled in Stoney Creek, Ontario where Mr. Curry went to school and also served in the Army reserve. Mr. Curry falsified his age by one year in order to enlist with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. His war service included participation in the Dieppe Raid where he was taken prisoner of war.

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