Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Family group:

Four: Private L. Heathman, Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada, who was killed in action in the Dieppe Raid in August 1942

1939-45 Star; Defence Medal 1939-45, silver; Canadian Voluntary Service Medal 1939-45, clasp, with overseas Dieppe clasps, together with the recipient’s Birks Memorial Bar, silver, this officially inscribed, ‘Pte. L. Heathman, Camerons of C., Died in His Country’s Service, 19 Aug. 1942’, good very fine

Pair: Private C. M. Heathman, 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion, Canadian Infantry

British War and Victory Medals (622406 Pte. C. M. Heathman, 52-Can. Inf.), together with the recipient’s Service at the Front and Canadian General Service lapel badges, the first officially numbered ‘363836’, generally very fine (9) £400-500

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, A Fine Collection of Awards to the Canadian Forces.

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Lester Heathman was, as stated, killed in action in the famous Dieppe Raid on 19 August 1942, while serving in the Queen’s Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada.

As the Camerons were the second wave to attack on Green Beach, they faced a fully alerted enemy - about 1,000 yards off the beach, the unit’s plywood landing craft formed in a single line as the German shore batteries, machine-guns, and mortars opened fire. Above the roar of battle came a sound that riveted the attention of U.S. Ranger Sergeant Marcell Swank, for on a small forward deck of the landing craft to Swank's right, Pipe Major Alex Graham stood courageously playing A Hundred Pipers. “He stood there,” recalled Swank, “defiantly telling the world that the Camerons were coming. God what a glory.” Inspired by their piper, the Camerons landed on Green Beach with courage and élan and swept forward. This is the last recorded instance of Canadian troops being piped into battle.

The Camerons hit the beach an hour after the South Saskatchewan Regiment, some 30 minutes late, as the Commanding Officer had not believed that the South Saskatchewan Regiment would be able to clear the beach and village in the allotted time. As they landed the Commanding Officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Alfred Gostling, was killed by a sniper and the unit was taken over by the Second-in-Command, Major A. T. “Andy” Law.

The majority of the force was mistakenly landed to the west of the river, so Law decided to alter the plan. Those that had landed to the east were told to join the South Saskatchewan Regiment, while the majority to the west advanced up the valley with the Major. They were harassed on their journey by fire from Quatre Vents Farm and decided to seek shelter in the woods, through which, they reached the high ground above Bas d'Hautot. There they saw that the enemy already held the bridge at Petite Appeville in some strength - with a heavily reinforced anti-tank company from the 571st Infantry Regiment. Law's group could not now realistically take the bridge, nor could they bypass it, for the road from Ouville was now swarming with enemy reinforcements. Meanwhile, the rest of the Camerons had joined up with the South Saskatchewan Regiment but despite closing in on Quatre Vents Farm and the radar station they were held by enemy fire.

Although the Camerons made the deepest penetration of the day, the main landing at Dieppe had been unsuccessful. By 0930 hours a decision had to be made. The failure of the tanks to arrive had made it impossible for the Camerons to gain their objectives and suggested things were not going quite as planned on the main beaches. Faced with increasing German opposition and a complete lack of communication with Headquarters, the Camerons began to fight their way back to Pourville, carrying their wounded. With Support Platoon leading, ‘A’ Company guarding the flank and ‘C’ Company forming the rearguard, the Battalion made it back to Beronville Wood and re-established contact with the South Saskatchewan Regiment. It was only then that they found out the landing craft would not return for re-embarkation until 1100 hours.

Major Law and Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt, Commanding Officer of the South Saskatchewan Regiment and shortly to be the recipient of a V.C., set up a combined headquarters in the Grand Central Hotel, and prepared their battalions to stand and fight for a full hour against a rapidly increasing enemy, who had their line of withdrawal (the beach) enfiladed with fire from innumerable guns. The Camerons fought desperately to keep their foothold on the high ground to the west, while the South Saskatchewan Regiment grimly held on to a piece of high ground to the east. Slowly the Germans collapsed the pocket smaller and smaller, until they dominated the entire beach and the slopes east of Pourville. By this time, few of the Camerons and South Saskatchewan Regiment were unwounded.

At 1100 hours the landing craft began to arrive, taking grievous losses on the approach into the beach. More men were killed and wounded as they tried to board the landing craft under the enemy's withering fire. Almost miraculously five landing craft and one tank landing craft managed to rescue men from the shallows and cleared the beach with full loads. By 1130 hours the situation had become impossible and no further extractions were attempted.

Of 503 Camerons who participated in the raid, 346 became casualties: namely 60 killed in action, including Heathman, eight died of wounds after evacuation, and 167 taken prisoner of war - eight of whom died of wounds. And of the 268 men who returned to England, 103 were wounded.

Lester Heathman, the son of C. M. Heathman, is buried in the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery at Hautot-sur-Mer.

Charles Murrall Heathman was born Neepawa, Manitoba, on 10 September 1893. A Farmer by trade, he enlisted in the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Force at Postage la Prairie in April 1915.

Embarked for England, he went out to France as a member of the 52nd (New Ontario) Battalion, Canadian Infantry, in April 1916, and received multiple wounds at Ypres on 1 June - among them a bayonet wound, before he was buried by a shell. Evacuated to England, he saw no further active service and was discharged at Winnipeg as being medically unfit for further service in July 1918; sold with copied service papers.