On August 19, 1942 Operation Jubilee or the Dieppe Raid started. The attack on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France consisted of over 6,050 troops, mostly Canadian soldiers, supported by a regiment of tanks, that had to put ashore under the protection of Royal Air Force (RAF) fighters. The troops were supposed to land, hold the location, and destroy German defences. It was supposed to boost Allied morale.
The raid was a disaster. Within 10 hours over half of the soldiers, sailors and airmen participating were either dead, wounded or captured. As a morale booster it was a failure. But the mission to find out the feasibility of landing in a port and to gather intelligence on how the Germans defended their locations was successful. The lessons learned from the Dieppe Raid were applied to the planning for D Day less than 2 years later.
One of the soldiers who managed to get back home to safety was Cpl Douglas Ross Rickard a signalman on board a Tank Landing Craft (TLC) loaded with three tanks. Cpl Rickard enlisted in 1939 and joined the RCCS like his father. Sitting in a 10 ftX10ft metal cabin at the back of the ship, Cpl Rickard looked out at the sea while he received and decoded messages from three other signalers that landed with the South Saskatchewan Regiment, the Essex Scottish and the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry. The German signallers were very good and were sending messages in English to RCCS soldiers to try and confuse the landing force. But Cpl Rickard knew the patterns and style of each of his men and wasn’t fooled by the German attempt.
As the battle continued, Cpl Rickard was knocked unconscious by a shell blast but was revived. He remained at his post and continued to receive and transmit messages until the ship was badly damaged
and forced leave. With only one propeller working, the ship slowly returned to England. Off the coast of England the ship was attacked by enemy fighters and to avoid injury Cpl Rickard jumped overboard. He was able to remove his heavy boots and swim over a kilometer back to an English beach and rejoin his regiment.
Douglas Ross Rickard went onto have a career as a successful artist and businessman. He recently turned 104 years old and he and his wife Jean just celebrated their 78th anniversary. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp-3_jDXUF4
Mercury Shop
Summer is almost over! Soon the leaves will be falling and the little ones will be back in school. August also marks the end of summer hours for the Mercury Shop and the C&E Museum. Come visit us Monday to Sunday until Labour Day weekend from 1000 to 1530. We have a variety of kids toys and souvenirs for visitors.
We continue to offer medal mounting and personalized gifts, including adult and kid shirts, mugs, etc. If you have any questions about our products and services you may contact us by email at mercuryshop@c-and-e-museum.org or by phone at 613-541-5395.
Our online store is: https://www.themercuryshop.com