As part of an ongoing trace of my father's journey from Greenock in Nov 1942 to Villach in May 1945, I'm currently in Sicily. I'm starting the thread to capture some of the photos and stories from the trip.. First journey, as always, has been to the CWGC cemeteries at Syracuse and Catania and then to the coastal area near Cassibile where my Dad came ashore 71 years ago on 28th July 1943. Taster photo attached. Been listening to some fantastically evocative first hand accounts from local villagers in the Etna area remembering their impressions of the "Scottish Irishmen in orange skirts who played music". No doubt members here will have their own memories from 1943.. And Etna is doing a fantastic 1943 impersonation as I write - the lava flow seems to be coming down quite strongly. Best
Richard my main memory of Sicily is laying in a clean - white sheeted , warm bed in the 33rd Gen Hospital in Catania for two months after surgery to patch me up and send me back - and it was very quiet with no clanking Tank tracks - no shells - rockets , bullets et al whizzing past my head I really enjoyed it as I knew the lads were up to the eyeballs in the usual mud… Cheers
Tom, Sounds like a nice couple of months.. Patched up and back to the fray...and then 20 more months of hard slog and renewed mud and rain and heat and dust. Internet not up to much so difficult to add photos until the end of the week but one more just to give you an idea of what Etna's up to taken from the safety of Piedimonte Etneo where 1 LIR spent a relaxing 33 days from 8th Sept 1943 onwards....the village was out in force to confer honorary citizenship yesterday on Maj General Corran Purdon, President of the Regimental Association....three verses of the National Anthem and all, Best
Briefly visited the area near the Simeto crossing at Primosole. A new river bridge dominates the area but the DLI memorial remains amongst the rocky road building area. Following several days of bitter fighting by the DLI for the crossing, the 1st Battalion London Irish Rifles (1 LIR), faced their first action of the Second War at Fosso Bottaceto on the night of 17/18th July in a "botched" silent night attack - limited evidence remains of the Fosso area and where Rfn Horace Savage was buried by L/Sgt Sidney Swift (but not ever found) on 24th July 1943. more on the 78th Div's advance later
My father remembered the move from the beaches to Catenanuova where he arrived on the afternoon of 1st August as the 78th Division prepared for an attack on Centuripe...the photos are the German view from Centuripe looking southwards "As we moved through the countryside, we were struck by its natural beauty but appalled by the poverty of the villages and towns. Our welcome was subdued, as the people were obviously uncertain whether we were friend or foe. The Irish Brigade advanced steadily, passing through the town of Catenanuova. Here we became infantry once more and prepared for our attack on the centre of enemy line at Centuripe. I served the company by jeep. One evening, I was being driven by Corporal Allen when we were hit by heavy shellfire. We jumped out of the vehicle into the roadside ditch. It was so shallow that, despite crouching, our heads and chests were exposed. We clung to each other, shivering. The fire was coming from our rear. The bursts lifted and through the smoke emerged a figure with his face masked by blood. ‘Stop these bloody shells. They are killing my boys.’ It was a sergeant major of the East Surreys. Our 25-pounders had been firing continuously for more than six months. Their barrels were so worn their shells were unable to clear the mountain peaks. Supporting fire for our attacking troops was falling on resting and reserve battalions. In mountainous terrains and isolated positions, such tragedies would not be unusual."
So Richard, whose 25 pounders were firing short? It would probably have to have been a unit that had been in the Western Desert (just)/Tunisia for 4 months prior to Operaton Husky... Best, Steve.
It's a good question...my father probably had the First Army Tunisian campaign in mind when he wrote this.. According to C Ray: "the whole of the Division's artillery slapped down a concentration onto Centuripe" in advance of the Faughs' attacking through the East Surreys towards the cemetery on the evening of 2nd August.
On 2nd August 1943, the Irish Brigade attacked into the hill top town of Centuripe and by the early morning of the 3rd August were able to establish control there.. a notable achievement indeed. My brother and I were able to meet up last week in Centuripe with two other sons of men who were present in the area in August 1943 - David, whose father was a Skin, Duncan whose Dad was a Faugh, and ours with the Irish Rifles...we were lucky enough to speak with Salvatore (in photo), an 80yo (in 1943 he was 9 and hiding in a cave) who remembered the Irishmen coming up the hill under heavy machine gun fire. He recalled they were "very hungry" when they entered Centuripe. Salvatore's son, Giacomo, a local archaeologist, was also able to show us a number of key points on the massif... A few photos below: one a "Then and Now"...almost.. Lt Percy Hamilton, IO of 6 Innisks at the time (and father of David who was with us last week), remembered the events of 2nd August: "Late in the afternoon, the CO gave orders to the right hand companies to advance and the remaining two were to make straight for the town across the valley and up the cliff through the cactus. Bttn HQ moved to the cottage on the top of the hill... We had to climb in at the window of the cottage because the door faced the town. We were able to watch the fellows climbing up the cliff and getting to the first couple of buildings; someone on our side dropped a smoke bomb near them, probably meant to screen them from a Jerry, who had a machine gun on the right, but actually it attracted more attention than anything else. After they disappeared among the first buildings, we could only see odd figures crossing gaps and could not tell who they were. A guide was sent back to bring up the remainder of the artillery OP party, but missed them and they started to follow the fellows up the cliff and got spotted and had some difficulty getting back; one of them got a piece of shrapnel in the backside. There was a cemetery on the extreme left of the town and we had a very good view of a barrage brought down on it to assist the RIrF, who were attacking in that direction. The Jerry likes using cemeteries for cover; in Sicily, all the cemeteries are enclosed by a high wall, so it gives him a certain amount of cover from view. Someone thought it would be a good idea to put a barrage down on the town too; luckily they did no harm to our chaps. Just before dusk, we saw a big column of smoke go up from the middle of the town and it looked like an explosion; we learnt afterwards that the Jerry had brewed up a tank he couldn’t get away." best
Cheers for posting this Richard - I was only reading about Centuripe the other day and found myself going over a map to try and imagine the scene - with your photos things are so much clearer. Thanks a lot.
Skip, Indeed, but as you know, it's hard to get a full grip on the detailed geography without visiting an area (probably more than once)...the massif was described as an "E" on its side with the three "cross bars" being ridges stretching forward towards Catenanuova. best
At 0330 on 3rd August 1943, Centuripe was reported clear of German forces..the achievements of the 78th Division in Sicily were soon widely known after they were announced by Churchill in the Houses of Parliament.. My father, with 2 LIR, recalled entering the town that day: "When we took Centuripe, I followed closely behind and entered the town in the early morning of its capture. I was not allowed to progress far, as the battalion had to clear up pockets of resistance. Dysentery had me in its grip and I was in desperate need of a latrine. I knocked at the nearest house and stumbled out: ‘Scusati, il gabinetto?’ The lady went into the house and brought out a brown earthenware pot and held it out to me. I shook my head, saying: ‘Grazie.’ I saw a young man and approaching him I said: ‘Dove si trove il gabbinetto.’ Looking puzzled, he motioned me to follow him and we climbed down some steps along a steep path. There before me was a vast culvert lined with metal and with municipal pride he pointed to it and said: ‘Il gabbinetto.’ I thankfully made use of it despite the terrible smell." Lt Percy Hamilton, serving with 6 Innisks, also remembered: "At about 1100hrs, we heard that the carriers were on their way up with the rations. This was good news as we were very hungry and most of the men were eating hunks of dry bread that the civvies had give them. I went down to the entrance of the town to get the transport organised as it came up as the CO only wanted the minimum in the square. The trucks had been held up by a blow in the road. The press report of the taking of the town was typical. The write up we got, was deserved, but...the carriers came up with the rations in the morning, so the picture published of 'Bren carriers rushing in to capture Centuripe' is misleading. Another thing – at no time before or after the battle did I ever hear the troops cal the place, 'Cherry Ripe', the name given to it by some misinformed correspondent. Of course, one has to excuse these people a little as they only arrived in the afternoon, several hours after their beloved carriers! One of our officers, posed in front of a door as if just bursting into it; another told the fellow if he wanted action photos, he could come and get them when there was some action on." Here are a couple of those "posed" photos..along with a couple more recent ones in Centuripe and north from the town towards the Salso/Simeto rivers.
Superb update Ron, I've read your account before and great to add to this thread - I stayed in Adrano last week and the town was in full festive mood, a far cry from 6th August 1943. best
Great thread Richard, well done. Can't wait to read more about your trip. Keep it coming. Cheers - Maria
Next challenge for the 78th Division was the Salso River which they successfully crossed on the afternoon of 4th August 1943.. Brigadier Nelson Russell described the assault across the Salso.. "The attack went in at 1500hrs. This allowed: - Plenty of time for recces and planning, and did not rush the Gunners. - Five hours daylight, which gave time for readjustments should things go wrong, as they sometimes do. The infantry job was quite clear cut. i.e. to give the sappers from dusk to daylight on the crossing. They’d need it. The Artillery support was effective; the barrage, which commenced on the escarpment being most accurate, and by 1630hrs, the bridgehead was secure, with the Royal Irish Fusiliers on the right and the London Irish Rifles on the left. The Royal Irish Fusiliers met a certain amount of opposition, and a good many stubborn MG 34s and sniper posts had to be eliminated. The LIR had a pretty free run through." Now onto the Simeto...
One more for the "Then and Now" from Centuripe. L/Cpl Swainson, Fusilier Ruane in the front and RSM Reilly at the back - all from 6th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Edward Swainson was later killed while serving with 4 Recce. Many thanks to Giacomo Biondi for the 1943 cutting. best
At 1530 on 5th August 1943, the Irish Brigade attacked across the River Simeto, three miles south west of Adrano, their third major engagement in 3 days, and their third successful assault. The attack over the River Simeto was one of the costliest days for the brigade throughout their campaigns in Tunisia and Italy - with 40 men being killed from all three infantry battalions. I visited the Simeto river banks last week, along with Duncan McNally whose father, Lt John Edward McNally, was awarded a Military Cross for his actions at the River Simeto on 5th August 1943 - the pictures here are of the river and the abandoned "Palace" just above the river. Brigadier Nelson Russell described the day: "Enemy MG posts and snipers were hidden in caves (the whole northern cliff face was afterwards discovered to be honeycombed with caves) and each one had to be tracked down and eliminated. The Casino and Palace, both strongly built stone houses, were strong points, and every house between the river and the Y Junction had its quota of snipers. The Casino and the Palace were the last to fall, but were finally liquidated at dusk after bombardment by the A/Tk guns of the Royal Irish Fusiliers from the right (range 800 yards), and a PIAT of the LIR from the left (range 120 yards). Not many prisoners were taken in the operation, but a wounded sergeant major of the Herman Goering Division, who was taken in the Casino, described his afternoon as being 'unpleasant'." My father also recalled an additional peril during the crossing of the River Simeto and the "alarming consequences" stayed with him for many years thereafter, "I rejoined the company at the River Salso for the advance to the River Simeto where there was heavy resistance to the crossing. After this was cleared, E Company occupied the village of Carcaci. I was allocated a large room in a house as a cookhouse. I observed that its walls were black. As I approached, the walls moved. They were a mass of flies and mosquitoes. Both had painful bites and alarming consequences."
