Sister Agnès-Marie Valois, “Angel of Dieppe”

Sister Agnès-Marie Valois photographed during a Dieppe Memorial.

Sister Agnès-Marie Valois was born in Rouen, France, 30 June 1914. She got her state nursing degree in 1936 then took her religious vows on 15 October 1936 and was part of the Augustine order of nuns. She worked as a nursing sister at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital in Rouen. Known as the “Angel of Dieppe,” Sister Agnes cared for wounded Canadian soldiers on the beach during the Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942. Later in Rouen, most of the incoming patients from Dieppe were Canadian.

The Dieppe Raid was a military disaster for the Canadian forces for a multitude of reasons. Of the almost 5000 Canadians that landed at Dieppe, 907 were killed and 1946 were taken prisoner. Almost 600 Canadians were sent to the hospital in Dieppe, which was small and ill-equipped to deal with so many patients at once. Thus, they were sent to the hospital in Rouen where Sister Agnès-Marie worked. While helping Canadian patients under threat of German violence, Sister Agnès refused to treat German soldiers first. She provided treatment for patients in the order of the severity of their injury regardless of their nationality. In one instance, she defended a wounded soldier from being executed by standing in front of them and saying that the bullet would have to go through her first. The Canadian soldiers in her charge took comfort from her kindness. For example, she was known to steal cigarettes and chocolate from the Germans and give them to the Canadian soldiers. In one instance, a soldier asked her to kiss him like his mother would before he died.

She also arranged burials for soldiers in a local cemetery, including the burials of amputated limbs. Her willingness to provide equal care despite the circumstances under which she worked suggests her dedication to the fair treatment of all soldiers and her compassion for those fighting in the Dieppe Raid. She was quoted as saying that the war was not a war but a massacre, and her actions both as an Augustinian nun and a nurse suggest that she valued human lives over the political divides that separated her patients. Her continued visits with Dieppe veterans at reunions also suggests her respect for the men’s sacrifice.

She moved to the Sainte Marie monastery in Thibermont in 1968 and retired from nursing at the Dieppe hospital in 1979. In 1992, she was awarded the French National Order of Merit. She was awarded the Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1996 and was promoted to Officer in 2009. Canada’s Meritorious Service Medal was presented to her in 1998 and given the key to the city of Windsor, Ontario, in 2012. At the ceremonies held every 19 August in Dieppe she is a special guest and given the honour of being the last dignitary to arrive at the ceremony.

Sister Agnes-Marie died on 19 April 2018 at the age of 103 in a convent in France. She is referred to as the “Angel of Dieppe” for her contributions during the war.

Story by Nicole Pillon, Canada Summer Jobs 2022 participant
with The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment Association

The Essex and Kent Scottish Regiment Association Collection

Sister Agnès-Marie Valois, “Angel of Dieppe”

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