Veterans Cenotaph

The Veterans’ Monument was erected by the Dieppe Military Veterans Association in 1981.  It is located next to City Hall, at 333 Acadie Avenue.  Each year, on the Sunday closest to August 19^th, a wreath laying ceremony is  held at the war memorial.

On February 8, 1946, the village of Leger’s Corner was named Dieppe in memory of the 913 Canadian soldiers killed during the allied troops landing on the beaches of Dieppe, France on August 19, 1942.  Dieppe was later incorporated as a town on January 1st, 1952.

The veterans wanted a memorial erected in honour of the soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the beaches of Dieppe and elsewhere during all of the wars in which Canada and its allies took part.  Since the city had taken on the name of Dieppe, the veterans felt that the monument, built by one of their own, Donald Gould, should mainly commemorate the Dieppe Raid.

The monument is described as follows:

The small pebbles laid out in ten groups represent the ten assault regiments to which belonged 842 of the men who lost their lives.  The support units lost 65 men, the Royal Canadian Navy lost one and the Royal Canadian Air Force lost five on that fateful day of August 19, 1942.  The pebbles were collected by school children on the beaches of Dieppe and transported free of charge to Canadian soil by Air Canada.

The top part of the monument, which is made of red and white bricks, represents the clouds and fire which filled the air on that mournful day.  An RCAF airplane on the horizon reminds us of the Air Force’s participation in the raid.  The Navy was also instrumental on that day, as is reflected by the grey bricks representing a ship afloat at sea.  In the background, a tank portrays the motorized infantry, the red bricks represent the earth, and the small pebbles, the beaches.

The soldier is shown with his pack, helmet and rifle charged with fixed bayonets, the standard equipment of Canadian soldiers during World War II.

In 2000, a granite base was installed in honour of the wars of 1914-18, 1939-45 and 1950-53, as well as the contribution of peacekeepers.  Each inch represents a year of war.  The names of the 13 Dieppe men who lost their lives during World War II are engraved on a plaque on the upper front section of the monument.  The names of the members of the Dieppe Military Veterans Association who have passed away since the Association was founded are engraved on plaques located on the back of the monument.

The black edges of the monument represent the edges of the letters that mothers and wives received from the Casualty Office when their sons or husbands were killed in combat.

In 2001, two side panels were added, one each in French and English.  They both bear an imperial war burial type of cross, the Dieppe Military Veterans Association emblem, the dedication, and the Star of David at the bottom.  Since the Jewish cemetery is located in Dieppe, the veterans felt it appropriate to point out its presence with the Star of David.  A base bearing the words “Nous nous souviendrons / Lest we forget” with a poppy on each side was added at the back of the monument.