RESISTANCE

Flowering in March 2025
One of 5 October Glory Trees close to the Dieppe Raid Memorial.

Scroll down for The Dieppe Raid Memorial, Jackie’s Seat, Army Film & Photographic Unit, Gabrielle Petit, Bill Franklin,Uncle Bob Lutz, Derek Marchant, White Ensign Lodge 9169, Popski’s Private Army and the Breakaway Tree Seat Project.

Raids, Raiders, Resistance and some others..…..

The Dieppe Raid Memorial

The “Operation Jubilee” memorial was originally established in 2007 and now in 2023 has undergone an upgrade with new educational plaques. We have now concentrated on the bravery and successful parts of the Raid. Three of these memorials list the medals that the Allied Military Forces were awarded, except however Jack Nissenthall was not awarded any decoration for his brave actions.

The design of the memorial consists of 4 plaques honouring 6 Allied Servicemen. To either side we have 2 Canadian Maples. One Holm Oak was added later. The rocks are from a quarry within the grounds of Consall Hall near Leek. They represent the formidable defences of Dieppe. The dark green pine tree in the centre honours the Commando’s. Some of the original heather still exists as symbolic of the Canadian Scottish units that took part. Many other plants fill the space with colour.

The Dieppe Raid VC’s

This is the very first educational plaque that shares the bravery of these three soldiers and all who fought at Dieppe. – Captain John Foote VC – Lt. Col. Charles Merritt VC – Captain Patrick Porteous
  • Memorial Text
  • The Dieppe Raid VC’s
  • The Victoria Cross was instituted by Royal Warrant on the 29th January 1856 to acknowledge the bravery displayed by many soldiers and sailors during the Crimean War (1854-56).
  • This new award was open to all ranks and would be presented for acts of supreme gallantry in the face of the enemy.
  • Victoria Cross Award Citation Extracts
  • Captain Foote – Canadian Chaplain Services
  • Personally saved many lives by his efforts and his example inspired all around him. Those who observed him state that the calmness of this heroic officer, as he walked about, collecting the wounded on the fire swept beach will never be forgotten.
  • Lt. Col. Merritt – South Saskatchewan Regiment
  • From the point of landing his units advance had to be made across a bridge in Pourville which was being swept with machine-gun, mortar and artillery fire……..waving his helmet he rushed forward shouting “Come on over! There’s nothing to worry about here.”
  • Captain Porteous – Royal Regiment of Artillery
  • Without hesitation and in the face of withering fire, dashed across the open ground to take command to this detachment. Rallying them he then led the in a charge which carried the German position at the point of the bayonet and was severely wounded for the second time.
  • Further Information
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Weir_Foote
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Merritt
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Anthony_Porteous

Shimi, the Lord Lovat

  • Memorial Text
  • Shimi, the Lord Lovat
  • Lt. Col. Simon Fraser DSO MC – Commanding Officer No. 4 Commando. The Dieppe Raid 18/19th August 1942.
  • At the outset of World War 2 Lord Lovat was enlisted as a Captain with the Lovat Scouts. The following year he volunteered to join one of the new commando units being formed by the British Army and was eventually attached to No.4 Commando.
  • In March 1941, No.3 and 4 Commando launched a raid on the German occupied Lofoten Islands in Norway. This successful raid successfully destroyed fish oil factories, petrol dumps, and 11 ships as well as seizing encryption equipment and code books. More than 200 German Troops were captured and over 300 Norwegians chose to escape to Britain.
  • In April 1942 he was in command 100 men of No.4 Commando in a raid on the French coastal village of Hardelot. For this action he was awarded the Military Cross (MC).
  • As commanding officer of No.4 Commando during the Dieppe Raid he led the successful attack against the German “Hess” Battery and put the coastal guns out of action before withdrawing with most of his force. For this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
  • Whilst the Dieppe Raid was an overall failure, the lessons learnt led to the successful D-Day landings in Normandy two years later where the commander of the 1st. Special Service Brigade landed on Sword Beach and advanced to the now famous Pegasus Bridge to reinforce the soldiers of the 2nd. Battalion Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry who successfully stormed the bridge after landing by Horsa Glider at just after midnight on the 6th. June 1944.
  • Further Information
  • Simon Fraser Audio
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fraser,_15th_Lord_Lovat
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lovat_Scouts
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Claymore
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Abercrombie
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Special_Service_Brigade

The Romuald Rescue

Jack’s Radar War

  • Memorial Text
  • Flight Sergeant Jack Nissenthall – RAF Radar Expert
  • Jack Nissenthall was a Royal Air Force electronics and radar expert who played a role in the Dieppe Raid during “Operation Jubilee”, which took place on the 18th & 19th August 1942.
  • Whilst the raid failed, Jack along with his bodyguard of Canadian soldiers from the South Saskatchewan Regiment managed to fight their way to the German Radar station under heavy fire where he cut the connecting inter-radar communication cables and this forced the Germans to use radio.
  • This was intercepted by UK listening stations revealing the radio’s secret capabilities. This enabled UK scientists to develop top secret radar jamming devices, which saved thousands of lives during the rest of the war, and especially on D-Day the 6th June 1944.

Box Hedging completes the memorial garden.

Further Information

Gallery August 2025

Jackie’s Seat – In memory of a dear Friend of the Grove.

Overlooking the Dieppe Raid memorial garden we have created a seat between two upturned Ash tree stumps. A red Maple tree had already been planted behind the seat and is one of three that overlook the Dieppe Raid memorial, which will eventually form a lovely backdrop in future years during the Autumn.

The Army Film and Photographic Unit

www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/279264
Created at Pinewood Studios the AFPU raised its numbers from photographers with previous service in the military. They went into battle with just a camera!
This very young Horse Chestnut Tree is growing well behind the AFPU memorial 19th April 2023.
A few weeks later on 28th April 2023.

Gabrielle Petit – British Secret Intelligence Service 1914-16

Gabrielle Petit was a Belgian national who worked for the British Secret Intelligence Service until she was betrayed and executed on April 1st 1916. An Amelanchia Canadensis tree was planted in her honour. Dedicated on 1st April 2016. 100 years on!
The Poperinge Rose from Talbot House at the Gabrielle Petit Memorial – 22nd June 2023
  • Memorial Text
  • Gabrielle Alina Eugenia Maria Petit – Age 23
  • British Secret Intelligence Service – Belgian Citizen
  • When Belgium was invaded during August 1914 Gabrielle joined the Belgium Red Cross and then helped her fiance cross the Dutch border after he was wounded and captured, but he managed to escape. On the way she noted enemy positions and passed this and other information to British Intelligence.
  • This led to her being recruited by the Secret Intelligence Service and subsequently helped many more soldiers escape whilst distributing the clandestine newspaper La Libra Belgique and helped the resistance mail service called “Mot du Soldat”.
  • In February 1916 she was betrayed, arrested by the German Military and sent to Prison St. Gilles near Brussels. She was convicted of espionage and the death sentence passed in March.
  • On 1st April 1916, Gabrielle was shot by a firing squad in Schaerbeck and her body buried in a field there. In May 1919 a state funeral was held for her and two fellow agents. They were buried with full military honours in Schaerbeck cemetery.
  • This remarkable resister gave her life for her country to help the Allied cause and free her people from enslavement and tyranny.
  • Amelanchier Canadensis Tree – Garden 3 – Allied Special Forces Memorial Grove.
  • Not forgotten 1st April 2016 – Belgium Red Cross WW1.

Further Information

Bill Franklin DFC ~ 161 Squadron RAF

Memorial will be finished in January 2026.

This is the accepted design for the memorial honouring Bill , the Crew and the SIS agent on board. The memorial panel has been made of Lava Stone overlaid with a permanent glaze. Panel from the Studio of Sonia Rinaldi in France.
Planned location to front of Old English Walnut Tree and opposite the Gabrielle Petit Memorial. Will be completed in 2026.

The Moussey Memorial detail has been moved to our new page.

The new Moussey Memorial Cross of Lorraine was installed in May 2025.

The Jo Marchant Memorials

Flying Officer Robert William Walker-Lutz -“Uncle Bob”

www.warmemorialsonline.org.uk/memorial/279097
‘Uncle Bob’ was a Typhoon Pilot during “Operation Market Garden” The Battle for Arnhem. He served with 247 Squadron (China British) RAF and was Killed in Action on the 21st September 1944 aged 23 years. He is buried in Heidehof Cemetery, Ugchelen, Holland. He is also honoured on the Cotton College War Memorial, Cotton Lane. Staffordshire ST10 3DN.
Uncle Bob’s Tree is a Prunus serrulata “Royal Burgandy”

Derek Marchant – “Come, sit and tell me all about it”.

The Derek Marchant memorial seat sits on the “higher” ground. The shape and colour has earned it the nickname “Hotlips”.
The memorial plaque and seat that I made for Jo Marchant an NMA Volunteer in memory of her husband Derek. Somewhere to sit and reflect that its not all war that this Grove is about.

White Ensign Lodge 9169 Memorial ~ Tommy Gould VC

This memorial will be completed in January 2026.

The White Ensign Lodge 9169 Memorial honours all who those members of the Lodge that served and also Tommy Gould VC. The panel has been made from Lava Stone and overlaid with a permanent glaze in the Studio of Sonia Rinaldi in France.
Location of the memorial set amongst three Whitebeam trees, one gold, one silver and one emerald.
  • Memorial Text
  • White Ensign Lodge 9169
  • Gold, Silver & Emerald Whitebeam trees have been planted here in memory of those members of the Lodge who have served in or with the Allied Special Forces and in honour of all our members who have now “Passed to Higher Service”.
  • One of those who has passed was awarded the Victoria Cross fro helping remove unexploded German bombs from the Submarine HMS Thrasher in 1982 along with Lt. Peter Roberts VC DSC.
  • Thomas William Gould, VC MiD (1914-2001) was a Royal Navy sailor and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
  • He was one of three Jewish recipients of the Victoria Cross in the Second World War.

Reconnaissance

The lovely Ash Tree of the Reconnaissance Corps and the 46th Reconnaissance Regiment Memorials.
The Reconnaissance Corps and the 46th Reconnaissance Regiment Memorials. These plaques were refurbished in 2023/4 and have now been repositioned from the Sun Room back to their original location beside the Ash Tree.
  • Memorials Text
  • The Reconnaissance Corps ~ 1941-1946 ~ “Only the enemy in front” in every battlefield of World War 2.
  • The 46th Reconnaissance Regiment ~ Tunisia, Italy (Salerno-Cassino-Gothic Line), Greece and Austria. ~ Never forgotten.

Popski’s Private Army

No. 1 Demolition Squadron.

The Popski’s Private Army Memorial came about after a chance meeting with Captain John Campbell at the Violette Szabo GC museum. From then on the garden design was created in the shape of an Astrolabe, which was the PPA cap badge. Variegated Laurel was used to complete the hedging. This represents the sandy desert of North Africa and lush greenery of Italy and Austria where they operated. The two Italian cypress trees signify what was an easily recognised location on the Italian coast that they used to infiltrate German lines.

The refurbished PPA plaques.

This memorial was unveiled by Sir Robert Crawford CBE on Sunday 30 March 2008. In the presence of veterans, relatives and friends whose generous donations made it possible.
Popski’s Private Army Roll of Honour.
  • Memorial Text
  • Popski’s Private Army
  • No.1 Demolition Squadron
  • Roll of Honour
  • Corporal John Ewen Cameron of Rannock Station. Lovat Scouts, 2 Commando & ‘Blitz’ Patrol PPA – 2 March 1910 to 21 June 1944, age 34.
  • Trooper Thomas John Croghan of Chester. 3rd Hussars, ‘R’ Patrol PPA – 18 April 1921 to 10 November 1944, age 23.
  • Sergeant Charles Herbert Curtis of Oxford. Corps of Royal Engineers, ‘Blitz’ Patrol PPA – 8 October 1919 to 9 September 1944, age 24.
  • Driver William Syvester Gaskell of Wigan. Royal Army Service Corps, ‘HQ’ PPA – 17 April 1916 to 10 September 1943, age 26.
  • Private John Hunter of Glasgow, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, Special Air Service, ‘B’ Patrol PPA – 11 November 1920 to 21 January 1944, age 23.
  • Sapper Richard MacDowall of Edinburgh, Corps of Royal Engineers, ‘B’ Patrol PPA – 9th December 1920 to 23 April 1945, age 24.
  • Lieutenant Duncan Baxter MacGillivray of Paddington. Ist Derbyshire Yeomanry, HQ PPA – 31 July 1923 to 21 April 1945, age 32.
  • Lieutenant Ian Wallace McCallam of Buenos Aires. 27th Lancers, ‘B’ Patrol PPA -26 January 1927 to 27 April 1945, age 21.
  • Sergeant David Porter DCM of Saint Helen’s. Corps of Royal Engineers, Special Air Service, ‘R’ Patrol PPA – 26 December 1922 to 15 November 1944, age 21.
  • Trooper Arthur Rogers of Cheshunt. 56th Regiment Reconnaissance Corps, ‘B’ Patrol PPA – 2 January 1921 to 29 April 1945, age 24.
  • Corporal James Snape of Chertsey. 50th Royal Tank Regiment, ‘Blitz’ Patrol PPA – 19 June 1910 to 23 May 1945, age 34.
  • Private Albert White of Hockley. Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, ‘S’ Patrol PPA – 2 February 1914 to 10 May 1945, age 31.
  • 1942 – LIBYA – TUNISIA – ITALY – AUSTRIA – 1945
PPA Honours and Awards
  • Memorial Text
  • Honours and Awards
  • DISTINGUISHED SERVICE ORDER
  • Peniakoff, Major V – General List
  • DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
  • Porter, Sgt. D – Corps of Royal Engineers – ‘R’
  • Cadell, Lt. M (with A&SH) Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders ‘B’
  • Campbell, Capt. J (and Bar) Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders ‘S’
  • Caneri, Capt. J – General List & HQ PPA
  • Peniakoff, Major V – General List
  • Yunnie, Capt. R – Black Watch ‘B’
  • MILITARY MEDAL
  • Beautyman, Sgt. J – Royal Corps of Signals ‘Blitz’
  • Burrows, Pte. C – Royal Army Service Corps ‘Blitz’
  • Cahill, L/Cpl. A – Royal Army Service Corps ‘S’
  • Galloway, Sgt. D – (and Bar) – Royal Army Service Corps ‘B’
  • Higgins, Dvr. J – (with RASC) – Royal Army Service Corps ‘Blitz’
  • O’Leary, Sgt. W – Parachute Regiment ‘S’
  • Riches, Sgt. F – 1st Dragoon Guards ‘B’
  • Sanders, Sgt. E (with LRDG) 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force ‘R’
  • Waterson, SSM. G – 1st Dragoon Guards ‘Blitz’
  • MENTIONED IN DESPATCHES
  • Cahill, L/Cpl. A – Royal Army Service Corps ‘S’
  • Cawthorn, Sapper A – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • Dobinson, Cpl. J – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • Foweraker, Spr. L – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • Freeman, Spr. J – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • Hodgson, Cpl. D – Royal Artillery ‘S’
  • Kineally, Sgt. J – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • North, Cpl. R – Royal Irish Fusiliers ‘R’
  • Owen, Cpl. B – Royal Army Service Corps ‘B’
  • Parr, Spr. K – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • Petrie, Spr. A – Corps of Royal Engineers – ‘Original’
  • Sonley, L/Cpl. G – 16th/5th Queens Royal Lancers ‘B’
  • Taylor, Sgt. S – The Queens Bays, 2nd Dragoon Guards ‘R’
  • Thomas, Lt. B – Corps of Royal Engineers – Popskis Private Navy
  • LIST ENDS
PPA – 27th Lancers and Porterforce
  • Memorial Text
  • 27th Lancers & Porterforce
  • In memory of Lt. Col. Andrew Horsbrugh-Porter DSO & Bar,
  • and the men of 27th Lancers and the 54 officers and men who fell during the war
  • Porterforce October – December 1944
  • HQ Porterforce
  • 27th Lancers
  • Royal Canadian Dragoons
  • Kings Dragoon Guards
  • 145 RAC
  • GGHQ
  • 1 Royal Horse Artillery
  • 1 & 2 Canadian Field Regiment, RCA
  • 2 & 5 Canadian Medium Regiment, RCA
  • 12 & 13 Canadian Field Company
  • 24 Field Regiment RA
  • 49 Anti-tank Battery RA
  • 151 Anti-tank Battery, 93 Anti-tank Regiment RA
  • 310 Anti-tank Battery, 60 Anti-tank Regiment RA
  • 32 Platoon, RCASC
  • 747 Bridge Company RASC
  • 1800 Bailey Bridge Platoon
  • 1820 Folding Boat Equipment Platoon RCASC
  • 168 London Infantry Brigade Signals Section
  • 1/3 Essex Regiment
  • 2721 Squadron RAF Regiment
  • Royal Westminster Regiment
  • 4 & 7 Canadian Light Field Ambulance
  • 1, 2 & 5 Canadian Medium Regiment Platoon RCASC
  • 5 Army Jeep Platoon
  • 81 Canadian Artillery Company RCASC
  • 1501 Artillery Platoon
  • 3 Canadian Provost Company
  • Popski’s Private Army
  • LIST ENDS
28th Garibaldi Brigade
  • Memorial Text
  • 28th Garibaldi Brigade
  • To the Eternal Memory of ARRIGO BOLDRINI (BULOW)
  • Gold Medal for Military Valour
  • and the partisans of 28th Garibaldi Brigade under his command in Porterforce, British Eighth Army during the 1944 campaign for the liberation of the city of Ravenna
  • and with Eternal Gratitude to the 604 heroes who fell in the achievement of victory.
Please read these plaques when visiting the PPA memorial as the text is not below!
Please read these plaques when visiting the PPA memorial as the text is not below!

Further Information

The Breakaway Survival Tree Seat Project 2005

The Breakaway Tree Seat Project 2005. Mick Tyler ex SAS and 29 Commando along with his Breakaway Survival School Club were good enough to sponsor the carving and transportation of 5 large pieces of Sequoia, an American Redwood from Letton Court Farm in Herefordshire to the Grove. The Teak project plaque with the stags head was carved by Vic Smith ex SAS from a piece of laboratory bench!
The Breakaway Survival Seat. This piece of Sequoia weighed in at 4 tonnes!
The Vince Phillips Bravo Two Zero Seat.
This Sequoia was felled after standing at Letton Court Farm for over 160 years after being brought back from America as a sapling.
The Dr John McCrae Tree Seat was the first piece of Sequoia that Mike and Annette carved. It is situated at the start of the Grove.
Which side would point towards North? Count the rings? Situated in the Friends garden is a chunk of Sequoia that had to be cut off the Breakaway Survival Seat! Count the rings!

PAGE UPDATED 16TH OCTOBER 2025