Cenotaph

The Dieppe Military Veterans’ Association met on September 23, 1979, with the objective of constructing a cenotaph in memory of comrades killed overseas during the First and Second World Wars and the Korean War. Alain Gilette, a journalist in France, wrote an article on Dieppe, New Brunswick building a cenotaph and the people of Dieppe, France wanted to send stones from their beach to be integrated on the Canadian cenotaph. This would commemorate the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers and underline the relationship existing between these two communities.

Children from France schools regions of Dieppe, Bernavel, Puy, Pourville and Sainte-Marguerite-sur-Mer, were invited to gather hundreds of stones.  The stones represent the 907 Canadian soldiers, five airmen and one sailor, for a total of 913 Canadians who died in the Dieppe Raid on August 19, 1942. The participation of the children of France, who collected the stones from the beaches of Dieppe, Puys, Bernavel, Pourville and Sainte-Marguerite-sur-Mer, carried a special meaning to the Veterans. In a letter to the Veterans the children of France wrote, “FOR AN END TO ALL WARS, FOR FRIENDSHIP AMONG CHILDREN”.