[Niccar]

Originally Posted by Owen

Donald,
Am I reading your post correctly?
You are a Veteran of 78th Div.
Please tell us more.
How long were you with them?
From what dates?
Ever been back to any of your former haunts?
I'm off to Italy soon, any of your mates still resting there?

Owen

You were reading correctly and I am a 78th div veteran I joined them in North Africa after the fighting there had finished and met my older brother who was in the East Surreys and had seen action there at Longstop Hill etc he asked a stupid question like what the ******* hell are you doing out here? he didn’t know that I had joined the army but knew I was slightly under age like many thousands of others that did the same thing of course from there to Sicily then on to sunny Italy and eventually Austria the campaigns are all well recorded and do not need any description by me
not that I could anyway . In 2004 we went on holiday to Sorrento and I hired a car
and we visited Cassino Cemetary the day was beautiful sunny and peaceful and
there was nobody else there as we went up the steps I started to tremble and couldn’t
get much farther than the first few rows of beautifully kept markers as my wife walked away to take some photographs I got to the end of the row and the tears came
at the end of the different rows on the last marker the simple words just got me
“A soldier of the second world war known only to God” our Battalions marker for no known graves is on the last colonnade on the left side of the ornamental lake
At the top it simply reads 1st Battalion Princess Louise Kensington Regiment as we left my wife asked if I wanted to visit my cousin’s grave at Minturno Cemetery he fell
crossing the Garigliano with the Royal Fusiliers he was an only child and it devastated my Aunt and Uncle I replied no I’ve had enough emotion for one day and during the whole day I refused to look up at the Monastery hope this doesn’t sound to depressing

donald