Italy

After Effects of War

The cacophony of sound, the product of some brilliant orchestra and from behind the percussion in the form...

Bari Raid, 2nd December 1943

MTB's 81, 242 and 243, although only partly crewed, started up and crept around the harbour, picking up...

Memories of an Italian Naval Signalman Part One - Enlisting in 1937 and at war with the Allies 10th June 1940

The next call was at Massaua which was a Naval base on the Red Sea, on the Italian colony Eritrea. I told...

The Darkest Hour - 5th Northamptons (Part 2)

By July 1944, I was happy to announce a gift to the church of a portrait of Saint Leonard The...

Reminiscenes of a Veteran Sapper - 6

After Cesena, I with my platoon was attached as Engineer support to a Squadron of Lancers based at the...

My Story of Capture and Evacuation through Italy and Switzerland

When the Germans retook Tobruk, speakers were erected around the camp, and we got German music and Italian...

Anecdotes from Life as a POW Taken by the Italians

On Christmas Day 1941, the Italians took advantage of the festive season to rush us across to Italy in one...

Day Leave in Rome

The map I had been using made no mention of the Synagogue but I had heard from a Jewish friend back at...

Harry Blood's War Part 6: Voyage to Salerno in Italy, 1943

Sighted Italy and soon afterwards entered Messina Straits. Had a long walk today with two of my friends,...

From Roscommon to Anzio

Francis Donnelly, a Roscommon man attached to the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, was awarded the...

What Did You Do In The War Daddy? - Part 11 (Chapter 11 Continued)

The 53rd was part of the 8th Indian Division and supported one of the three brigades of Indian Army...

A DUKW Driver's Story

We were making our way to the ZOO a few miles out of Town. This incident didn't endear us to our...

Anecdotes from Life as a POW: In Servigliano, Italy

A Sherwood Forester Under Fire in Italy

Doing short monkey runs I made for a shallow ditch which we had passed along when advancing from the river,...

From Roscommon to Anzio

Francis Donnelly, a Roscommon man attached to the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment, was awarded the...

Italy

I had a young Irish lad named Clancy in my team, who said “Can I borrow your Tommy gun...

Building a Radio in a P.O.W. Camp - Part Two.

Long before we arrived at the camp, the prisoners, likewise the Italian sentries were staggering along like...

It Was All a Very Long Time Ago...

Granfa's ship had to negotiate this stretch of water in order to land. Granfa was lucky enough to land...

Monte Cassino

At 3.00 pm that afternoon the London Irish were to pass through the Inniskillings on their attack, but...

A View from a Stretcher: Cheshire Regiment in North Africa and Italy - and Life as a Wounded POW

By the time he was repatriated, shortly before me, we could converse fairly easily in a strange mixture of...

TANGOUCHA

We were taken back to a little school on the outskirts of Tunis where a little German Lance Corporal said...

The Secret Wartime Journal of Frederick Jude - Part 3 - The Day I Met the Pope

A month ago my Daughter, Annette Mary Jude was christened by our family parson at St. Andrew's Church,...

April 1945: Three Days in the Action of an Infantry Platoon

There was one colleague, Archie Simpson, studying German who on exercises was invariably given the Bren gun...

The First Battle of Monte Cassino - January 1944

The American General Clark, who commanded the operation, had assured the men of the 5th Army that the...

Stalagluft III (Part 1)

To Milan and back in a Mark I Halifax For our first operational sortie we were given a very elderly...

Memories of Italy during the War

After the Africa Campaign we were transfered to the 8th Army under Monty but still kept our 1st Army flash....