Tuesday, August 18, 2026

Dieppe: Photographs Taken at Newhaven After the Raid (2)

 Troops From a Variety of Landing Craft Disembark

Upon Arrival Back at Newhaven, August 19, 1942



Introduction:

Newhaven had been a busy port in the very early hours of August 18 and 19 as troop-filled landing craft embarked upon an important operation, i.e., Operation Jubilee, "The Raid on Dieppe," as noted on the reverse side of the photograph above. A wide variety of emotions mark the face of the returning troops, whether they were Commandos or not, as one will see as they peruse the many photos from the Imperial War Museum (IWM) shared below.

The first eight snapshots, stamped H22600 - H22607 with the heading "The Raid On Dieppe," were taken by Lt. H. Spender. Most of those that follow, stamped H22608 - H22617 with the heading "The Dieppe Raid," were taken by Lt. Walter Thomas Lockeyear, "an Official Photographer" who "went over with the raiding party," as read on the reverse side of the first photo in his series (H22608). 

Viewers/readers will then notice upon close inspection - or any form of inspection really - that Lt. Lockeyear's photos are followed by two more by Lt. Spender under a new heading, i.e., "Arrival Back From Dieppe." More from that series will soon be posted on this site.

Lt. Spender's series on photographs "at Newhaven" now continues:















Lt. Lockeyear's series of photographs now begins:





















And here we are back in Newhaven with the first two shots in Lt. Humphrey Spender's next series of photographs re the Dieppe raid:





More of Lt. Spender's photographs from Newhaven will soon follow.

Below are two photographs related to some of the Canadians in Combined Operations who also took part in the Dieppe Raid, and unlike their mate AB Joe McKenna (killed at Dieppe, buried in Newhaven), lived to tell the tale:


Photo and caption (and stories by Canadian Navy veterans' re the Dieppe
Raid) can be  found in St. Nazaire to Singapore: The Canadian Amph-
ibious War 1941 - 1945 by David and Kit Lewis, Len Birkenes, page 80

Caption reads - "ALC 269, leaving Newhaven, August 21, 1942
Len Birkenes (at back), Charlie Sheeler." Photo by Joe Spencer
(used with permission) Heading back to Southampton, perhaps?

Please click here to view Dieppe: Photographs Taken at Newhaven After the Raid (1)

Unattributed Photos GH

Thursday, August 13, 2026

Walking With a Camera

 Still Running? Not Me. But my Walking Habit -

With a Camera - is Very Regular. Steady Eddie!

"Walking the TVP" is now a popular video series : )

Introduction:

Occasionally I will run a few short distances, each followed by a walking break, just to see if I have it in me to run a 10 K or half marathon - my favourite 'long distance' race now, after several years of the training I went through to prepare for 13 marathons, including Boston. And while running a bit I admit to myself that I'm really not interested in a half marathon, not even a 10 K.

And the day after running a bit I get the feeling that my regular walks - usually 4 to 6 miles in length - are more than enough to support a fun and fitness routine that will last at least another 10 years. I really like walking, especially on days that I take a camera or two. There is a lot of wildlife out there that I enjoy tracking down, including a bird species, deer, fish in the Thames River (e.g., spotted gar!) and turtles.


Especially turtles. Snappers, red eared sliders, Common Map and Northern Map, painted and spiny soft shell turtles, most of which are listed as endangered species in Ontario.

As I walk about town on the Thames Valley Parkway I am aware of when I have walked 4 - 6 miles, hoping to maintain my 30 - 35 mile average each week. Currently my ten-week average is at 32.0 miles and I'm hoping to gradually bring it up to 35.

A spiny soft shell turtle in the Thames River
 
"There's always something going on at Turtle Point"

Because I have 16,000+ photographs and 667 videos taking up storage space on my iMac, and I keep getting reminders from Apple.Inc to buy more space, I have been trimming the numbers (very gradually, down from 24,000+!!) by making YouTube videos.

Especially about turtles : ) I've been at it so long that my family now buys me 'turtle gear' for birthdays and Christmas! Turtle t-shirts, PJs, stuffed toys, socks!!


Below I have provided links to a few recent videos. I now say that 'fun and fitness and cameras' go together. Whatever gets me out the door!




Questions or comments can be dropped off here - gordh7700@gmail.com

Unattributed Photos GH 

Dieppe: Photographs Taken At Newhaven After the Raid (1)

 Back From Dieppe, Faces in Photographs Tell Part of the

Story of Comrades that Returned and Those That Did Not,

From the Dieppe Raid, August 19, 1942

An American soldier receives a light for his cigarette from a compatriot at
Newhaven on his return from Dieppe. This was the first time that American
troops had seen action in Europe during the Second World War.
Catalogue number H 22580, Imperial War Museum (IWM)
1942-08-19. Heading: The Raid On Dieppe

On the reverse side of the photograph is found the following, lengthier than usual because photo H22580 is the first in a series re 'The Raid on Dieppe' by Lt. H. Spender. Included below is the original wartime caption:

"Scenes at a Southern port (Newhaven) when troops arrived back"
adequately describes the series of photographs that will follow. GH

Introduction:

In the last two entries, i.e., Parts 4A and 4B of "Dieppe: In Memory of Joseph McKenna, RCNVR", I not only shared recent photographs of Joseph McKenna's gravesite as found at Newhaven Cemetery (on Lewes Road) but several of the River Ouse and surrounding area of the 'southern port.' And I closed by saying, "More photographs related to the Dieppe Raid and Newhaven will soon follow."

Newhaven Cemetery, on Lewes Road, 1 - 2 km north of
Newhaven Town centre. May 31, 2026. Photo GH

I was aware several other photos existed, that some have already been shared in other posts on this site. I think the finding of Joe McKenna's gravesite on May 31, 2026 and the sharing of photos and videos related to that discovery provides the opportunity to share many more concerning those that returned and those that did not. Most were taken by Spender, Humphrey War Office official photographer.







Again, Lord Lovat. Caption supplied with the photo is the same as 
two earlier photos above from IWM

More details and photographs related to Lord Lovat can be found at Wikipedia. Below is an example, related to Lovat and an earlier raid:

4 Commando before the Hardelot raid.  Major Lord Lovat, giving orders
to his men before setting out on a commando raid on the French coast near
Boulogne, 21 April 1942. Photo by Malindine E G (Lt), War Office official
photographer (H 18953 comes from collections of the Imperial War Museums.
Heading - The British Army in the United Kingdom 1939-45

Lt. Humphrey Spender's collection continues:



Caption for this photo (H 22586) is same as earlier photo H 22585



My father, Gordon Douglas ('Doug') Harrison, RCNVR/Combined Operations from 1941 - 45, mentions his connection with American forces on only two occasions in his navy memoirs. He crossed paths with Americans at Roseneath, Scotland in early 1942 and the U.S. troops may have been part of the Ranger contingent (50 soldiers) that participated in the Dieppe Raid a few months later.

And after the Dieppe Raid a much larger U.S. contingent participated in Operation TORCH (beginning November 8, 1942). In memoirs my father writes about travelling to the shores of N. Africa with "American soldiers aboard" and IWM photographs reveal that Canadians in Combined Ops drove U.S. troops and their abundant supplies ashore in flotillas of U.K. landing crafts, i.e., LCAs (aka ALCs, assault landing crafts) and LCMs (mechanized).

D. Harrison gets U.S. troops and supplies to shore, Nov., 1942
A 12671 War Office official photographer Lt. F.A. Hudson, IWM

D. Harrison is either handling an 'anti-broaching line' (while scratching
his nose or cupping a 'ciggie') or taking a break aboard another LCA.
A 12649 War Office official photographer Lt. F.A. Hudson, IWM

Lt. H. Spender's collection of photographs continues:





Aerial photograph of Newhaven, 1931 by John Hills
Photo Credit - As found at Our Newhaven



HELP WANTED: There is a very distinctive building in the background of above photo. Does it still stand in Newhaven? 





The same caption as above is repeated for the next few photographs:





Caption as found at IWM. A German prisoner, Unteroffizier Leo Marsiniak,
being escorted at Newhaven. He was captured at the gun battery at
Varengeville by No. 4 Commando. H 22597 Imperial War Museum



Caption for this photo (H 22599) is same as earlier photo H 22598

More photographs to follow.

Please click here to view more photographs re the Dieppe Raid

Please click here to view re Dieppe: In Memory of Joseph McKenna (4B)

Unattributed Photos GH