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Home , Battle of Vimy Ridge, Camp X, Dieppe, Dieppe Raid

, 2012

Mud and Canadians Take Ridge Death at In 1917, Canadians took part in a First World War battle that even Passchendaele today is a national point of pride. The scene was Vimy Ridge—a long, In the fall of 1917, Canadian troops in heavily defended hill along the Belgium fought in the Third Battle of Western Front in northern Ypres, better known as the Battle of near . The British and French Passchendaele. had tried unsuccessfully to capture it earlier in the war. On , 1917, The autumn rains came early that year it was ’s turn. to Flanders Fields. The fighting churned the flat terrain into a sea of muddy clay. Early that morning, after months Trenches filled with cold water and of planning and training, the first collapsed. Shell holes overflowed with group of 20,000 Canadians attacked. muck. Men, equipment and horses that Through the snow and sleet, Allied slipped off the duckboards (wooden artillery laid down a “creeping walkways in trenches and on paths) ”—an advancing line of precise were sucked into the swampy mess— shell fire. Soldiers followed closely Photo: LAC PA-004388 often never to be seen again. behind the explosions and overran A tank advancing with at Vimy Ridge. the enemy before many of them could The Canadians took over from the leave their underground bunkers. approximately 11,000 of our men first time the four Canadian divisions, battered British forces who had been Most of the ridge was captured by were killed or wounded. uniting more than 100,000 Canadians fighting there since July. On October noon that day, and the final part from coast to coast, served side by 26, the Canadians began to advance was taken by April 12. Canada had It has been said that Canada “came side and achieved one of the greatest on the enemy through often waist-deep done it but victory came at a cost— of age” as a country that day. For the victories in our country’s history. mud. They were pounded by German artillery and machine-gun fire. It was a nightmare of dirt and death. Finally, on November 10, 1917, Passchendaele was captured. Once again the Canadians had proved their valour, by National Peacekeepers’ Day succeeding where others had not. Canada is unique in many ways. An example of this can be found What was the cost to capture those on Drive in . Lots of few kilometers of land and the ruined countries have war monuments but remnants of the town? There were almost 16,000 Canadian casualties. Reconciliation—Canada’s salute to

Photo: LAC PA-002156 peacekeepers—is the only national Canadian Pioneers laying duckboards memorial in the world dedicated to over mud. peace support efforts. This awareness of the importance of preventing wars, not just fighting them, is also behind another original Canadian creation— Photo: DND IS2002-9012C National Peacekeepers’ Day. Canadian Peacekeeping Monument. On August 9, Canadians stop to honour those who have served and made sacrifices in Standing Up for our country’s peace support efforts over the years. This date was selected as it was on this day in 1974 that a Canadian Forces transport plane was shot down in the Middle East, killing nine Canadian peacekeepers—our country’s largest single-day loss of life Freedom in Libya in a peace support operation. Canadian Forces members have Our air force patrolled the skies, put their lives on the line in refuelled NATO warplanes and many places around the world bombed pro-Gadhafi forces that over the years. In 2011, they were threatening civilians. Our found themselves facing a new navy cruised the Mediterranean The challenge—helping to protect Sea off the Libyan coast, the people of Libya from the protecting the NATO fleet, The year 1942 was a grim time during the Second World War. Germany repressive regime that had ruled boarding vessels to search for occupied much of and its armies were advancing in North their country for decades. smuggled weapons and helping Africa and the . The Soviet leader, , pushed for the to stop coastal raids on the city opening of another front to help relieve the on his battered forces. The After a popular uprising in this of Misrata. It was dangerous Allies did not yet have the resources to invade Europe, but they did decide to North African country was met duty—HMCS Charlottetown launch a major raid on Dieppe, France. There they would try out amphibious with violence by Libyan dictator came under enemy fire during landing techniques, gather intelligence and hopefully force the Germans to Moammar Gadhafi, the United the mission, the first time that divert troops away from the Eastern Front. Nations (UN) authorized an has happened to a Canadian Almost 5,000 Canadians came ashore at Dieppe, Puys and Pourville in the early arms embargo and a no-fly zone warship since the Korean War. morning of , 1942. The German defences were strong, however, and to help protect its civilians. things quickly went wrong. The Canadian Forces stepped In the end, the Gadhafi regime up immediately, first to help was toppled and a new era John Grogan of was there…. evacuate Canadians and other has begun in Libya. At the foreigners who were trapped mission’s peak, approximately “We knew what we were supposed to do all right. We were to get to land by the fighting, and then as 650 Canadian Forces members and get over the beach as quickly as we could and get up over the sea wall. part of a North Atlantic Treaty served in the theatre of But on landing, I guess the first thing I recall is that . . . the beach was Organization (NATO)-led air operations. Fortunately, no lined with people all lying there . . . I just couldn’t understand what they and sea campaign to enforce the Canadian lives were lost. were all lying there for. But they were dead . . . and the ones that I had UN resolutions. waved good-bye to that morning . . . all of these people . . . all dead in such a short space of time.”

More than 900 Canadians were killed and almost 2,000 more were captured. The hard lessons learned at Dieppe helped save many lives when the Allies came ashore on D-Day two years later. Photo: DND IS2011-6002-055

A CF-18 Hornet fighter takes off from an Italian air base during the NATO air campaign. Photo: LAC C-014160

Aftermath of the . 2 The Canadian Forces Remembering the South in the Congo African War The year 2012 marks the 110th One of the most challenging missions anniversary of the end of the South ever faced by Canadian peacekeepers African War—the first time that large was the (UN) effort numbers of Canadian soldiers served in the Congo from 1960 to 1964. overseas. This large African country had been a Belgian colony for 90 years before Our young country sent troops to gaining its independence in 1960. South Africa in 1899 to help Britain Photo: CWM 19820205-003 © Canadian MuseumWar Unfortunately, the new nation was put down an uprising by Dutch Canadians on the veldt in South Africa. immediately plunged into chaos as settlers and bring the entire region a result of the political in-fighting, under its control. Fighting so far inter-tribal tensions, famine, mutiny from home in such an unfamiliar May 31, 1902. The Dutch settlers by the army, international interference setting was very challenging. The surrendered their independence in and the widespread violence that Canadians, however, soon earned a exchange for aid to those affected ensued. reputation for skill and tenacity in the by the fighting and for eventual self-government. By the end of the

Photo: DND UNC63-23-9 Battle of Paardeberg and the Battle The UN soon sent in peacekeepers to conflict, more than 7,000 Canadians try to restore order and stability. It of Leliefontein. During the war, five Canadian soldier at a Congolese defensive Canadians earned the , had volunteered for service with was a major undertaking—eventually position in 1963. the highest award for military valour. approximately 280 losing their lives a UN force of more than 20,000 (most from injury or disease caused by personnel would serve in the country, UN forces were not enough to stop The war ended with the signing of the harsh conditions) and more than including more than 300 Canadians. 250 being wounded. The UN troops found themselves the greater forces of upheaval rocking the Treaty of Vereeniging on in a new kind of peace support the Congo and they departed in 1964. mission. Violence and weapons were Two Canadian soldiers died during everywhere, but they were able to that mission. prevent break-away portions of the Sadly, the situation in the Congo country from splitting off. They also has remained troubled and Canadian ‘Hard-Over’ Harry helped push out foreign mercenaries Forces members have again been who were contributing to the serving in the country since the late Henry “Harry” DeWolf was instability. In the end, however, the 1990s to try to improve the situation. born in Nova Scotia in 1903. He became the most decorated Canadian naval officer of the Second World War. Under his command, HMCS Haida earned The First Ukrainian- the reputation as the “fightingest ship in the Canadian Navy.”

It was responsible for sinking Photo: LAC PA-134298 Canadian General 14 enemy ships in just over a DeWolf on the bridge of HMCS Haida year. Many of the battles took in 1944. place at night in the English Joseph Romanow was born in Channel, when DeWolf secured During the post-war years, Saskatoon in 1921. One of many his reputation as a fearless and Captain DeWolf commanded the Ukrainian-Canadians to volunteer skillful tactician. He was known aircraft carriers HMCS Warrior during the Second World War, to his crew as “Hard-Over Harry” and HMCS Magnificent. He died Romanow joined the Royal Canadian for various bold maneuvers off in 2000, at the age of 97, and Air Force (RCAF) in 1940. He first the coast of France (the nautical was buried at sea. There is now saw action piloting in anti-submarine term ‘hard over’ means to turn the a waterfront park named after (U-boat) air patrols and escorting ship’s wheel sharply). DeWolf on the Bedford Basin in convoys. After a short stint in Nova Scotia. , he was transferred to Burma where he flew Dakota DC-3 transport planes and dodged Japanese fighter aircraft. While in Asia, he helped train Gurkha soldiers and served with them. The War of 1812 After the war, Romanow played a role in helping bring more than Tensions between the (present-day Toronto), where they (U.S.) and Great Britain had been burned the Parliament buildings. 35,000 Ukrainian refugees to safety in Photo courtesy of Mary Romanow. Canada. growing over economic and political Brigadier-General Joseph Romanow. issues for some time when the U.S. After Napoleon’s fall in 1814, the In the post-war years, he graduated declared war on Great Britain on June British were able to focus their with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical In the early 1970s, Romanow spent 18, 1812. The fighting would primarily attention on the fighting in North engineering. Romanow then rejoined three years in West Germany helping take place in the continental U.S. and America and send three large armies the RCAF and earned a master’s NATO reorganize its air command in Upper and Lower Canada. Naval to the continent. British forces in aeronautical engineering. He structure. battles also occurred on the Great attacked Washington, D.C., and would later work on the Avro Arrow Lakes and the Atlantic coast. burned the White House in August jet program and was the officer The first Ukrainian-Canadian to 1814. responsible for the final installation become a general in the Canadian Although preoccupied with their and operation of Canada’s first nuclear Forces, he died in Ottawa, in 2011, conflict with France in Europe, the After years of fighting, both sides missile site in North Bay, Ontario. at the age of 89. British managed to repel several U.S. were tired of paying taxes to sustain intrusions into Upper and Lower a war that was going nowhere, Canada with the help of their loyal and merchants clamoured for Aboriginal allies and the Canadian the resumption of trade. Peace militias. The battles of Queenston negotiations began in late 1814 with The Will Heights, Lundy’s Lane, Crysler’s the Treaty of Ghent ending the war Farm and Chateauguay were some on February 17, 1815. The results . . . of the key events of the war. In April almost 4,000 soldiers killed in action to Live 1813, the Americans attacked York and both sides claiming victory.

Ethelbert “Curley” Christian was Grenadiers during the Curley Christian miraculously born in the United States in 1882 Battle of Vimy Ridge when artillery survived but unfortunately gangrene and he settled in Ontario as a fire buried him in a trench. All four set in and doctors had to amputate young man. He volunteered for limbs were crushed by debris and the his arms and legs. His positive the army during the First World wounded soldier was trapped for two demeanor remained, however, and War, one of the many brave Black days. Found barely alive, he cheated he would go on to marry, become a Canadians who did so. death again when two of his stretcher- father and live a long and active life bearers were killed by enemy fire while until his death in 1954. He is the On April 9, 1917, Curley carrying him from the battlefield. only Canadian quadruple amputee Image from the Military Museums Mural of Honour (courtesy of the Military Museums). Christian was serving with the to survive the First World War. Curley Christian after the war.

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In wartime, getting information on the enemy’s plans is very important but challenging. This is where spies come in. Often secretly working behind enemy lines, it is very dangerous work. If captured, they can expect harsh interrogation and even execution. Many brave Canadian spies, like the ones mentioned Super Spies below, risked their lives to help the Allies achieve victory.

Special Agent Guy Biéler The Spy from PEI Gustave “Guy” Biéler was born in France in 1904 and moved to Montréal at the age of 20. When the Clifton Stewart was Second World War broke out, he joined Le Régiment born in P.E.I. He had de Maisonneuve. His French background and perfect a knack for electronics English led him to be recruited by the “Special Operations and, by the age of 19, he Executive” in London for espionage training. was a budding amateur Although badly injured while parachuting into occupied radio genius. One day, France in November 1942, he organized and led the two RCMP officers ’s “Musician” network. Based in Saint- went to the family farm Quentin, the network attacked fuel depots, factories and and informed Stewart transportation targets in a large area of northern France. Its that the British secret sabotage efforts were so effective that the Germans formed service wanted to recruit him. They somehow a special team to eliminate it. The Gestapo finally arrested Photo courtesy of Stewart Family. knew that he was an Biéler in January 1944. Despite the extensive torture and Clifton Stewart during starvation he suffered at the Flossenbürg concentration electronics whiz. the war. camp, he revealed nothing to his interrogators. The

Image courtesy of Norm Christie / www.cefbooks.ca Young Mr. Stewart was sent to the British Security Germans executed Biéler in . Coordination Office in City, to work Book about Biéler written by his Biéler was posthumously awarded the Distinguished on the “Rockex” project with a handpicked team. daughter. Service Order and made a Member of the Order of the The machine they developed was used to encipher . Today, a street in Saint-Quentin and a almost all secret telegrams between London and memorial in Montréal bear his name. New York during the Second World War.

Going by the W5 (because he was the fifth spy recruited from the Western Hemisphere), he moved on to Camp X in Whitby, Ontario. A Man Called Intrepid There he honed his craft with other coding and demolition experts. Stewart was then sent on top Manitoba’s was a secret missions in occupied Europe. Dropped pilot in the First World War who earned behind enemy lines, a team of agents would set up several medals for bravery. His plane was radio communications with “the spy from P.E.I.” shot down; he was wounded and then hauling a briefcase containing a coding machine. captured by the Germans, but managed Information was gathered and messages sent. to escape. He would return to service in Mission accomplished, the team would fly back to the Second World War in a very safety. different role. What exactly were these missions? Well that is Stephenson became chief of the British still not entirely known. . . . Stewart died in P.E.I., Security Coordination (BSC) and with his secrets, at age 91.

the brain behind “Camp X.” It was a Photo:The Intrepid Society secret training facility for Allied spies, Sir William Stephenson established near Whitby, Ontario, in late 1941. It featured “Hydra,” a sophisticated agents were dropped behind enemy lines to Services, credited Stephenson with teaching Americans communications encoding centre. Very do their work. about foreign intelligence gathering. few people were aware of the true purpose of Camp X, including Canadian Prime , later famous for writing the The camp was later abandoned, its buildings demolished Minister Mackenzie King. novels, trained at the camp. His or relocated, and its records destroyed or locked away Bond character was supposedly based on under the Official Secrets Act. Today, the former site Allied agents were trained there in silent Stephenson and what Fleming learned from of Camp X is known as “Intrepid Park,” named after killing, sabotage, demolition, map reading, him. Colonel William “Wild Bill” Donovan, Stephenson’s wartime code name. A monument honours weapons and Morse code. Once ready, the wartime head of the U.S. Office of Strategic the men and women who trained and worked there.

Did You Know? A Family Tradition Did You Know? Canada was far away from most In 1918, during the First World of the fighting during the Second at Sea War, a German U-boat (submarine) World War, but we were not safe captured a Canadian trawler off the from enemy attack. In late 1944 Ronald Lowry, originally from the Nova Scotia coast. The Germans and early 1945, the Japanese Bay of Quinte Mohawk Band in put a small crew aboard the released thousands of large Ontario, was 17 when he applied trawler with weapons and a radio, bomb-carrying balloons that to join the Royal Canadian Navy in and then set off on a three-day 1949. The Korean War erupted in high-altitude winds blew across 1950 and Lowry soon found himself cruise of destruction. The ship was the Pacific Ocean. aboard HMCS Nootka on the other well-known to the fishing fleet and side of the world. could get within rifle range before Hundreds of these explosive anyone noticed its German flag. devices reached North America A sonar operator, he kept watch for Photo: VAC Seven schooners were captured and some landed in British enemy submarines and torpedoes off Ronald Lowry in 1955. and sunk before the trawler ran out Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Korean coast. Lowry had also of coal. The Germans then scuttled been trained in demolition work. He patrol vessels before retiring after Manitoba, the Yukon and the used these skills when he worked with almost ten years in uniform. Coming it, ending its short career as an Northwest Territories. The South Korean and British marines from a family with a strong history enemy warship. Japanese hoped the bombs would in raids to destroy enemy of military service, the tradition start forest fires and spread panic, bridges, railways and other strategic continued with Lowry marrying a but very little damage resulted. installations. Wren (a member of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service) and Following the war, Lowry served four of his five sons also serving in aboard mine sweepers, cruisers and the Navy.

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The Sawdust Fusiliers The Falcon of Malta An urgent need for lumber in the First World War led to the creation George “Buzz” Beurling was born in of a special auxiliary service: the , Quebec, in 1921. In September Canadian Forestry Corps. Also 1941 he joined the (RAF). known as “The Sawdust Fusiliers,” His first action was escorting bombers it was created to supply the huge and flying fighter sweeps across the quantities of wood needed on the . Western Front. For every soldier, an estimated five trees were required to Shortly after his first kill over Calais, build living facilities, make crates to Photo: CWM 19930065-858 © Canadian MuseumWar France, in May 1942, Beurling was ship food, weapons and Photo: LAC PA-037422 Proud members of the Canadian Forestry posted to the Mediterranean island ammunition . . . and even for coffins. Corps show off their muscles. of Malta. The “Falcon of Malta” shot Beurling marking his kills. down 17 enemy aircraft in just 14 The British government concluded injuries. On October 31, 1942, that nobody was more qualified to Through the achievements of the days and his total of 27 kills was the while being medically evacuated harvest timber than the Canadians. Canadian Forestry Corps, the British most by an RAF pilot over the island. Instead of shipping the wood from armies in France became self- For his accomplishments, he received to Britain, his flight crashed into Canada, however, our lumberjacks sufficient in timber and trans-Atlantic the Distinguished Flying Cross, the the sea off Gibraltar. One of only were sent over to cut down forests shipping space was freed for vital Distinguished Flying Medal, and the three survivors, Beurling eventually in the and France. reinforcements and supplies. Distinguished Service Order. returned to the cockpit with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He owed his combat success to good eyesight, excellent shooting skills and Squadron Leader Beurling was the the ability to fly his Spitfire like no most successful Canadian ace of Did You Know? other pilot would dare. His aggressive the Second World War, ending his style saw him shot down four times military career with 31½ confirmed Helicopters were used for the first time on the front lines during the Korean over Malta, however, suffering several kills. War, proving essential in the evacuation of wounded United Nations troops. Because there was a relatively static front line during the second half of the war, field hospitals could be located near the fighting and the helicopters did not have to fly far. More than a thousand Canadians were wounded. About half remained in the area to receive medical attention while the more severely wounded were airlifted to Canada. Highway of Heroes

Canadian Forces members have served in Afghanistan since late 2001 in support of the war on terror and to help stabilize the troubled country. The most dangerous part of Canada’s mission there was in the Kandahar region A Good from 2005 to 2011. Kandahar was a hotbed of insurgent activity and our soldiers had to constantly be on guard anytime they left their camps to go Capitaine “outside the wire.” Neighbour Sadly, more than 155 Canadian Forces members have died in Afghanistan Bonhomme over the years. People have honoured them by lining the overpasses of Ontario’s Highway 401, between Trenton and Toronto, which fallen soldiers Not all Canadian women spent the travel on their return to Canada. Flags fly, fire truck and police car lights Second World War years in uniform flash, salutes snap, and men, women and children respectfully stand as or in coveralls. To the women on the of vehicles passes by. On a stretch of road now known as the the home front, Kate Aitken’s voice “Highway of Heroes,” Canada remembers. was akin to welcoming a good friend to their kitchen. Mrs. A, as she was fondly known by her listeners, dispensed household hints, gossip, down-to-earth advice, and current events on her CBC Radio show “Your Good Neighbour.” Her broadcasts even provided a week’s menu based on the considerations of rationing and the produce in season from Victory Photo courtesy of Mireille Noël. gardens. Michel Noël during the war.

Michel Noël, born Jean-Noël Croteau in 1922, grew up in Québec City. He volunteered with the Régiment de Hull in 1943 and joined the Army Show to entertain the troops. He served in the Aleutian Islands in November 1943, and was later sent to Europe, where he fought in the and in the .

While in Bergen Op Zoom, Photo: VirtualMuseum.ca - Museum on the Boyne Noël was severely wounded by an explosion. A piece of Mrs. A leading classes at Waterloo Station in London, England. 1945. shrapnel stayed in his heel for

the rest of his life. Photo: Pete Fisher / Nesphotos.ca The Ontario native was also a speaker, Canadians paying respects along the Highway of Heroes in Northumberland County in 2007. Following the war, Noël went interviewer, educator and cookbook on to become a famed author, author. As the conservation director singer, radio personality, for the federal Wartime Prices and comedian and actor for more Trade Board, her slogan “Use it up, than four decades. He created wear it out, make over, make do” the well-known character also became a poster. Her “Remake Touchdown for Capitaine Bonhomme and Review” tour even travelled across popularized the expression Canada with new ideas for remaking Remembrance “Les sceptiques seront clothing. Mrs. A’s wartime popularity confondus-dus-dus!” (The was so great that in 1945 alone, she Ontario’s Jake Gaudaur is a Canadian skeptics will be baffled!). received 260,000 letters. She really hero. A fighter pilot during the He died in 1993. was a good neighbour! Second World War, he also won Grey Cups as a player and an executive. He was the commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1968 to 1984. Many football players like Gaudaur have also worn Did You Know? a military uniform and exemplified the attributes of Canada’s Veterans: A rock memorial honouring fallen Canadian soldiers in the Panjwa’i District strength, perseverance, comradeship, will remain in Afghan soil long after our troops leave the region. The stones courage and contribution to represent Canadian soldiers who died in the area. Members of the community. The Jake Gaudaur Royal 22e Régiment took the stones from the memorial and buried them in Veterans’ Trophy is presented each a nearby trench. This emotional ceremony took place just weeks before the year to the CFL player who best personifies these qualities. Jake end of the longest combat mission in Canadian history, which lasted from Gaudaur passed away in 2007, at the 2001 to 2011. age of 87. Photo: VAC Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Trophy. Editor’s Note: Veterans Affairs Canada recognizes that names and spellings of some countries/locations may have changed. For historical accuracy, we have used the name current at the time of the event(s). This publication is available upon request in other formats. © Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by the Minister of Veterans Affairs, 2012 Catalogue No: V32-180/2012 Printed in Canada Affairs, This publication is available upon request in other formats. © Her Majesty the Queen Right of Canada, represented by Minister Veterans we have used the name current at time of event(s). Canada recognizes that names and spellings of some countries/locations may have changed. For historical accuracy, Affairs Editor’s Note: Veterans

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