Veterans Interview - Stan Darch - 19 August 2003

Well, we were coming in, all of a sudden a firefight broke out, with destroyers and German convoy coming into Dieppe and that blew the surprise. When we were coming in we were under fire, and landed and charging up the beach I fell flat on my face. Wait a minute, I didn't dive for the beach - get up, took another step and went down again. I said Oh my God my leg's gone. I looked around, looked down, seen my foot there, well it can't be too bad. So I crawled up to the seawall, slit my pants, run my fingers down my leg, picked a piece of shrapnel out of my leg, about the size of a lead pencil, about an inch and a half long. It went in endways and I guess it pinched a nerve. Jammed a nerve between the shrapnel and bone. I pulled the shrapnel and the feeling come back into my leg, and I was fine then.

The muck was really flying thick and fast, guys were getting wounded, there was a mortar shell landed out, oh, about ten yards or so, between me and the water. It ripped open the officer, Johnny Williamson, he was a Corporal at the time, he ended up as a full Colonel in the militia after the war, and another Private. I bandaged Johnny Williamson up as best I could, my buddy he bandaged the other Private up and I don't know who bandaged the officer up, but the officer died of his wounds later in Germany, or in France, in Rouen I think it was, and that was Don McIlwain. Johnny Williamson got back to England and the Private got back to England I believe.

I was taken prisoner, I was on the way back out and a German 88 hit the side of the boat and out the bottom and exploded under the boat. And it was leaking so bad the naval officer said it was every man for himself.

So I cut all my equipment loose, my boots, and everything else and swam back to shore about 400 yards about a quarter of mile. Then we were captured and I still had no shoes, walking through town, through broken glass and everything else, carrying a wounded buddy up.

And then they formed us up at the hospital, and marched us back about 15 kilometres to a little town called Envermuil. Just before we got to Envermuil just on the outskirts, we met a bridal party, and the bride, she was a beautiful looking woman, and she was crying because of us guys being capture. At this time my feet were really cut up and the best man of the wedding party sat down and pulled his shoes off and give them to me! I sat on the curb and sat down and pulled 'em on and laced 'em up and a German came along and gave me a boot on the backside, I guess I was taking too long. Anyway, I caught up with the rest of the guys and that was the first day of capture.

They were a beautiful pair of shoes, you'd swear I walked into a store in Hamilton and had 'em fitted. About 18 months and then I flogged 'em, I was out of cigarettes.

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