L/Cpl Victor Da Silva Smith, 5779316, 1st Bn DLI.

This article is from a British magazine called Illustrated and is dated 9/4/55 and documents the visit of a war widow to her husband's grave in Italy. The soldier in question was
Casualty
L/Cpl Victor Da Silva Smith, 5779316, 1st Bn DLI.
Died 17/11/44, aged 32. Husband of Flora Martin Smith, of Brightlingsea, Essex. Cesena War Cemetery, Italy, II D 4.
Reported accidentally killed, Italy, 17/11/44.
Originally enlisted The Royal Norfolk Regiment.

Details above from casualty lists and the CWGC.

As the article makes clear, visiting a war grave in Europe was a very difficult undertaking for most people in that era before cheap international travel. So, actor, columnist and former wartime BBC newsreader, Wilfred Pickles steps in to help.




A copy of the magazine was for sale on the web a few years back and I took the liberty of saving these pages. The quality is not great, but it is just about readable and it is a moving story that deserves rediscovery.

Resized second page, may be a bit easier to read.

 

When I visit War Cemeteries and walk among the gravestones I do often wonder if any family member has ever come to see a lot of the individuals at rest there - in many cases probably not and I imagine even less so for the Indian and Gurkha boys - its part of the reason I always try read as many of them as I can and look for little things in the names and epitaphs. My Great Uncle is remembered on the Loos Memorial which I first visited about 15 years ago (I'll always be grateful to jonheyworth for driving me there from Bethune) and I am fairly sure that up until that point no one would have looked on his name with any more than a passing glance, definitely no family, I'm sure my Grampa would have loved to visit.