www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, July 9, 2015 | 16 Forbes was captured at Dieppe and taken to POW camp continued from p.13 Forbes soon learned all this training was to prepare him and his fellow soldiers for a very special mission. Initially planned for July, the raid was postponed until August due to bad weather. Forbes and the others were given very short notice that they'd be heading into combat. "The Department of Highways spray-painted all their trucks, so you couldn't tell they were military trucks, and they headed to the coast," said Bill. "It wasn't until they were on the ships that they were told they would be making this raid on the port of Dieppe." The raid on the German-occupied French port was to involve 6,000 infantrymen, predominantly Canadians, with the objective of holding the area for a short time to gather intelligence. The Allies arrived on the beach around 5 a.m. with the situation quickly turning into a disaster. Bill said his father was a firm believer that somehow the Germans had learned of the plan and were lying in wait for the Canadians when they arrived. "The landing craft doors were going down landing craft couldn't get close to the beach so the soldiers had more exposed ground to cross before they could get to any kind of cover. The Canadians also received limited support from Allied aircraft. By the time those in charge of the raid realized the situation was hopeless, it was already too late for many. "They were getting hit bad and they were trying to get guys back to their landing craft and they got bombed," said Bill. "He (Forbes) and the guys he was with were blown out into the water. He was wounded. He was struck by shrapnel, in the chest and down his back. One of the soldiers he was with said he was going to try to swim back to England. My dad couldn't swim very well so he got back to shore, found some cover and just laid there until the Germans came to take him as a prisoner of war (POW)." The raid ended with 3,367 Allied soldiers killed, wounded or captured, including 916 Canadians killed. Initially, Forbes was taken to a hospital so he could receive treatment for his injuries, but two weeks later he and approximately 40 other POWs were crammed into a cattle car destined for Germany. The group arrived near the small town of Lansdorf in Silesia where they were taken to the POW camp Stalag VIIIB. see Veteran on p.26 10%off All you can EAt Buffet (Lunch or Dinner Tues - Fri) staurant Sweets & Re at E n a C u o Y ll A n ia r a t e g e V % 100 ffEt u B a Weekday s o m Sa SpeCiaL LUNCH $1099 Roy Thomas Forbes after returning home following the end of the Second World War in 1945. | photo courtesy of the Forbes Family 2 /$1 DiNNeR $1199 From 11am-3pm From 5pm-9pm 2345 Trafalgar Road · 905-257-0808 JUNIOR (3YR - 11YR) $8.99 Kids (2YR & Under) $ Free and guys were getting picked off before they could even get out," said Bill. "He was lucky enough to get to shore." Forbes said the Allies had erred in attacking when the tide was out, which meant the Monday, August 10, 2015 Glen Abbey Golf Club SPACE IS LIMITED! Purchase your foursome today otmhgolf.com Proudly Sponsored By Sponsorship opportunites starting at $500 otmhgolf.com