Canada formally joined the Second World War on September 10, 1939, but already started to mobilize its regiments when Poland was invaded by Germany on September 1.
The South Saskatchewan Regiment (SSR) was one of the first regiments in Saskatchewan to be called up for active duty. Recruits signed up in Military District 12, which covered the southern part of Saskatchewan.
SSR formed up at Weyburn in November 1939.
The SSR had a long, proud history prior to 1939. Known as the 95th Saskatchewan Rifles in the First World War, it was awarded battle honours for action at Arras and Hill 70.
After the First World War, many battalions in Saskatchewan were amalgamated or disbanded. On March 15, 1920, the 95th Saskatchewan Rifles amalgamated with the 60th Rifles of Canada and was renamed the South Saskatchewan Regiment.
When the call for duty rose again in 1939 the SSR set up its initial headquarters in Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
Military personnel at Weyburn railroad station.
Recruitment and training took place in Weyburn until May 27, 1940. The SSR was then transferred to Shilo, Manitoba for further training.
Outside SSR headquarters in Weyburn, January 1940.
On October 17, 1940 the SSR moved to Toronto, Ontario and briefly stayed at the “Horse Palace,” a high-class horse stable built in 1931. The Regiment left Toronto on December 13, boarded the troopship Pennland in Halifax three days later, and landed in Gourock, Scotland on Christmas Day, 1940.
SS Pennland – a British troopship during the Second World War
The SSR continued training in England, first at Morval Barracks, Cove Hants, and finally at Hartley Camp. Training included battle tactics, vehicle movement, and field firing practice. They also performed coastal guard duties at Seaford in Sussex.
Their Majesties and the SSR in Sussex, England, July 17, 1943.
In May, 1942 the SSR moved its training to the coastal town of Cowes on the Isle of Wight. Here, they conducted rugged assault training, speed marches, cliff and wall climbing, unarmed combat, night compass work, and practice landings from Assault Landing Craft. They would soon rely on this training when landing on the beaches of Dieppe.
Final exercise prior to assault landing at Dieppe, August 1942.
Operation Jubilee, also known as the Dieppe Raid, on August 19, 1942, was a failed Allied amphibious assault on the German-occupied port of Dieppe in northern France. More than 6,050 infantry—primarily Canadian—landed that day. Their task: break into the Western Front.
Beach at Dieppe prior to raid.
The SSR participated in the Dieppe Raid, landing in front of the town of Pourville. Their Commanding Officer was Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Merritt.
A map of the Dieppe Raid showing SSR involvement.
In the dim light of the early morning, the SSR landed on the beach at Dieppe and entered Pourville, believing that surprise had been achieved.
Soldiers loading onto a landing craft in preparation for the raid.
However, the Germans had detected the raid. The Regiment was met with heavy gunfire. Of the 523 SSR soldiers who embarked on the Dieppe Raid, 78 were killed in action, 3 died of their wounds later, and 3 died while they were POWs (prisoners of war)–a total of 84 fatalities. An additional 167 wounded soldiers were transported back to England.
Of the SSR survivors, 89 spent the rest of the war as prisoners. They were transported on foot to various POW camps, such as the one at Eichstatt, Germany.
Captured Canadian soldiers being marched through Dieppe.
Commanding Officer Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt was sent to a prison camp in Bavaria. He and 64 others escaped in June 1943 through a 120-foot tunnel, but all were recaptured after a large manhunt. His captors then placed him in the maximum security POW camp at Colditz Castle in eastern Germany. He was released in 1945 at the end of the war.
Lt. Col. Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, VC.
Merritt was awarded the Victoria Cross for his bravery and inspiring leadership during the Dieppe Raid.
His citation for award of the Victoria Cross concluded: “To this commanding officer’s personal daring the success of his unit’s operations and the safe re-embarkation of a large portion of it were chiefly due.”
Lt. Col. Charles Cecil Ingersoll Merritt, VC.
Following Dieppe, the re-organized Regiment landed in Normandy on July 8, 1944. It battled in France at places such as Ifs, Verriers, Rocquancourt, Falaise, and Foret de la Londe, reaching Dieppe again on September 1, 1944.
Canadian Soldiers on task in a forest in France after D-Day.
Continuing northward into Belgium, hard fighting occurred at Bray Dunes Plage. By October 1944 the Regiment was near the southern part of Holland, ready to participate in the battle of the Scheldt. After five weeks of difficult fighting, the Canadians cleared the Scheldt estuary to open shipping access to the vital port of Antwerp.
Infantrymen of the SSR, Nieuport, Belgium, September 9, 1944.
In late 1944 and January 1945 significant fighting occurred in Holland at Groesbeek and Mook. The SSR played a role in liberating Camp Westerbork on April 12, 1945–a Nazi concentration camp in Holland.
Personnel of “D” Company SSR, Mook, Netherlands, November 30, 1944.
“Almost every Jewish person who was taken in Holland went through that camp,” said Cecil Law who was at Westerbork that day as captain of an SSR mortar platoon. More than 860 camp inmates were liberated that day.
Westerbrok concentration camp after liberation.
The Regiment continued through Holland and into Germany and were in Oldenburg when victory was declared in May 1945.
Sgt. H. Lester, Support Co. SSR reading the “Maple Leaf” newspaper, Oldenburg, Germany, May 3, 1945.
During the Second World War, the South Saskatchewan Regiment earned 19 battle honours, including one for its role in the Dieppe Raid.
The Regiment disbanded on December 15, 1945. The SSR was placed on the Supplementary Order of Battle List in September 1968.
SSR soldiers back in Saskatchewan in 1945.
Much of the South Saskatchewan Regiment’s history has been digitized and made available online:
http://www.saskatchewanmilitarymuseum.ca/SSR/
Visit the Saskatchewan Military Museum in the Regina Armoury to explore artifacts. Call 306-530-5501 in advance.
Pedestal Content created by Greg Salmers
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