Stan Edwards, who served on a tank and was a prisoner of war during World War Two, will be featured at the Canadian Forces Memorial Film Festival.
A veteran of the famed Dieppe Raid of World War Two will be part of the eighth annual Canadian Forces Memorial Film Festival.
The festival runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 10-12 at the Empress Theatre.
Stephane Guevremont, a military history instructor from Calgary who holds a PhD in Canadian Military Aviation, returns as master of ceremonies.
Guevremont is a former aircraft mechanic with practical experience at Pratt and Whitney Canada and Bombardier Aerospace.
Guevremont was a senior guide at the National Aviation Museum of Canada in Ottawa for four years, taught French as a second language to federal government employees across Canada and completed a PhD program at the University of Calgary in 2010 on “The Development of a Canadian Aircraft Industry, 1909-1949.”
Guevremont holds a degree in aircraft maintenance, a bachelor of arts in history from McGill University and a civilian master’s in war studies from the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ont.
He taught European and military history in the Humanities Department at Mount Royal University in Calgary for six years and for the Faculty of Continuing Education at the University of Calgary for four years. He speaks as a regular columnist on CBC French Radio One and organizes Canadian battlefields and history tours in Europe.
Since August 2015, Guevremont is the honourary colonel of 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force based in Cold Lake.
At present, Guevremont teches on his own for adult audiences.
Guevremont will give a presentation titled “The Battle of Dunkirk” at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, followed by the 2017 film Dunkirk.
“The Dieppe Raid, 75 Years Later” is the topic at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, featuring a panel discussion with veterans. The 1993 film Dieppe: The Final Attack will be screened.
At 7 p.m. Saturday there will be a presentation by Guevremont on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Guadalcanal, followed by the screening of the 1998 film Thin Red Line.
The 2008 movie Passchendaele, which was filmed in part in Fort Macleod, will be screened following a presentation titled “The Great War, 100 years later: Canada” at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.
At 2 p.m. Sunday there is a presentation titled “The 75th Anniversary of the Battle of El Alamein” followed by the 2002 film The Line of Fire.
One of the veterans who will take part in the panel discussion on Saturday is Stan Edwards of Calgary.
Born on a farm near Big Valley in central Alberta, Edwards enlisted in the Calgary Tanks two days after his 18th birthday.
After basic training at Borden, Ont. Edwards sailed to Scotland and received more training in England and Wales.
Edwards was trained as a radio operator and assigned to a tank nicknamed “Buttercup,” and took part in the Dieppe raid.
The 14th Canadian Army Tank Regiment came ashore on Dieppe beach to provide support to the Canadian infantry regiments.
However, many were disabled when the pebbled beach caused tanks to throw tracks. Those tanks unaffected by the pebbled beach struggled to pass through anti-tank obstacles into the city.
During the withdrawal the tanks formed a “ring of steel” and attempted to protect the Allied infantry as they disembarked from the beach. Many tank crews were captured as they ran out of ammunition.
Edwards was captured at Dieppe and was a prisoner of war until 1945. He received the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal, the 1939-1945 Star, the Defence Medal and the 1939-1945 War Medal.
