Newhaven

My late wife loved Newhaven. The town itself isn’t so special. In fact, as towns go, it’s not the most attractive in the area.
But she loved it because its residents have always remembered the Canadian soldiers who sailed from that port in August 1942 as part of an ill-fated attempt to gain a foothold on the continental mainland of Europe via Dieppe.
The raid was a military disaster with huge loss of life and many Canadians were taken prisoner by the German armed forces.
‘Lest we forget’ is, however, etched on the hearts of Newhaven people, and the Canadian Flag, with its distinctive red Maple Leaf on a white background, flutters in the small memorial park within site of the port where those brave soldiers embarked.
Not only did my beloved wife visit it often, but every last one of her Canadian family and friends – and even her old colleagues – have all trooped down there with her to pay homage to those fallen Canadian troops.
The second reason why my soulmate loved the town so much was that she could board a ferry and be in Dieppe in three hours for yet more reminders of the Canadian involvement in the Dieppe Raid.
The grateful French often have a floral display featuring a Canadian Maple Leaf, little flags fluttering in the streets and plaques recalling the bravery of the soldiers.
My late wife also loved lobster, and, along the quay, there are myriad open air restaurants, where she once had lobster as a starter, lobster as a main course, and lobster for dessert, all for about £10!
Having said that, she also endured some spectacular culinary disasters.
There was a small but exquisite restaurant on the way in to Dieppe from the ferry where the food was superb, but the menu only in French. Despite the arm waving of a waiter, trying to tell her she really was not ordering cheese, she refused to listen. The ‘fromage de tete’ duly arrived, and turned out to be made, not of cheese at all, but, disturbingly, of the beautifully presented brawn from a pig’s head.
Along with the Dieppe Raid, another military venture launched from Newhaven. The town supplied a number of boats for the flotilla of Little Ships that rescued troops from Dunkirk.
Two notable Newhaven victims of this flotilla were ferries owned by Southern Rail, which set out, along with thousands of other little boats from south coast ports, to rescue British troops.
One ferry, the Brighton V was trapped in Dieppe Harbour. The other, The Paris, was bombed and sunk, but not until she had made six trips, saving almost a thousand men. During the operation, 2,914 troops, mostly wounded, were evacuated through Newhaven, in addition to the 3,276 who had passed through the port a week before.
Today, Newhaven is very proud of its lifeboat service, and rightly so. In 1940 its lifeboat also sailed to Dunkirk, ran aground and was left high and dry for 4 hours. Re-floated, she returned with 51 soldiers. The lifeboat survived the war, ended her RNLI service in 1959, and is officially recorded as one of the Dunkirk Little Ships.
The Newhaven lifeboat had a historically notable start. In 1800 HMS Brazen, a British Man O’War, was wrecked below the Newhaven cliffs. There was only one survivor, ironically he was a non-swimmer. He was winched up the cliffs to safety by two local men, using a wheeled crane from a nearby farm. This was actually the local smugglers’ way of getting contraband off the beach at the time.
Sadly, bad weather caused the remaining 105 HMS Brazen seamen to lose their lives, their bodies washed up on Newhaven’s beaches. But out of tragedy can sometimes come goodness, as this inspired the locals to introduce a lifeboat to the town. In 1803, twenty years before the RNLI was formed, the first lifeboat set sail, creating history and ensuring Newhaven was a safer port.
There is an impressive memorial to HMS Brazen and her men in the churchyard of St Michael’s church, which overlooks the town.
But this story is far from over as there is still much more to tell. For now, let’s leave my wife gazing wistfully out to sea, near the Canadian flag, wondering if one or more of her relatives were among the Canadians who marched on board the troop ships, tied up at Newhaven Harbour.
Or is she wondering whether, on her next trip to Dieppe, she should have lobster for breakfast, lunch and dinner?