THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

OPERATION JUBILEE — 19th August 1942 in Findon

Copyright Valerie Martin 2003

In 1942, it is said that the Findon Boy Scout movement scoured the village each evening pushing a wheelbarrow to collect scrap metal for the wart effort.   Were you one of those young boys?   Have you a story to tell?

In 1942, it was also reported locally that local females who invited soldiers from Canada into their houses, became the victims of "wicked contemptible gossip".... this was according to a Canadian soldier named Sergeant Campbell.  He went on to mention —

"The hospitality we have encountered in Worthing has been, to put it mildly, meagre.   And now we find that when we are invited into people's homes it causes a lot of talk".  

Perhaps we all had better things to do in those days than entertain Canadians.....I will leave it at that.

I now come to mid-August 1942.   On the 15th August, men with oxyacetylene burners removed the iron railings around properties and the residential roads.   This was to be used for munitions in the future.   The devastation was very apparent, the railings had been literally torn from their bases, leaving gaping masonry.

Two days later, Herbert Morrison, the Home Secretary, decreed that each householder should place in their porch a container to hold not less than 4 gallons of water.  Containers were hard to come by and pails and pans were used.   What was the water to be used for you are thinking?    Thirsty dogs?   Passing hard working horses pulling their carts? No, it was for any German incendiary bombs that were likely to be dropped.

On Wednesday 19th August 1942 there was much air activity in the sky all day long  for the war-weary Findon populace.  The radio news told villagers that there were gallant commando raids on Dieppe, this was known as Operation Jubilee. 

The 1st Division of Canadians stationed in the Muntham Estate were deployed and they were on French soil for nine hours on this day. 

The Second Battalion of the South Wales Borderers were at the Michelgrove Camp on 26th August 1942 but I am not sure what part they played..

The result was heavy casualties on both sides but the Canadians, British, Americans and Free French deemed the combined exercise successful. 

In retrospect, the episode appeared rather a disaster but the raid on Dieppe Beach was justified as good experience.  It was said that the successful later raid on Normandy would not have gone well without the bitter lessons learned at Dieppe where the Nazis controlled the heights above the beach and the Allied tanks could not get traction on the sand. 3,369 of the five thousand Canadians were wounded in the attack..

In all, three landings were made, some with juggernaut tanks. Air fights were numerous and some two hundred enemy aircraft were shot down compared to the Allies' ninety-five. Hundreds of aircraft passed over Findon. Some pilots flew over to France and then back to refuel three or four times on missions.

The Canadians who were lucky enough to return to Findon were very battle scarred.

On 28th August 1942, villagers heard that there were some 200 invasion barges lying at Shoreham, being some of those involved in the Dieppe raid.   What a sight that must have been.

Continue if you would like to read more about the Canadians in The Last Tank.

This is Findon Village — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.