Small Port of Dieppe

Invasion took place while I was taking the signal training and, and we were, we even debated, shall we run away and join the, join the guys, you know, in the infantry? Cause some people did, you know, they got all geared up and wanted to be part of it. But we made, we made a decision that no, you know, let's get this done at one thing at a time, there's gonna be lots of war left, you know. So, eventually, I guess in, in September, October, it was October, I think, I was sent on leave and then in October I went over and the guys had, had just entered Belgium, Belgium at that time. We left France. We, we actually landed at Dieppe, they opened port, by that time. We had to stay off Dieppe, off the port. We couldn't go out, the port had a tiny little entrance, I mean, it was enough to get two boats in there and that's about it. You know, very tiny. Small little port. And, and then the beaches, you know, these vast beaches with the, with the sea wall and the casino in the end and the big fortification up on the cliff on the right. It was too rough and they didn't want to take the boat in. There was a landing craft infantry, it was like a little, tiny destroyer with a couple of ramps each side that could be lowered. Fair size ship, but there was a bunch of us on there, couple hundred people, I guess. But we were standing off in this rough weather, anchored, and we had ample time to look at the whole scene that the Dieppe boys had gone through, you know. And I, we said to ourselves, "This is ridiculous." How could anybody ever think that they could have sent our guys in there and not have them chopped to pieces, you know?

Mr. Field goes over to the continent after the summer of 1944, and lands at Dieppe.

Richard (Dick) Field

Mr. Richard Field was born in Toronto, Ontario, on November 11, 1924, where his father was an accountant for Brazilian Traction Light and Car Power Company located in Toronto. After hearing stories from his grandfather and friends about the service, Mr. Field and his father enlisted in 1943. Serving as a Gunner in the Royal Canadian Artillery, Mr. Field went to the continent after the summer of 1944, and landed at Dieppe. Having witnessed battles such as the Battle of the Bulge, which was, on record, the coldest battle fought during the Second World War, encounters with German POWS and the German SS, nothing stirs up memories such as the moving story about the Highland Light Infantry returning from battle, wearily marching on to battle, serenaded by the haunting melody of the bagpipes. Mr. Field returned home to Toronto and married his high school sweetheart, however, the war never left the dreams and thoughts of Mr. Field, who still, quite frequently, is plagued by dreams and nightmares of life on the front.

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 02:05
Person Interviewed:: Richard (Dick) Field
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Location/Theatre:: France
Battle/Campaign:: Northwest Europe
Branch:: Army
Occupation:: Gunner

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