Sicily landing beaches.

Discussion in 'Italy' started by trucker69, May 18, 2022.

  1. trucker69

    trucker69 Junior Member

    Hi.
    I hope someone with more knowledge than me will help me out with this one.
    My father was in the 501 Provost Company C.M Police and took part in the landings in Sicily.
    Is there any chance of finding out which beach he would have landed on or at least narrowing it down ?
    We are going to Sicily later in the year and would like to visit the area.
    Many thanks.
     
  2. hutt

    hutt Member

    DSC09122.JPG DSC09122.JPG
    I would suggest getting a copy of the unit war diary from the National Archives. I would be surprised if it didn't have the detail you were looking for.
    WO 169/13274 - 1943 Jan.- Dec.
    Corps of Military Police: 501 Independent Mobile Provost Company (CMP)

    Here is an example page from WO169/13278 505 Ind Provost Coy for the beginning of August 43 while in Sicily
     
    4jonboy, Tony56 and dbf like this.
  3. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    In October 2019 I was the battlefield historian for a battlefield study by a Royal Military Police Regiment in Sicily.
    These are the syndicate questions for Fontane Bianche, the 5th Div landing beach. This may not be the beach that 501 Provost company landed on, but it may give an idea of Provost duties in Op Husky. Syndicates of MPs discussed this on the beach while eating ice-creams.


    The maps show the location of the stands.
    20180814-Sicily_Campaign-3UKXXGeo-O.jpg 20180814-XIII_(Br)_Corps_Assault-3UKXXGeo-O.jpg
    I was not sure when 501 landed. I could not see them in the order of battle for the initial landings.
     
    4jonboy likes this.
  4. Good morning, I am visiting Sicily later this year and am interested in the involvement the Corps of Military Police had throughout the campaign. I would be very interested in understanding where else you visited when you were guiding the RMP.
     
  5. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    Most of the Battlefield Study focused on wider military matters. I attach a copy of the stand notes, which you usually only get if you pay me...

    Sicily Reading List

    Sicily, 1943: The Debut of Allied Joint Operations (Osprey Campaign) Paperback – 7 Jan 2013 by Steven J. Zaloga (Author), Howard Gerrard (Illustrator)

    BACKGROUND
    Alexander, Harold (12 February 1948), The Conquest of Sicily from 10 July 1943 to 17 August 1943, Alexander's Despatches published in "No. 38205". The London Gazette (2nd supplement). 10 February 1948. pp. 1009–1025.
    Atkinson, Rick (2007), The Day of Battle, The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943–1944, The Liberation Trilogy, II, New York: Henry Holt, ISBN 978-0-8050-6289-2
    Birtle, Andrew J. (1993), Sicily 1943, The U.S. Army WWII Campaigns, Washington: United States Army Center of Military History, ISBN 0-16-042081-4, CMH Pub 72-16
    Blackwell, I The Battle for Sicily: Stepping Stone to Victory, Pen & Sword Books, 2008, ISBN:1844157598
    Carver, Field Marshal Lord (2001), The Imperial War Museum Book of the War in Italy 1943–1945, London: Sidgwick & Jackson, ISBN 0-330-48230-0
    D'Este, Carlo (2008), Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily 1943, London: Arum Press, ISBN 978-1-84513-329-0
    Follain, John (2005), Mussolini's Island: The Invasion of Sicily Through The Eyes Of Those Who Witnessed The Campaign, London: Hodder & Stoughton, ISBN 0-34083-362-9
    Hoyt, Edwin P. (2007) [2002], Backwater War: The Allied Campaign in Italy, 1943–45, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, ISBN 978-0-8117-3382-3
    Mitcham, Samuel W. & von Stauffenberg, Friedrich (2007) [1991], The Battle of Sicily: How the Allies Lost Their Chance for Total Victory, Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, ISBN 0-8117-3403-X
    Molony, Brigadier C. J. C.; Flynn, Captain F.C. (RN); Davies, Major-General H. L. & Gleave, Group Captain T. P. (2004) [1st. pub. HMSO: 1973], Butler, Sir James (ed.), The Mediterranean and Middle East: The Campaign in Sicily 1943 and The Campaign in Italy 3 September 1943 to 31 March 1944, History of the Second World War, United Kingdom Military Series, V, Uckfield, UK: Naval & Military Press, ISBN 1-84574-069-6
    Zaloga Steven J.Sicily 1943: The debut of Allied joint operations (Campaign) Paperback –Osprey 20 Jan 2013
    Zuehlke, Mark (2010), Operation Husky: the Canadian invasion of Sicily, July 10 – August 7, 1943, Douglas & McIntyre, ISBN 1-55365-539-7
    Norman Lewis, Naples ’44 (London, Eland Books, 1983) Not about Sicily but all about life in southern Italy under allied occupation. This is the world in which military policing will operate. Naples '44 - Wikipedia



    INTERVIEWS WITH VETERANS
    BRITISH


    Gordon Ross Mitchell 1 Para Sicily (reel2) Mitchell, Gordon Ross (Oral history)

    Jackson Brown 8 DLI Primasole Bridge reels 18-20 Brown, Jackson (Oral history)

    Harry Garrett RA 51 HD (Reel 3 & 4) Garrett, Harry (Oral history)

    George Stephenson Richardson 6 DLI Sicily landings (reels 16-18) Richardson, George Stephenson (Oral history)

    Bill Sykes NCO 8th A & SH (reel 2) Sykes, Bill (Oral history)

    George Edward Stephens 2 LF Stephens, George Edward (Oral history)

    William Allen Hutton Field security section duties in Sicily Reel 12 Hutton, William Allan (Oral history)

    George Henry Self DLI VIP Mess staff Africa and Sicily and 8th DLI Reel `12 and 13

    Self, George Henry (Oral history)

    PORTER, ALBERT ANTHONY RMP Officer 1945 No online meda may need to write to IWM

    US FORCES
    Carl Peterson 26 Infantry Regiment 1st US Infantry Division The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History

    Floyd Dumas The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History

    William-Spaetgens US Navy The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History

    George-Griffenhagen US Army Engineer The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History

    Charles Schellfel Police and Prison’s Officer 1st Infantry Division The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History


    Harley-Reynolds 1st Infantry Division The Digital Collections of the National WWII Museum : Oral Histories | Oral History
     

    Attached Files:

  6. Hi, many thanks. I have read a number of publications including Pegasus Patrol by J Hamblett & J. Turnbull ( which cover some of the airborne landings around Ponte Grande & Ponte Primasole), Sicily ‘43 by J Holland, Sicily - whose victory? by M Blumenson. Unfortunately, other than the few pages in Pegasus Patrol, there is not much about CMP involvement. Thanks again.
     
  7. OpanaPointer

    OpanaPointer Pearl Harbor Myth Buster

    When I was stationed in Sicily in the mid-70s there were still some beach fortifications south of Catania. Didn't look too hard so not good guess. You might want to visit Corleone for bragging rights.
     
  8. Fagiolino

    Fagiolino New Member

    Felt I just had to record a wonderful experience today. My wife and I were visiting Capo Murro di Porco and the other defence positions immediately south of Syracuse, as information gathering for my wife's next novel. We had just finished when we met a young local walking towards the batteries at Punta della Mola. Exchanging a few words we discovered that this 30 year old was passionate about the landings on Sicily (his great grandfather had been involved in the defences there) and he spent 3 hours showing us all around the amazing gun positions, still well preserved. He then took us back to Murro di Porco and showed us exactly where Paddy Mayne and others landed and fought to destroy the gun batteries there. Bullet pockmarks still visible. An amazing and moving experience.
     

Share This Page