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Prisoner of Dieppe: World War II is the second book in Scholastic Canada's I Am Canada. It was written by Hugh Brewster and published in September 2010 with Paul Yee's Blood and Iron. The book was followed by Shot at Dawn by John Wilson.

Dedication[]

"To Ron Reynolds, who was there"

Book description[]

""Get to the seawall!" he yelled just as a bullet tore through my battle jacket, grazing my side. As I crawled forward I heard another plane overhead and spotted heavy smoke dropping down from it. A smokescreen! Thank God, I thought. Through the smoke I ran towards the seawall, stumbling over the bodies that lay in twisted positions in front of it.
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
Eager to fight the Germans, Allie and his friend Mackie await their first battle. But the raid on Dieppe turns into a bloodbath. A thousand soldiers die and the survivors are sent to a POW camp deep within Germany. Can there be any escape from Stalag VIIIB?
"

"—Continue jusqu'à la digue! m'a-t-il hurlé au moment même où une balle traversait ma tenue de combat, m'éraflant les côtes.
Tandis que j'avançais en rampant, j'ai entendu un autre avion et j'ai vu une épaisse fumée en descendre. Un barrage de fumée! Merci mon Dieu, me suis-je dit. J'ai traversé la fumée jusqu'au pied de la digue, butant contre les corps tordus dans tous les sens.
Impatients de combattre les Allemands, Allie et son ami Mac attendent de livrer leur premier combat. Malheureusement, l'attaque de Dieppe sera un véritable bain de sang. Plus d'un millier de soldats mourront, et les survivants seront envoyés dans un camp de prisonniers en Allemagne. Allie et Mac réussiront-ils à s'échapper du Stalag VIIIB?
"

Plot[]

Epilogue[]

Historical Note[]

Characters[]

Main article: List of Prisoner of Dieppe characters

Author[]

Main article: Hugh Brewster

Editions[]

Awards[]

  • Resource Links, Best of the Year (2010) - commended[5]

Acknowledgements[]

"The publisher wishes to thank Dr. J.L. Granatstein, author of The Generals: The Canadian Army's Senior Commanders in the Second World War; In Canada's Army: Waging War and Keeping Peace; and Who Killed Canadian History?, for sharing his historical expertise; and Barbara Hehner for her careful checking of the factual details."
"I would like to acknowledge the help of Dieppe veterans and their families in sharing their memories and mementoes. Ron Reynolds provided regular inspiration and information for this book and I am greatly indebted to him and his wife, Margaret. Fred Engelbrecht, a veteran of the RHLI, also has an excellent memory and store of fascinating stories. I'd also like to thank RHLI veteran Gordon McPartlin for his recollections and also Jayne Poolton-Turvey, who worked with her father, the late Jack Poolton, on his memoir, Destined to Survive: A Dieppe Veteran's Story. Another book to which I'm indebted, particularly for accounts of life in prison camp, is John Mellor's Forgotten Heroes. Captain Bruce Barbeau at the Royal Regiment Museum read the manuscript and provided a host of excellent suggestions including the words to the "Basher's Dashers" song. Thanks also to Stan Overy of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Heritage Museum and filmmaker Terence Macartney-Filgate for their photograph collections. Special thanks go to military historian J.L. Granatstein for his expert read of the text and to my long-time colleague and editor, Sandra Bogart Johnston."

Notes[]

  • The portrait on the cover is a detail of the 1943 photograph Private Lefebvre, Royal Canadian Army Service by Ken Bell. The cover scene is a detail of the 1942 photograph Canadian infantrymen taking part in an assault landing training exercise. Both photographs are from the Library and Archives Canada.[6]

References[]

See also[]


External links[]

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