City monument to honour Canadians who died in ill-conceived Dieppe Raid
Pierre Vennat was two years old when his father, André, left Montreal for England in 1941 to serve in the Second World War.
A merchant and musician by trade, he volunteered for the army in hopes of avenging his older brother, who was killed in combat for the French Army during the First World War.
The next year, in August 1942, André Vennat became one of 916 Canadians who died in the Dieppe Raid, an ill-conceived Allied attack on German-occupied France. He was 32.
Vennat, a 78-year-old retired journalist and historian, has spent years researching the raid and has often travelled to Dieppe himself to pay his respects to those who died there.
Soon, it was announced on Wednesday, he will be able to do so a little closer to home.
Following the successful inauguration of Place de Vimy last weekend to commemorate the 1917 battle, the city of Montreal plans to honour the Canadian soldiers who died in Dieppe.
The city is working on erecting a monument and naming a public space to commemorate the raid. Among the Canadian casualties — on top of nearly 2,000 more who were taken as prisoners of war — were 119 members of Montreal’s Les Fusiliers Mont Royal regiment and four from The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada, also based in Montreal.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre made the announcement at the city’s executive committee meeting Wednesday morning.
“It was not a very positive battle; there were a lot of French-Canadian casualties,” Coderre said. “But it’s an important battle and we have a duty to remember it.”
The public space honouring the raid will be on the peninsula of Parc de la Cité-du-Havre, close to the de la Concorde bridge that connects to Île Ste-Hélène. A date wasn’t set for the inauguration, though this year marks the 75th anniversary of the raid. A similar monument was erected in Longueuil in 1971.
“It’s excellent news,” Vennat said on Wednesday, adding how important the raid is to many Quebecers who lost family members in it. “The raid holds a great place in my family.”
Vennat published a book in 1991 arguing the raid should never have taken place because of how poorly planned it was. Most soldiers almost immediately found themselves pinned down under German fire upon arrival, though many still maintain valuable military lessons were learned from it, despite the steep price.
“It is not a critique against the brave men who were sent there, but rather against those who planned it,” Vennat said. “They had no chance.”
Vennat was already planning a trip to Dieppe with his wife this summer to mark the 75th anniversary, passing through England to visit his father’s grave at a military cemetery.
He said he now also hopes to be in attendance with his family when Montreal inaugurates its own Dieppe memorial.