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WWII History: Continued from the previous page. |
Dieppe Revisited
The cemetery at Dieppe is set back from the sea, inland from the town and surrounded by farmland. All Commonwealth gravesites from WWII display a common architecture. A large cenotaph and a memorial to the fallen are the dominant features, surrounded by even lines of white marble gravestones with curved tops.
Dieppe Cemetery
Commonwealth gravestones reflect the strong regimental tradition in the member nations' armies. At the top of each stone is a large regimental or service badge. For Canadian troops this is represented by a maple leaf. Below this is the man's service number, name, unit and dates of birth and death. In the middle of the stone is either a cross, Star of David, or a blank space, representative of the man's religious preference.
Dieppe Cemetery
At the bottom of the stone is an epitaph chosen by the man's family. Some are seen repeated many times, and I suspect that the surviving family was given the option to choose an epitaph from a list or to make their own.
While the Commonwealth cemeteries lack the architectural grandeur of the American ones, the epitaphs lend a personal quality that is perhaps less noticeable at the latter. Their eloquence is startling and profound, and the cost of war is perhaps better understood in no other place.|
Abbreviations of Canadian Regiments referred to below: - QOCHOC = Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders - ESCT = Essex Scottish - FMR = Fusiliers Mont-Royal - RHLI = Royal Hamilton Light Infantry - RRC = Royal Regiment of Canada - SSR = South Saskatchewan Regiment |
Captain Young - QOCHOC - A WHISPER RAN THROUGH ALL THE EARTH, "DIEPPE IS LIBERTY'S REBIRTH"
Sgt Hurst - QOCHOC - IN MEMORY OF OUR LOVED ONE WHO GAVE HIS LIFE THAT WE MAY LIVE IN PEACE. MOTHER, WIFE AND SON.
L/Cpl Knight - SSR - GREATER LOVE HATH NO MAN THAN THIS. THAT A MAN LAY DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS.
Pte Stewart - SSR - YOUTH AND STRENGTH TO GIVE FROM CANADA'S SHORE TO A DIEPPE BEACH TO DIE THAT WE MIGHT LIVE.
Pte Tyman - SSR - REMEMBERED FOREVER ALL WHO HOLD YOU DEAR TO THEIR HEARTS. WIFE AND FAMILY.
Sgt LaPointe - FMR - MORT EN HEROS POUR LA PATRIE. LAISSANT UNE FEMME ADORE ET UNE PETTITE FILLE CHARMANT. QUE DIEU LUI BENISSE.
Pte Adams - RRC - FOR BRITTANY, AND ALL SHE STANDS FOR. AND FOR OUR LITTLE CHILDREN HE GAVE HIS LIFE.
Pte Gurden - RHLI - KEEP ALIVE THEIR PRIDE. REMEMBER HOW THEY LIVED. REMEMBER WHY THEY DIED.
Pte Bryan - RRC - HE SLEEPS BESIDE HIS COMRADES, HIS GRAVE I MAY NEVER SEE. MAY SOME KIND HAND PLACE A FLOWER FOR ME.
Pte Ballmer - ESCT - I CANNOT AND WILL NOT SAY THAT HE IS DEAD. HE IS AWAY, WITH A CHEERY SMILE AND A WAVE OF THE HAND.
Lt Palms - ESCT - HE HATH AWAKENED FROM THE DREAM OF LIFE.
American Volunteer (50 yrs old)
