70th Anniversary of a ill-fated invasion

70th Anniversary services.  Photo Ann MacMillan CBC

Crouching on the waves in the moon-lit darkness, the Allied invasion force waits. 

They are waiting for the signal to invade the beaches of Dieppe, hoping to begin the liberation of France. 

It is August 19^th 1942.  The service personal are waiting, muscles coiled, breathing slowed – trying to control the fear and the adrenaline.  Prayers are whispered.  Photos of wives and children are kissed for luck, and tucked into a uniform breast pocket. 

A fleeting knowing look is exchanged between infantrymen, thinking; “Will we die here?” 

Dieppe France in May of 2012

At ten minutes to six in the morning the invasion began.  Long lines of ships crowd the coastlines, disembarking men and tanks.  Tracers light the sky as enemy guns fire upon anything that moves.  

German Junkers aircraft drop heavy bombs that thud into the earth, showering stones, and mud, and body parts into the air.  Boots scrabble on the smooth, slippery stones.  Men stumble and fall. 

An Allied Spitfire plane crashes beside a tank carrier, the pilot struggles to escape as the plane sinks below the surface.  The new Canadian Calgary Tank Division desperately tries to land their vehicles. 

The smooth beach stones jam tightly into the tank tracks, rendering the machines incapable of movement.  Another bomb thuds nearby.  Dismembered bodies floated past.  The beach stones turn red with splattered gore.

Ill-fated Dieppe Raid August 19th 1942

Smoke.  Screams.  Yells.  Commands.  Gunfire.  And explosions rip through the air.  It is not pretty, or cinematic-worthy.  It is nasty, and dirty, and horrible.  The ‘secret’ invasion was expected. 

An increase in British radio signal traffic, and a French double-agent had removed any possibility of surprising and overwhelming the German forces.   Eight hours later the invasion forces scrambled to pull back, returning to England, leaving behind some of the dead and all of the captured.  Of the nearly 5,000 Canadians who participated in the raid, 913 were killed.  About 1500 Canadians were taken prisoner.


Seaside cabanas in Dieppe

When Lawrie and I recently visited Dieppe we saw a peaceful little seaside town with little beach cabanas lining the seawall.  There were people enjoying the spring sunshine while eating at outdoor restaurants.  Children were returning from a day at school.  Adults were shopping for items for the evening dinner.  Normal people doing everyday normal things. 

We stayed overnight in the centre of town near the 600-year-old St. Jacques cathedral with its scowling gargoyles and intricate stained glass windows.  On the bluff, overlooking the town and the beach is the medieval Chateau de Dieppe.  It houses a museum that currently specializes in a collection of ivory artifacts from the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

Dieppe, our hotel was to the right

In the morning we wandered the landing area of the Dieppe Raid, trying in our mind’s eye to see what the invasion would have looked like. 

I picked up one of the elliptical shale stones, rubbing it absently between my thumb and finger – visualizing the challenge of running on this beach while scared, and loaded down with thirty-five pounds of equipment.   Running towards the gun emplacements, still visible seventy years later tucked into the hillside. 

How did anyone survive?






We stood silently, staring at the ocean, thinking about the very human cost of war.   Any war.   



Rocky beach of Dieppe

Dancing Fountains of Versailles

Apollo Fountain at Versailles

“Huh!  That’s it. 

That’s what we paid extra money for, and then waited three hours to see?”

The twice daily “Dance of the Fountains” at Versailles occurs at eleven in the morning, and again at three-thirty in the afternoon. 
 
“Why?”  We wondered gazing around the vast and meticulously groomed gardens.  Why such a short amount of time, and why not leave the fountains working all day from the time the park opens until sunset? 

Water – or more correctly the lack of water is the problem, and has been since Versailles was built in the 1660’s during the reign the Sun King, Louis the 14^th. 

Waiting for water!

The gardens of Versailles cover eight hundred hectares; have fifty fountains, with over six hundred jets to spray the water from the mouths of Gods, water nymphs, horses, or mythical sea creatures. 

The original gravitational hydraulic system included thirty-five kilometers of piping.  Before the advent of electricity a combination of windmill-power and horse-power was used to pump the water, diverted from local rivers, up to the reservoir on top of the beautiful Grotte de Thétys.  From this reservoir the water would make its way back through the fountains returning to various streams or ponds.

Rental boats on Grand Canal

Around 1668 the 1500-meter long Grand Canal was constructed as a pretty venue for boating activities, doubling as a collection basin for the water. 

Still there was not enough water.  The head Fountaineer Jean-Baptiste Colbert devised a system of signaling, via whistles, to warn other Fountaineers that the King was walking towards their area.  

One arm of the Grand Canal at Versailles

The workers would scramble to turn on the appropriate valves, ensuring the fountain was working as the king strolled past with his entourage, then turn off the valves to feed the next fountain on his route. 

It must have been a bit of a comedy show at times, anticipating where his royal highness intended to stroll next. 

Perhaps the Sun King had a mischievous sense of humor, making last minute adjustments to his promenade – just to see if the workers could keep up with him.



People watching, waiting for the fountain show.

Two more attempts were made to solve the critical water shortage at Versailles.  In 1681 a complex system of waterwheels and pumps was engineered to pump water from the Seine River up 100 meters above the level of the river into the fountain system at Versailles. 

With various equipment failures and conduit leakage the expected volume was reduced by half. 

Then in 1685 twenty thousand soldiers were employed to divert water from the Eure River.  The war of 1686 – 1689 ended that project, unfinished. 

Versailles with its stunningly beautiful setting still has water problems.  The twice daily Dance of the Fountains is quick, and a tad repetitive. 

Go, enjoy!   Just remember; it’s not Vegas.




Hotel de France - perfect, just outside the main gates.

Orleans France, hot bed of royal intrigue

Jeanne d'Arc

Jeanne d'Arc lowered herself onto her left knee, bowing her head in subservience -quietly pledging to her Dauphin, Charles VII, to escort him to Reims to be crowned as the rightful King of France. 

Jeanne d'Arc, or as we know her Joan of Arc, was just 17 years old.  Hers is a history recounted by innumerable famous authors, film makers, and more recently animated computer games.  She said that she had visions from God that instructed her to recover her homeland from the English, overrun by King Henry V of England in 1337, in a war started as a succession dispute between the French Armagnacs and the French Burgundians. 

The uncrowned King Charles VII sent her to the siege of Orléans as part of a relief mission.  She gained prominence when she overcame the dismissive attitude of veteran commanders and destroyed the siege in only nine days earning her the soubriquet, The Maid of Orléans.

 Orléans Cathedral underconstruction between 1278 & 1329

A skirmish in northern France on Mary 23rd 1430 led to her capture, when her forces were overrun by the Dauphins rivals, the Burgundians. 

She was unhorsed and sold to the English by Duke Philip of Burgundy.  The English Duke of Bedford claimed the throne of France on behalf of his nephew Henry VI. 

Inside the Cathedral

Joan of Arc had been responsible for the rival coronation, hence condemning her was an move to undermine the king's legitimacy.

She attempted several escapes, on one occasion jumping from her 70 foot (21 m) tower to the soft earth of a dry moat, after which she was moved to the Burgundian town of Arras in northern France.

Jeanne d'Arc watching over the square

On May 3th 1431 the saviour of Orléans, nineteen-year-old Jeanne d'Arc, was burned at the stake, as a heretic, because, well, I guess, a mere woman should never annoy men by getting involved in politics, war, or religion.

The present day Orléans has many statues commemorating Jeanne d'Arc.  It is an extraordinarily beautiful city, saturated with history, culture, art, and the all important ingredient - money - necessary to keep everything functioning. 

We stayed in a modest hotel on the main pedestrian street, and wandered up and down the centre of the old city, at one point sighting a bride impatiently waiting for her groom to arrive at the civil registry office. 

Waiting for arrival of groom

Later on Saturday night we discovered the modern tradition of stag or stagette parties celebrating in the city square, under the watchful eye of a very stern Jeanne d'Arc mounted on horseback. 

Saturday night stag party in Orleans France

I wonder what she would have thought about that; people older than she, enjoying silly frivolous fun on a Saturday night, without a care in the world?

Paris - never enough time

Paris Icons,the Eiffel Tower and the "Gendarme"

The City of Lights is a beguiling city. 

A beautiful city. 

A place of many neighbourhoods, cafes, bakeries, and shops. 

We are only here for four days, and we can't possibly see it all.

Petit-Luxembourg Palace

We wandered through the Luxembourg Gardens, the second largest public park in Paris, located just blocks away from our hotel.  Marie de Medicis, the widow of Henry IV and the regent for the under-aged King Louis XIII decided to recreate the Pitti Palace located in her native Florence.  In 1611 Marie purchased the hotel du Luxembourg and began her new creation.  This beautiful park surrounds the French Senate, located inside the still existing Petit-Luxembourg palace.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Eventually we wound, our way through various charming neighbourhoods, to the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral located on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine.  Notre Dame de Paris is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in Europe.  The first phase of construction started in 1163, and the cathedral was essentially completed by 1345. 

After the construction began and the new thinner-styled walls grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur.  In response, the cathedral's architects built the first flying buttresses (large supports) around the outside walls.  Many decorative statues served as additional supports and/or water spouts. 

Among these are the famously fierce gargoyles, staring down from great heights on the timid parishioners.  The grey stone of the exterior and of the gargoyles was once covered with vivid colors but time has worn away the ornamentation - leaving only the scowls and the stinking, hot breath of the devils, dragons, and demons.

Galleries LaFayette Centre

A block from the cathedral we boarded a red-top open-air bus, for an overview tour of the city. For the next two hours we ricocheted through dense traffic, past famous sights: the Paris Opera House, built in 1861; the Place de la Concorde where in 1793 King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined; the 3,300-year-old Cleopatra's Needle that once marked the entrance to the tomb of Ramesses II; my favourite shopping centre the Galleries LaFayette built in 1912 with its gorgeous Art Nouveau glass and steel dome; and of course the iconic Eiffel Tower built as a temporary entrance to the 1889 World's Fair. 

Pont des Arte - and "lovelocks"

After exiting the bus tour, we ambled along the walkway of the Seine River, past book sellers, and artists until we arrived at a pedestrian bridge, the Pont des Arte, arching between the venerable Louvre Museum on one bank, and the Institute of France built in 1670 on the other bank.  The Pont des Arte sparkled in the sunlight - glittering with thousands of padlocks, known as lovelocks, secured to the metal bridge.  Much to the annoyance of city officials and bridge engineers the structure has become a romantic rendezvous for couples.  They declare their everlasting love by attaching a padlock to the railing and throwing the key into the river below.  The tradition started in about 2000 on this bridge, but in other countries has been happening since World War II.  Being as our last name is Lock, well, we just might have to participate in this custom.

Paris Catacombs & the bones of 6 million people

The next day Lawrie and I paid a visit to the fascinating Catacombs of Paris, located in an ancient and abandoned limestone quarry, right under our hotel. The Catacombs hold the remains of approximately six million people, relocated - between the end of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th century - from crumbling and infection-prone Parisian graveyards.  From the first day of their creation April 7th 1786, the Catacombs were a favourite attraction for the rich and famous.  In 1787, Lord of d' Artois, who became King Charles 10th, visited the Catacombs, with a group of ladies from the Court.  In 1814, François 1st, emperor of Austria visited.  In 1860, Napoleon III explored the area with his son.  I can't imagine what it would have been like to descend under the city along a labyrinth of low-ceilinged limestone tunnels, dark galleries and wet narrow corridors - before the advent of electricity! 

Our last night in Paris

Later that evening the six of us, two brothers, a sister and spouses, gathered for a relaxing meal at El Trocadero Cafe, across the plaza from the Eiffel Tower. 

We sipped wine, reminiscing about our four days in Paris and waited for the lights to illuminate the tower.  At ten in the evening the lights came on - sparkling and flashing causing the crowd to collectively suck in a breath and breathe out: "Wow!"

What a great way to end our short visit to the City of Lights.

Powerful - Vimy Ridge France

Road leading to Vimy Ridge monument in France

Walking through an alley of tall deciduous trees, dripping with bone-chilling condensed fog, we realized we were momentarily lost - unable to find the massive World War I, Vimy Ridge memorial.  Muffled voices came from our left, and we turned our heads as the mist cleared slightly showing the outline of the huge structure. 

It is a stunning sight.



Peering through the fog at the 88 foot tall monument


Rising 27 meters (88 feet) above the base, the towering pylons contain almost 6,000 metric tonnes of glowing white limestone brought to the site from an abandoned Roman quarry on the Adriatic Sea.

Designed by Canadian sculptor and architect Walter Seymour Allward, the monument took eleven years to build. The huge figures were carved on site from blocks of stone.

Walking around the monument we were both suddenly very quiet, somber.  Lightly running a finger over the names carved into the limestone - of 11,825 Canadian soldiers and service personal missing in action in France - I felt a sense of great loss and sadness. 

Altogether, more than 66,000 Canadians died in the First World War 1914 to 1918 when the total Canadian population in 1916 was slightly less than 8 million.  Our young country lost over 8% of its population, predominately its young men during the war.  It was a very heavy price to pay.

11,825 names of Canadians missing - 1914 to 1918

Lawrie remembers as a child - Auntie Mac - a good friend of his grandmother's who had been a battlefield nurse at Vimy. 

Her husband Bruce Davidson fought at Vimy Ridge.  They both survived - with vivid memories of the horrific conditions of trench warfare.  Memories that dramatically shaped their lives. 

I don't have any personal memories of friends or family members who were involved in "The Great War" but we both felt a certain need to visit the memorial, to pay our respects to the dead. 

It is a very powerful experience.

Some of the trenches at Vimy Ridge.