Here you will find first-hand accounts, recollections and memoirs from those who have served in the Italian Campaign. We encourage all veterans and relatives who remember stories of the Italian Campaign told to them to share their stories with us.
5th Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment
CHAPTER 1 September to December 1943 5th Bn The Northamptonshire Regiment in Italy The operation in Sicily, so far as the Bn was concerned, ended on the 14th August 1943, with the junction of the British and American armies at RANDAZZO.…5th Battalion, the Norhamptonshire Regiment
CHAPTER 2 January to March 1944 January 1st 1944 The Bn at this time was in CAMPOBASA, former Appennine holiday centre; a beautiful city, possessed of fine buildings, wide streets and a general air of progressiveness so lacking in other Italian…5th Battalion, The Northamptionshire Regiment
CHAPTER 3 March to July 1944 GENERAL SITUATION The general layout of the front on March 24th was as follows: The American Fifth Army was on the left from the sea to the ARUNCI MOUNTAINS. The Eighth Army held the line…3rd Battalion The Grenadier Guards, 1st Guards Regiment
Extract from Tom’s memoirs – ‘A 20th century Shropshire Lad’. Both Tom’s parents died within a week of each other and Tom, aged 19, had little time to decide his future. This extract follows Tom’s years as a Grenadier.
Part Two
I recall passing Sicily and seeing the volcano smoking and eventually we reached Naples, the front line being some miles past there, thanks to the many actions that had taken place before we reached Italy. Our own 6th Battalion was involved…3rd Battalion, The Grenedier Guards, 1st Guards Regiment
Extract from Tom’s memoirs – ‘A 20th century Shropshire Lad’. Both Tom’s parents died within a week of each other and Tom, aged 19, had little time to decide his future. This extract follows Tom’s years as a Grenadier.
Part One.
At this stage it was complete confusion as to what my future was to be, it seemed impossible that I could cope on my own alone although the rent was not too high for our cottage. After much careful thought it…
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Bde REME, 4 Br Infantry Division February
John Edward Williams
January 8, 1919 – January 2 2006
Readers of the first issue of the newsletter of the Monte Cassino Society will recall the stirring account of the part John Williams played in the battles for Cassino in the Spring of 1944 and not failed to be moved by…
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1st Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment
In Remembrance Italy 1944 – 2003
Mr. Winter’s account is reproduced here courtesy of Tiger and Rose, newsletter of the York and Lancaster Regiment.
The 1st Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment, landed in Sicily on 10th of July 1943. I…
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RASC, Allied Liaison Unit, with 3rd Algerian Division and 4th Moroccan Mountain Division
Letters Home
After getting past Rome, we were relieved and I sent back to a very large villa on the outskirts of Rome where I was placed in a pool of drivers. At this Villa there were many Officers of different…
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4th British Infantry Division
In September 1943 Gordon Dobson was posted to the 4th British Infantry Division as clerk to the Divisional Provost Marshal (DAPM). On Boxing Day he sailed from Algiers to Egypt for Landing Training. He landed in Naples on March 22 1944.
…
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143rd Infantry, US 36th Infantry Division
Our next major operation was to be the Rapido River crossing. It was now about 15 January 1944. We were on the high ground some three or four hundred yards from the river. We sent patrols out nightly to determine whether…
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143rd Infantry, US 36th Infantry Division
It was early December, 1943, three months after the invasion of Italy at Salerno, that the First Battalion, 143rd Infantry of the 36th Division was given the mission of capturing Mt. Sammucro (better known as Hill 1205) as part of the…
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141st Infantry Regiment, US 36th Infantry Division
Our thanks to Ray Wells for permission to include this excerpt from his 1991 interview with Milton Landry, commander of 2nd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment.
A few days later we were relieved and ordered to the rear near Sant Angelo where…
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2788 Squadron, The RAF Regiment
The first part of Reverend Bale’s account appeared in the supplement to the Fall 2006 newsletter.
So it was my turn again, and again we were transported through Venafro up the mountains, but this time down the hill in our lorries…
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2788 Field Squadron, RAF Regiment
Chapter 2
As we passed through Gibraltar under cover of darkness, we knew by now that we must be nearing our destination. We could see the lights of Tangiers brilliantly lit up as they too were neutral. By the next day we were…
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2888 Field Squadrantm RAF Regiment
Chapter 1
We were a large family of 11 children, 6 boys and 5 girls 9 of whom survived. I was the 8th but there are only 2 of us left. Of the 6 boys, 5 saw service in the Second World War.…
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12th Brigade, REME
Mr. Snowden wrote this article for the newsletter of his branch of the Royal British Legion.60th Anniversary Commemoration Visit to Cassino – May 2004
The services to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the four battles fought at Monte Cassino in…
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72/22 LAA Regiment, Royal Artillery
The first part of Les Pattison’s reminiscences of North Africa appeared in the supplement to the Fall 2006 newsletter.
Training for the invasion of Sicily now followed for which we took part in the exercises at Djelli before leaving for Bizerta…
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6th Battalion, The Black Watch
Chapter 6, Italy: June 29th – July 25th
The map clearly shows what we had to do, which was to secure the high ground running from road junction 893485 in a north-easterly direction, thus acting as flank guard to the Guards, and to open up the road which runs…
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6th Battalion, The Black Watch
Chapter 5, Italy: June 29th – July 25th
Our thanks to Henry McKenzie Johnston for obtaining permission from Black Watch HQ to include the excerpts in the society’s supplement and for his editorials.
The situation now on our immediate front was that the enemy had formed a strong line…
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son of Sergeant John Pearson, The Lincolnshire Regiment
This is the third and final instalment of Stan Pearson’s account of his research into the death of his father, Sergeant John Pearson of the Lincolnshire Regiment, on 5th January 1944.
Visit to Italy 15th to 19th May 2004.
Having identified where my father was killed it was now time to visit the site. Once again, my mother (now 84!), my wife and I planned to visit Italy. In preparation for the…
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6th Regiment, The Black Watch
Chapter 4: June 5th—29th
June started with the Battalion still in their rest area at Faicchio and Goioa, and no move likely before the 7th. However, on the 2nd orders were received that the Division was to move north on the 5th and packing up…
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6th Battalion, The Black Watch
Chapter 3, May 11th – May 20th, “The Final Battle” (Part 2)
Part 1 of Chapter 3, May 11th — May 20th, “The Final Battle”, appeared in the Winter 2006 supplement. Lt. Col. Brian Madden was Commanding Officer of the 6th Black Watch. Chapter 3 is an excerpt from Col Madden’s complete history…
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The Royal Sussex
A Minutiae on Monte Ornito, March 1944. The Cassino Front
In leaving our positions at Teano, north of Naples we moved up to the Garigliano front to relieve the 46th Division.
The approach to the Aurunci mountains was across the Garigliano valley. It was a long march up, and a bit…
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1st Royal Natal Carbineers, 6th South African Armoured Division
Monte Cassino and the Inferno Track
In Italy on 2nd May 1944, the first combatants of the South African Army were gathered at a point near the top of the Inferno Track, which lead down to the Rapido River. The leading element was the 1st Royal Natal…
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132nd Welsh Field Regiment, Royal Artillery
On January 6th, 1944 we eventually moved back to the Adriatic Coast of Italy. This was done with difficulty because of the snowed up roads, and on Jan 8th we arrived at Casoli and spent four weeks providing harassing fire. The…
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12th Brigade, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers
John Snowden served with the 12th Brigade, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) in support of the 6th Black Watch, 1st Royal West Kents and 2nd Royal Fusiliers. He wrote this poem about Cassino.
Goodbye to Cassino, it’s our final farewell…
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2nd Coldstream Guards
Beauty is Everywhere
It is an undeniable fact that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, no matter in what form. However, the point must be made that the emotional state of the beholder has to be considered, for this can throw aside…
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Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry
Wally Smith served with the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry as a Private and Stretcher Bearer in the Sicilian and Italian Campaign. He writes about the Liri Valley and the Hitler Line.
Late April, 1944, and it’s time to leave the…
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99th Light AA, Royal Artillery
John Williams was Captain in 328 Battery, 99th Light AA, Royal Artillery. This is an excerpt from “The Cassino Front” from his account, Beauty in Hell.
Whilst the Regiment was settling in on arrival at Vairano, I and the other…
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5th Northamptonshire Regiment
Roland Dray was a seventeen year old gunner with the 5th Northamptonshires when his battalion relieved the 2nd Cameron Highlanders on Snakeshead Ridge. This is an excerpt from a series of emails he sent us.
We left San Michele where we…
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3rd Battalion, The Welsh Guards
In April 1944 my battalion was ordered to relieve an infantry battalion that had suffered many heavy casualties at Cassino. By this time there had been three battles and a fourth was pending. We took over and secured a position on…
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The North Irish Horse
I served with the North Irish Horse in North Africa and Italy. A few days after we arrived in Naples the whole Brigade was moved across to the East coast, along with the 1st Canadian Infantry Division to practice for the…
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Royal Corps of Signals, 4th Indian Division
Chapter 2
Now in early March we four signalmen with Sgt A.A. Davies and the Indian Line Party had been re-located with our small telephone switchboard in a farmhouse in the centre of the plain in full view of the monastery. It hardly…
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son of Sergeant John Pearson, The Lincolnshire Regiment
Stan Pearson's account of his research into the death of his father, Sergeant John Pearson of the Lincolnshire Regiment, on 5th January 1944.
My first childhood recollection was sitting on my dad's knee. It must have been in 1946---I would have been four years old and my dad was in army uniform. From that first recollection until the day he died, I honestly cannot…
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6th Battalion, The Black Watch
Mr. McKenzie Johnston wrote this article for his regimental journal, The Red Hackle, after the Cassino reunion in May 1989.
Those who were serving with the 6th Battalion in 1944 need no reminding of the significance of 1000 hrs on Saturday the 13th May of that year. We were then of course on time at the start line for the final…
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6th Battalion, The Black Watch
Lt. Col. Brian Madden was Commanding Officer of the 6th Black Watch. The following chapter is an extract from his complete history of the Battalion’s actions throughout the war published privately. The first extract, “Chapter 1, March 10th- April 16th” appeared in the Spring issue of our supplement. Our thanks to Henry McKenzie Johnston for obtaining permission from Black Watch HQ to include the excerpts in the society’s supplement and for his editorials.
Chapter 2, April 21st – May 4th, “In Cassino Town”
On April the 17th joined once again by Majors Macrae (who had been ill) and Pollok-McCall (back from England with terrific stories of preparation for the “Second Front”), we left for…
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‘D’ Platoon, 495 Company, American Field Service
I will tell you a story…It happened in Italy, a long ago now. Christmas 1944. It was a day or two prior to that Christmas. Me and my mates had just moved up a few more weary miles from Forli to…
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72/22 LAA Regiment, Royal Artillery
As I sat down to write this story it suddenly occurred to me what a large part numbers played in all our lives. The 20/05/1942 being my last night as a civilian, for the following day I had to report to…
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Company ‘H’, 141st Infantry Regiment, US 36th Infantry Division
Memories Never Forgotten
For many years I have thought about writing a story that might express the true feelings of an Infantry Soldier going into battle for the first time, and then afterwards when he has experienced the horrible deaths he has seen and…
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Mobile Signals Unit, RAF
At the age of 16 in August 1939 I joined the RAF as an Aircraft Apprentice to train as a Wireless Operator Mechanic at RAF Cranwell. We spent two years in learning Morse code, Semaphore, radio theory and practical servicing of…
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2788 Squadron, The RAF Regiment
On the 11th November 1941 I was told to report to the RAF at Cardington, England. My call up had been deferred because of my job. I had never left the Land of Song and my education of life was about…
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‘A’ Company, 12th Frontier Force Regiment, 8th Indian Division
Fifty Years Ago: The Fog of War
I was an infantry company commander of Sikhs, ‘A’ Company of the 12th Frontier Force Regiment, 8th Indian Division. We had landed in Italy in September 1943 and had fought our way North up the Adriatic coast during the winter 1943-44. …
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RASC, Allied Liaison Unit, with 3rd Algerian Division and 4th Moroccan Mountain Division
Letters Home
After getting past Rome, we were relieved and I sent back to a very large villa on the outskirts of Rome where I was placed in a pool of drivers. At this Villa there were many Officers of different nationalities and…
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1st Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment
In Remembrance Italy 1944 – 2003
Mr. Winter’s account is reproduced here courtesy of Tiger and Rose, newsletter of the York and Lancaster Regiment.
The 1st Battalion, The York and Lancaster Regiment, landed in Sicily on 10th of July 1943. I joined the battalion some days later…
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1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles
“Exercise Medicina Kukri”, Italy 14th –20th April 2005
Last year was the most exciting, emotional, difficult and cathartic time for me, not only visiting Nepal in February/March, which I enjoyed profoundly, but also revisiting the Battlefields of Italy, that we fought over in 1944/45.
To be honest, since that…
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6th Black Watch
The following is Chapter 1 from Lt Col Brian Madden’s account of the 6th Black Watch in Italy. It covers March 10th to April 16th 1944. Our thanks to Henry McKenzie Johnston for his editorials and photographs, and for obtaining permission from Black Watch H.Q. for the society to publish Mr. Madden’s account.
Four days after landing from Egypt at Naples on March 6th we were in action three thousand feet up in the snow. This was on a hill called Ornito, which together with several neighbours formed the bridgehead over the River Garigliano,…
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12th Artillery Company, 6th Armoured Division
Frank Beckett of the 12th Artillery Company, 6th Armoured Division writes of landing in Naples on March 14th, 1944.
On the 12th March 1944 we were ordered to strike camp and prepare overseas embarking from the ports of Bone, Bizerte and Phillipville on the 13th.
We made our way across the Mediterranean sea to Italy on an uneventful voyage. Observing…
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‘H Company’, 2nd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment
Ray Wells was a squad leader in ‘H Company’, 2nd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment. The following is an excerpt from his 1991 interview with Milton Landry, Commander of 2nd Battalion, 141st Infantry Regiment, recalling the battle of San Pietro in December 1943.
Ray Wells writes “…a great many men were killed or wounded during the attack on San Pietro due to land mines, sniper fire, artillery and even bombs from German dive bombers. The Battalion attacked at 8:00 hours and at 11:00 hours…
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5th Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment
Tom Smith served with the 5th Battalion, The Northamptonshire Regiment in Tunisia, Sicily and Italy
There was only one pass through to our forward position and we were always fully laden with our kit, plus our Billy cans which could always be relied on to make a noise at the most inappropriate moment. I remember one…
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5th Battalion, The Buffs
Major Geoffrey Piper served with the 5th Battalion, The Buffs.
On the south side of the westernmost column in the South Nave Aisle of the Priory Church there is a memorial to Sir Donald Bailey, the inventor of the Bailey Bridge about which Arthur Burcham was something of an expert. The…
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2nd Coldstream Guards
Bill Fitness served with the 2nd Coldstream Guards. This account appeared in the February 2004 issue of the Wartime News.
The end of January 1944 saw my unit, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, based at Constantine, Algeria, ordered to Italy at short notice, and also to be ready for immediate action. Despite many difficulties inherent in such a situation, the battalion was…
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Royal Corps of Signals, 4th Indian Division
Chapter 1
As a wireless operator with the 4th Indian Divisional Signals Section I had been despatched with three other signal men early in February 1944 to set up a small Signal Office in a house at the extreme end of the village…
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2nd Battalion, The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
Chapter I
" …..and this land be called,
The field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls.”
(Shakespeare, Richard II)
In January 1944 at Mena Camp, near Cairo the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders once again became part of the 11th Indian…
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12th Brigade, REME
Mr. Snowden wrote this article for the newsletter of his branch of the Royal British Legion.
The services to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the four battles fought at Monte Cassino in Italy in the Spring of 1944 were held in the Cassino British War Cemetery on Monday 17th May. I travelled there as a member of…
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