ESTEVAN - The next presentation on Canadian military history will focus on The Battle of Dieppe.
Local military historian Craig Bird, who is the founder of the South East Military Museums, will talk about the famed battle on Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion’s Estevan branch. The battle started on Aug. 19, 1942, so the presentation will be one day after the 80th anniversary.
Bird said his presentation will last a couple of hours and will include a couple of videos.
“I thought it was important to commemorate this milestone. We’re going to talk a lot about the southeast’s contribution to Dieppe, and the South Saskatchewan Regiment, obviously, was a part of that operation,” said Bird.
He will also share some new information about Dieppe and the southeast region’s impact.
This will be the first time that Bird has done a presentation on Dieppe. He believes it will appeal to local residents because many soldiers from Estevan and Weyburn were part of the South Saskatchewan Regiment.
“There’s lots of information out there about Dieppe, and it was one of the first fairly large engagements that the Canadian Army did in World War 2, after Hong Kong. It’s an important anniversary and a milestone, and we lost some individuals out of this area from that operation.”
Bird will also have some items on display related to the battle, and he will be giving museum tours. After the presentation, flags will be placed at the graves of veterans at the Estevan City Cemetery and the Souris Valley Memorial Gardens, starting at 1 p.m.
