Jayne Poolton-Turvey | Oct 20, 2021
Dieppe Blue Beach Every Man Remembered
On August 19th, 1942 a combined operations force made up primarily of soldiers from the 2nd Canadian Infantry Division, landed on the beaches of Dieppe; also known as Operation Jubilee. The operation would be a full frontal assault on the heavily defended port town in northern France. The Canadians would be responsible for landing at the two inside flank beaches at Puys and Pourville, as well as the main beach in the town of Dieppe.
Toronto’s Royal Regiment of Canada, would be selected to land at Puys, which for the purposes of the operation would be known as Blue Beach. The narrow beach, which was flanked on both sides by high cliffs, proved to be a killing ground for the men who landed there. With most of the Regiment landing just as daylight was breaking, the element of surprise was lost. Many of the men were mowed down by machine gun crossfire which swept the beach, as the men left the landing craft trying to reach the seawall, while running on the unstable rocky beach. The casualty numbers were staggering. Out of the 554 “Royals” who landed, 229 were killed or died of wounds, 264 were taken prisoner, only about 61 were evacuated to England. The goal of this project: “Dieppe - Blue Beach - Every Man Remembered”, is to pay tribute to all 554 soldiers of The Royal Regiment of Canada who landed at Puys on that day.
Created on Remembrance Day in 2015, Dieppe - Blue Beach - Every Man Remembered is a not-for-profit research project that will honour every soldier from The Royal Regiment of Canada who landed at Dieppe on August 19, 1942. The end goal of the project is to create a memorial book including a photo and a story for each soldier. We have been able to find a photograph for all of these fallen heroes, except ten. One of the ten is Arden Arthur Armstrong (born November 1914) from Harrowsmith, Ontario, who was killed in action that day. His father and mother were Andrew and Katie Armstrong. Brothers were Leslie, Donald, Clarence, Theodore and a sister Gwendoline Ethel Armstrong. We have searched everywhere possible for the past five years trying to locate Arden’s photo, with absolutely no luck. I am hoping that someone in the area might have a connection to the Armstrong family, or be able to give us some direction as to where we might search.
August 19, 2022 marks the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe Raid, and we will be going to Dieppe with the intention of honouring these heroes by placing their photos on their graves, as well as a flag. We want to ensure that Arden Armstrong is honoured along with his comrades and that he is remembered. We appreciate any help or recommendations available. Thank you!
Contact info: Jayne Poolton-Turvey – This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Website: www.dieppebluebeach.ca
Facebook: Dieppe Blue Beach Every Man Remembered
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