STICKLAND, ELMER.

Elmer Stickland was  born December 16, 1905 in Emsdale, the son of George and Sarah Jane (Ritichie) Stickland.

Elmer enlisted early in the war but was taken prisoner at Dieppe and spent the remainder of the war as a Prisoner of War.

Following the war, Elmer initially built a very rude shelter close to Snowshoe Creek, above the Wildcat, Maple Island where he stayed for over a year. Later, Elmer and Florence Hyde rented the former McAmmond home below ‘The Wildcat’. In later years, Elmer moved to Whitestone. Elmer worked for Percy Brear and James Stickland on occasion. He is best remembered as a ‘gentle sole’ and a unique dresser – always wearing a cowboy hat and red scarf.

When asked about his experience as a POW, Elmer commented that they didn’t have much to eat – but then, “the guards didn’t have much either”. A special treat was apparently when the cabbage patch matured. When asked, his response to Tommy Johnson, “It tasted just like chicken!” 

The men who participated in the Dieppe Raid paid a great price. Of the 4,963 Canadians who embarked on the mission, only approximately 2,200 returned to England and many of those had been wounded. More than 3,350 Canadians became casualties, including a total of 916 who lost their lives as a result of the raid and approximately 1,950 more who were taken prisoner. A total of 210 British and American personnel also lost their lives.

Those who were captured faced especially harsh treatment in prisoner of war camps and most would remain in captivity for more than two-and-a-half years. As the end of the war neared, many of them also had to endure forced wintertime marches as the Germans moved the prisoners away from the advancing Allied forces who otherwise could have liberated them.[1]

Canadian Prisoners of War at Dieppe
 

[1] From The Dieppe Raid, Veterans Affairs Canada