Dieppe Gardens, Windsor

A photograph overlooking Dieppe Gardens located in Windsor, Ontario. Dieppe Gardens is located along the Detroit River, 78 Riverside Drive West.

On 19 August 1942, the Dieppe Raid, known as Operation JUBILEE, resulted in the largest one-day Canadian casualties count of World War II (1939-1945). The raid was an Allied attack on the German-occupied town in northern France. Within the first few hours of the Allies landing on the beach, 907 Canadian soldiers were killed and 1,946 were taken as prisoners of war. The results were devasting and continue to serve as a cold reminder of the consequences of war.

The Essex Scottish Regiment landed on Red Beach, Dieppe with 553 soldiers, however, only fifty-one all-ranks returned to England that day and of those twenty-seven were wounded. The remaining men were captured as prisoners of war or were killed in action. In remembrance of the Essex Scottish action at Dieppe in 1942, the City of Windsor constructed "Dieppe Gardens" along the Detroit River waterfront at Riverside Drive West.

The City of Windsor officially dedicated the garden on 28 June 1959. Lieutenant-Colonel F.K. Jasperson, the commanding officer of the Essex Scottish Regiment during the Dieppe Raid was present and unveiled the new established monument.

The black granite Dieppe Memorial was formally dedicated at Red Beach in Dieppe, France, to The Essex Scottish Regiment on the anniversary of Dieppe Raid on 19 August 2006. The wording on the Memorial is the same as the brass plaque originally installed at Red Beach in 1992. It now rests adjacent to the Canadian Military Cemetery Dieppe, France. Subsequently, an identical copy of the France memorial was unveiled in Dieppe Gardens, Windsor on 19 August 2010. The latter memorial was constructed to allow those who are unable to visit France to view the Dieppe Memorial in Windsor and remember those who fought that fateful day.

Both monuments were designed by Rory O’Connor to reflect the exact hour of 1:00pm in Windsor, Ontario and Dieppe, France in which the Regiment was ordered to leave Red Beach. Each year on 19 August, sunlight is cast through the maple leaf on the monument, projecting an image of the leaf on to the monument’s stainless-steel plaque. On the anniversary of the Raid, The Essex and Kent Scottish holds a Remembrance Service at the Dieppe Memorial located in Dieppe Gardens.

An additional significant Regimental memorial in Dieppe Gardens is dedicated to Pipe Major Jock Copland M.B.E. (Member of the Order of the British Empire). The memorial plaque is constructed of bronze and reads: “This memorial dedicated in the Centennial Year 1967. In memory of W.O.1 Pipe Major J. (Jock) Copland M.B.E of the Essex-Kent Scottish Regiment, 1st Battalion by the Warrant Officers and Chief Petty Association of Essex County.” Copland was beloved by the Regiment, as he led the Regiment’s Pipe and Drums from 1927 to 1958.

Since the establishment of Dieppe Gardens in 1959, a number of other monuments for the fallen Canadian army, navy, and air force service members have been dedicated and includes: Pray for Peace, the Naval Monument, Eternal Flame, the Royal Canadian Airforce Memorial, and the Korea Veterans War Memorial. Dieppe Gardens is a popular park all year round visited by many tourists and local residents.

Story by Taylor Blackmere, Canada Summer Jobs 2022 Participant
with the Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment.

Sources

• Duty Nobly Done, The History of The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment by Sandy Antal and Kevin R. Shackleton, 2006.
• The Essex Scottish Regiment Dieppe Memorial, Veterans Affairs Canada, November 28, 2019.
• W.O.1. Pipe Major J. (Jock) Copland M.B.E. Monument, Dieppe Gardens. City of Windsor