Bombing of the Bridge at Allerona 28 January 1944

Just came across this article -

Italian memorial to recall second world war 'friendly fire' tragedy | World news | The Guardian

- and thought folks might be interested.

Also found this on another thread - http://http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/ww2-battlefields-today/24360-el-alamein-3.html#post456508 with a link to a website about the events. See post #25.

Cheers

Ian

 

Hello Chick42-46,

You can see the photos of the event on bombedpowtrain.weebly.com

 

This is two days late but I have been at the ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of this awful friendly fire incident and have just got back to my computer.

For details see my website bombedpowtrain.weebly.com
Click on More...to see the photos of this and other commemorations from 2012 onwards.

Vitellino

 

Janet.

Karen Dunn at the 2019 event showed me a photo of a PG 54 memorial in Borgo Santa Maria.

Could you point out exactly where that is in Borgo? I am going up that way in May after running a battlefield study at Cassino and would like to stop and see it.

I am visiting with members of the family of Thomas Robertson 1 LONDON SCOTTISH.

Regards

Frank

 

Model of camp made by local schoolchildren

Frank,

Click on this link to see the location of Borgo Santa Maria (now a village which has grown up out of PG 54):

Google Maps

The language on the map is in Italian. I'll translate the directions and send them to you.

I have had a bit of correspondence with the Robertson family and am delighted that they are joining your trip. Until they learned otherwise they thought their father had been killed at Cassino and not in the Allerona Bridge incident, and they weren't the only family to think the same, I can tell you. if you tell me when you are planning to visit, the locals will show you round the camp and point you to the monument and information board.

On the photo below you can see one of the original barracks of PG 54 which has been left as it was when the camp was finally abandoned in May 1944. I am on the left of the photo, the mayor is welcoming us all and the tall white-haired gentleman is the president of the Community Centre who put on a marvellous lunch for us.

Vitellino (Janet)

Edited to add a close up Google Maps

 

Janet.

I am dropping the Cassino group at Rome Ciampino at 0820 on 15 May then grabbing a car hire before setting out for Borgo Santa Maria. Think that I will be there by 1100. From there, via the station, we will head up to Allerona bridge.

I have shown the Robertsons on the ground on the Garigliano where Thomas was captured during a 1 London Scottish operation to clear some buildings on the river bank prior to the massive 56 Inf Div attack on 17 Jan 44 so it will be good to see Borgo and Allerona.

Regards

Frank

 

Janet.

I have cracked where Borgo Santa Maria is. I am now trying to place the memorial within the village.

F

 

From the main road turn right into the village. There is a large square with a small plaque which has been there for some time. Turn right into Via Ugo La Malfa and the little triangle with the monument is 100 yards down the road straight in front of you.

If you like I will inform the people down there and they will show you round the camp.

I will send you a Pm with instructions for getting to the bridge, otherwise I can post here as some other people might be interested.



edited to reduce size of map

 

Janet.

Thank you for this.

I have cracked the bridge bit. This was the part that foxed me but now I know.

Regards

Frank

 

Here's the map anyway:


Click here:
Google Maps

If you enlarge the Google map you will see that someone - I presume a visitor to the monument - has indicated the date of the incident on the map. I don't know why they didn't read the two memorial plaques to get the correct date, the 28 January. I don't have a Google account otherwise I would correct it.

Janet

Edited to reduce size of map

 

Janet.

Hey thanks for this.

Regards

Frank

 

I hope your trip goes well. Please send me your photos to put on the website.

 

76 years ago today the USAAF bombed the railway bridge at Allerona. Crossing the bridge was a train carrying POWs from PG 54 Fara in Sabina (by this time a transit camp) to Germany. We still don't know exactly how many men were on the train, or who was killed. Apart from a few bodies found by the engineers when rebuilding the bridge (these victims, all unidentified except one, are now in Bolsena War Cemetery) all the rest were thrown into the bomb craters. May they rest in peace.

bombedpowtrain.weebly.com

Vitellino

 

Noel Cox of 2nd Northamptonshire's, one of the luck ones who survived the bombing

 

Here's some more information about Noel Cox from missing men file WO 361/668:

Black sheets - hospital admission in Orvieto - he's at number 10.

The description of the wound on the second sheet translates into Wound on left thigh CORRECTION - I have just realised that he is number 3 on the 'wounds 'sheet, hence he had injures to a foot.

The other sheet shows him in the Stalag:

Vitellino

 

Thanks for those, I had a couple of the bits from you but the extra info is a bonus.

 

77th ANNIVERSARY
28 JANUARY 1944 - 28 JANUARY 2021

When 28 B-26 Marauders took off from Decimomannu in Sardinia to bomb railway bridge 'Oriveto North' in Italy their target wasn't the train full of POWs that happened to be crossing it at the time, but they hit it all same....

37548471 Private Russel Eugene Kurzhal, I Company, 68 Regiment, 34 Infantry Division US Army saw it this way:

...we were traveling along and the old train was making a noise as we were going down the road. This guy I used to write to - he’s dead now, too - from South Carolina, he got to dreaming and he dreamt we were getting bombed, so he shakes me and wakes me up. 'Hey Kurzhal,' he says, 'They’re bombing the shit out of us!' I told him to go back to sleep, it was just the train making a noise as we were going down the tracks. We went back to sleep and got through the night.

Next day about 10 o’clock we’re setting there in the box-car and talking about that and laughing about him waking me up. About an hour later, we got it. The planes bombed us as we were going across a bridge... They let us have it.

In remembrance of all the men killed in this tragic friendly fire episode and their families who for decades did not know what had happened to them. Especially today I would like to remember 266440 Guardsman Robert Harold Broughton, Coldstream Guards, who was mortally wounded and lies buried in Bolsena War Cemetery, and also 3126252 Fusilier George Cheyne Thomson, 2 Royal Scots Fusiliers and 14563438 Private Thomas Swinton Robertson, Gordon Highlanders, whose remains lie beneath the bridge.

The Bridge at Allerona (my website)

Lest we forget.

Vitellino

 

Red Cross enquiry into wearabouts of 3455819 Edward Gallery DLI (born 17/6/1915 later held at Stalag VIIA Moosburg PoW No 132655) completed by 4042133 Pte Henry James Rogers DLI . Last seen on the train on the 28th January 1944 . (Survivor)


Kyle

 

In remembrance of all the casualties and their families, and also the survivors

https://bombedpowtrain.weebly.com/

Vitellino

 

Along with L/Cpl Sanders AB64 Casualty Service and Paybook Collection there was his notebook which had a few of his mates details (unfortunately only a few) one was George Constable Saunders as noted below - he was captured on the Garigliano crossing (when Sanders was killed) but just 10 days later he was also killed at Allerona