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In the early years of the Second World War, the
allied forces watched as Germany swept across Europe. They were unable to
oppose the German blitz in any significant military action. Canadian
troops had been dispatched to England early in the war to help fight an
impending invasion of the British Isle. When the expected invasion didn't
take place, the Canadian troops trained and waited.
As the years passed, the allied command watched as Germany turned Europe into a fortress for the Third Reich. In the spring of 1942 it was decided that a trial invasion of mainland Europe would help distract German fortifications of the continent. |
The small French coastal town of Dieppe was chosen as the objective, code name Jubillee.
The attack on Dieppe took place on August 19th 1942 and involved approximately 6100 troops including 5000 Canadians, among them the Essex Scottish Regiment from Windsor.
One of the officers of the Essex Regiment was local Freemason Major Brother Thomas Edward Hayhurst.
Thomas Hayhurst was born in 1901, in Hamilton Ontario son of Thomas and Mary Ellen Hayhurst. As a child he attended local elementary and secondary schools in the Hamilton area. After graduating from high school he applied to and was accepted at the University of Toronto receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree. Thomas continued his education in New York City, graduating as a Doctor of Dental Surgery.
After graduating, Thomas returned to the Hamilton area to practice his profession. It was during this time in Thomas's life that he was shown the great light of Masonry. On April 29th 1931, along with his two brothers, Thomas was initiated into Freemasonry as a member of Temple Lodge No. 324 in Hamilton. On December 29th he was raised to the sublime degree of a Master Mason.
Shortly after joining the Masonic fraternity, Thomas decided to relocate his practice to Windsor Ontario. Doctor Hayhurst practiced Dentistry at the Medical Arts building across the street from the Masonic Temple in Windsor.
After arriving in Windsor, Thomas joined the local Essex Scottish Regiment. Brother Hayhurst had been involved with the Canadian Militia from an early age in Hamilton and continued his involvement in Windsor. Ultimately Thomas attained the rank of Major and was awarded the Canadian Efficiency Decoration for twenty years of meritorious service to the Canadian Militia and Reserves.
In June of 1938, Thomas married Adelaide Elizabeth Bell of Windsor.
With the outbreak of the war in Europe, Thomas went on active service with the Essex Scottish. In July of 1940, Major Hayhurst and the Essex Scottish Regiment were transferred overseas. Several weeks after Thomas's departure for Europe Adelaide gave birth to their only son Thomas Jr.
The Regiment spent the next two years training in England, waiting for a chance to fight. That chance came with the Commando raid on Dieppe.
On the evening of August 18th 1942, the Canadians boarded troop carriers that would transport them across the channel. At 5.20 a.m. they landed on the beaches of Dieppe and into one of the hardest fought battles of the war. As the Essex Scottish advanced across the beach they were met with hell-fire showered down from the cliffs and houses in the town. Pinned down by enemy fire the Essex Scottish fought heroically to advance beyond the beach but to no avail. Although a few men did reach beyond the first row of houses, this was short lived.
The murderous battle went on all morning and was finally called off at 11:00 a.m. In the space of five hours, 1800 allied soldiers had been killed of whom 913 were Canadians. Among the Canadian dead was Brother Major Doctor Thomas Edward Hayhurst. He had been hit by a mortar shell while commanding his troops as they attempted to move off the beach.
Brother Hayhurst is buried in the Dieppe Canadian War Cemetery along with almost 85 of the Essex Scottish who died on the beaches there. Thomas left behind his wife, Adelaide and the son he never saw, Thomas Jr.
