Major Ralph Young
Royal Regiment of Canada

It has been a wonderful experience for me to have had the honour of commanding the Bn these past few weeks, and particularly those memorable days in Dieppe, which to me appear extremely important in the history of the Regt, marking as it does our initial battle in this war and its successful—though hard, and sometimes bitter—days, which seem to conclude a particular phase in this vast operation.

(Young to Lt-Col. E.H. Jones, 7 Sept 1944)

Born in Toronto on 9 July 1910, Ralph Grasett Young, was a commissioned officer with the 10th Royal Grenadier since 1934, redesignated the Royal Regiment of Canada in 1936. Just over one month after the regiment landed in France, on 14 July 1944, Young assumed command from Lieutenant-Colonel Jack Anderson, who had been accidently wounded. Later that day, the regiment suffered a destructive accidental bombing by Allied planes.

Young later recounted this experience in an interview with veteran George Blackburn: “All of a sudden, bang … bang … bang—a string of huge explosions! Everything goes dark and pandemonium almost breaks out.” As a result of the friendly fire incident, the Royals suffered two men killed and fifty-four wounded, in addition to much equipment, ammunition, and clothing destroyed.

On 4 September 1944, Young organized a commemorative ceremony at Dieppe honouring the regiment’s losses from the raid over two years earlier. Almost the entire landing force had been killed or captured, with only sixty-three of over 550 evacuated. The commanding officer Lieutenant-Colonel D.E. Catto like hundreds of others remained prisoners of war in Germany. The regiment placed a temporary plaque on the beach:

On this beach officers and men of the Royal Regiment of Canada died at dawn 19th August 1942 striving to reach the heights beyond. You who are alive on this beach remember that these men died far from home that others her and everywhere might freely enjoy life in Gods’ mercy.

In a letter describing the ceremony, Young expressed pride at his temporary promotion but felt uncertain about a permanent appointment:

As yet no action appears to have been taken insofar as command is concerned, and I believe one reason for this is the uncertainty as to Jack’s condition and the possibility of his early return. Meanwhile I have been acting in command and I can assure you it has been quite a busy month, or nearly so.

Young’s promotion would not last long. On 10 September 1944, Lieutenant-Colonel R.M. Lendrum, former acting CO of the Canadian Scottish, arrived as his replacement. Young reverted to second-in-command and served in the field for the next four months until posted back to England for other duties in January 1945.

In his memoir, The Guns of Victory, George Blackburn observed:

While the names of those who serve as second-in-command of infantry battalion may never appear among the postwar lists of commanding officers, some are chalking up more time in command of their battalions than many who will be so honoured in unit histories. Such a one is Major Ralph Young …

Exuding steely determination, which you could sense could border on the ruthless if such were required to see the unit through a sticky ho, he always manages to wear a big smile even in the most wretched circumstances. It is incomprehensible, unless you take his smile to be a kind of sardonic comment, a smile of contempt by one taking a cosmic view of the ongoing human condition.

(Blackburn, The Guns of Victory, 14)

Young died in Oakville, Ontario on 11 May 1991.