Dear all. Anyone have information on Essex Reg. 5th battalion if they were in combat at Ortona Italy. My uncle was killed on 8th Dec 1943 and is buried at Ancona war cemetery. Any information or confirmation is very helpful.
5th Essex were in 19th Brigade, 8th Indian Division . Some background reading here to start you off. Table of Contents (ibiblio.org) One More River - The Story of the 8th Indian Division : Unspecified. : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive I know some members have The Essex Regiment history & I think one or two have the 5th Essex war diaries. I hope they can help.
Owen. Thankyou so much for your response. I look forward to reading the links you have provided. If anyone us will to provide access to the war diaries if possible. I am very grateful for any information provided. Thankyou Tony. My uncles name is Walter Bagnal Morton. He was born in 1924 Birmingham and he remains at Ancona War Cemetery Italy. He lost his life 8th Dec 1943. https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/2068409/walter-bagnal-morton/
I have this photocopied map in a folder from when I visited the area back in 2008. I don't know where the original came from. It'll show you the route of 8th Indian Division in that area marked in the solid line.
I'm at work at the moment (working hard or hardly working?). I think I have the 5th Essex section of the regimental history copied, so I'll send you a link by private message ('Conversations') when I get a few minutes. Edit: Yes, I have it copied.
Tony. On 5 Dec 43, 3/8 Punjabs moved up from the Sangro plain where they have been providing working parties to improve river crossings and roads. They took up a position covering the road west of Lanciano. 1/5 Essex occupied the north western boundary of Lanciano and 3/6 FF Rifles went into reserve around the area of the Lanciano road junction. Here they stayed from 5-9 Dec 43. Pte WB Morton was killed whilst 1/5 Essex were in these positions. Regards Frank
Message sent. You quite likely want to consult the battalion War Diary for the period. It is held--if it hasn't appeared online--at the National Archives in Kew. These are the references: Reference: WO 169/10209 Description: 5 Essex Regiment Date: 1943 May- Dec. 5 Essex Regiment | The National Archives Reference: WO 170/1387 Description: 5 Essex Regiment Date: 1944 Jan.- June 5 Essex Regiment | The National Archives You shouldn't attempt to approach the National Archives themselves to supply copies since the costs are exorbitant. There are researchers on this board and elsewhere who will do the same job for a fraction of the price. Be forewarned that War Diaries do not routinely name Other Ranks, although they often provide more specific data that the official histories about what was happening around the time a man died. Do you know when your uncle joined the unit?
I followed up a hunch and remarkably I have some useful specifics: Extracted from: WO 361/885 Italy Essex Regiment Missing Men In case your eyes are as bad as mine: The official history says on p.395 that Lieutenant N. L. Starkey was 'rounded up' by the enemy with his platoon from Z-Coy on what looks like 23/11/43. Pte Dawson's death is also given as 8/12/43. I am wondering whether they died in enemy hands or escaped and were killed.
