eneral Chat (6)Forum Activity+ Yesterday at 2:04 PM @ Richard Francis: i am visiting Assisi cemetry next week to visit the grave of my grandfather.2056266 william simpsom of the 58th anti tank regiment,royal artilleryhe died on 13/10/1944,i do not know much about his divs movements or how hw died,the family rumour is he was injured,returned home then went back to continue fighting...other than that if any one has any other history to fill in the blanks ,it would be much apprecitedthanks in advance
eneral Chat (6)Forum Activity+ Yesterday at 2:04 PM @ Richard Francis: i am visiting Assisi cemetry next week to visit the grave of my grandfather.2056266 william simpsom of the 58th anti tank regiment,royal artilleryhe died on 13/10/1944,i do not know much about his divs movements or how hw died,the family rumour is he was injured,returned home then went back to continue fighting...other than that if any one has any other history to fill in the blanks ,it would be much apprecitedthanks in advance
Duplicate post - see here 58th anti tank regiment 09/1944 info required Edit: Richard-best stick to just the one post. Mods don't really like duplicate posts as it confuses us
Thanks , i didn't see it come up so re posted ="4jonboy, post: 745213, member: 18595"]Duplicate post - see here 58th anti tank regiment 09/1944 info required Edit: Richard-best stick to just the one post. Mods don't really like duplicate posts as it confuses us[/QUOTE] Yhanks
Merged duplicate threads. Have you applied for his service records from the MoD ? I also suggest asking if any members have the unit war diary for the date he was killed.
War Diary references at the National Archives are, following a search on arcre.com: There may be, as Owen suggests members with copies of the relevant diary, so I would post a request before anything else. If you want/need to get your own copy/copies, and are unable to attend The National Archives at Kew, there are members here who can assist: Drew5233 and PsyWar.Org, both offer excellent services and competitive rates. Also Drew5233 may already have copies. Mark
Hello Richard and welcome to the forum, See my website http://assisiwarcemetery.weebly.com/the-gothic-line.html. Your grandfather was temporarily buried in the cemetery of Camerano on the Gothic line as were three other members of his regiment (all in row C section I). 86 men who lie in the Cemetery at Assisi were temporarily buried at either Camerano or nearby Longiano before being brought down to their final resting place. I hope you have a memorable visit. Every year there is a huge turn-out of local people to a commemoration service in the cemetery - last year it was on Remembrance Sunday but it is usually on the nearest Sunday to the day in June 1944 when the town was liberated. There is an adopt a grave scheme too - if you send me a private message I will tell you how to contact the person who organises it so that you can find out if your grandfather's grave is already being looked after by someone. Best wishes, Vitellino
Excellent website, hadn't looked at before looking for information for Richard, wish I had done so before now. Mark
Thanks very much. I've been involved with the cemetery for a few years now and thought I should pass on some of the information I had collected together. Vitellino
Wow... Thanks everybody for your help i will be piecing together this info and pictures from my visit and giving them to my mother for her birthday, she never knew her father but did visit his grave some 28 yrs ago
Thanks for the recommendation Mark. Hi Richard, I've just checked my files and unfortunately I don't have any of this units war diaries. If you'd like me to copy one/some/all of them for you drop me a message.
Just posted on the 58th Anti-Tank Regiment RA thread I set up a few months ago. Hadn't seen this thread which answers the question I posed.
You are in luck! I copied the file to the end of 1944. Sorry it might be too late for your visit. I'll look to see if I have a copy of the map for Longiano 6599. If you want the War Diary copies I will put them on a drive and mail them to you when I am back in the UK. PM me a home address. Hope your trip is going well.
231 Battery were at 743935 on 13th October and appear to have been supporting 138 Brigade. Battalion HQ was at 627860. The War Diary says your grandfather was in 231 Battery manning one of two 17 pounders in that area.
If you could copy them that would be great We had a great trip, there was a welcoming party at the cemetery A retired general, retired colonel,janet dethick who lives near the cemetery who got in touch thro this site Also the lady who has adopted my grandfathers grave. Let me know the cost of the diary,I am doing it as a surprise for my mother who never met her father. My email is (removed by Owen ) Thank you
Hi Richard. I suggest you take off your address (use Edit facility) and email address as the bots will get them and you will be spammed to death. I have them now.