W. Denis Whitaker
Description
William Denis Whitaker CM DSO (2) DSC was born at Calgary Alberta, son of Guy S. Whitaker of Galt Ontario (ON) and Bertha (Moore) Whitaker of Peterborough ON. His father was an army major who was fortunate enough to return alive from WW1. Denis Whitaker was educated at University of Toronto Schools and from 1936 to 1937, at the Royal Military College (RMC), Kingston ON. From 1937 to 1939, prior to WW2, he was an assistant manager at the Stanley Works of Canada in Hamilton ON, and supplemented the salary from his day job, by playing quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger Cats football team. As soon as war was declared in 1939, Whitaker was mobilized with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (RHLI), as a lieutenant commanding a Bren Gun Carrier platoon. As Captain in the Dieppe raid on August 19th 1942 he led his 30-man platoon to capture the beachfront casino. His troops stormed the beachfront casino in hand to hand fighting and dashed across the deadly plaza behind it, raked by enemy fire and into the town, before he realized that going any further would be suicide. He pulled his men back to the beach, organized a defense and waited, deluged with shells, mortars and machine gun bullets, until landing craft lifted the survivors to safety for the return trip to their base in England. He received his first Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his skill and courage and initiative during the Dieppe raid.
Books
Normandy
Dieppe
It was supposed to be a piece of cake. A force of approximately 6,000 men was to land on the French coast in complete surprise, kill as many Germans as possible, take prisoners, and withdraw. Instead, it was one of the biggest military disasters in Canadian history. Anything that could go wrong did. The strategy was too complex and depended on too many factors, including surprise, split-second timing, adequate air and sea support, and a weak enemy. None of these conditions was met. What was the real story behind the raid on Dieppe? For forty years, General Denis Whitaker has asked that question. Captain Whitaker, the only officer of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry to return unhurt from Dieppe, is a true Canadian hero and deserves an answer to that question. Nevertheless, one can't help feeling that in finding that answer Whitaker has been a little disappointed. Four thousand men should not have been thrown away to prove a point. Together with his wife, Shelagh, Whitaker has produced a well-written, thoroughly researched book that lives up to the standard of their earlier works. This is an exciting book that will appeal to the militarily unsophisticated as well as to those familiar with the Dieppe raid. Particularly effective are Whitaker's personal recollections, which are scattered throughout the text.
Tug of War
Joe Sandilands has been dispatched to France to stay as the guest of a glamorous French war-widow who is determined that Joe should support her claim that a mysterious shell-shocked soldier is her husband. The problem is that four other claimants have identified him differently. Joe decides to investigate the four claimants and picks his way through a tangle of lies, deceit and manipulation, uncovering a cleverly concealed murder committed during the war years. When he finally discovers the identity of the soldier, he faces an even greater dilemma: he must not only try to solve a killing in the past, but avert a tragedy in the future.