Mount Vesuvius: eruption 1944

Like Ron, the popular writer on History and Archaeology Leonard Cottrell mentions that he was in a military hospital in Naples at the time of the 1944 eruption in his book 'Enemy of Rome'. I have visited the area and climbed to the summit of Vesuvius on a few occasions. Fascinating, but Vesuvius must be in the running for the most shambolically run National Park in the world! Building has proceeded apace on the lower slopes of the mountain since 1944. Heaven alone knows what will happen when the volcano erupts again, possibly with a deadly pyroclastic flow as in the famous 79AD incident. I'm afraid that I don't have much confidence in the authorities' ability to cope with the ensuing disaster when hundreds of thousands of people will likely be in peril from the mountain's wrath. I notice that the guidebook for my first visit, a school trip in 1974, says that as they occur approximately every thirty years another Vesuvius eruption is imminent!

 

This might be one of the stories that did the rounds but this is as my Dad told it.

Snipers were everywhere, on entering the old town of Pompeii it was
dusk and the order was rest if you can but everything in front of you is
enemy held “don't challenge, fire!."
It was my turn to stay awake while the other members of the team
closed their eyes, a shell up the spout of the 25pdr. Laid out on the SOS
line.
I saw in the distance a wisp of light, “I bet that's a sniper I thought,
taking a puff at a cigarette.” (A corporal had just been shot by someone
a little earlier.)
I aimed my rifle in that direction and fired three rounds.
“What’s up Barney” “said Lt .Rawson.”
“A bloody sniper over there."
“Where.”
“There “
With the aid of my fingers on a bearing point.
He looked and said “You silly .... .. that's Mount Vesuvius in point of
eruption 28 miles Away"
But he did agree that through the trees and the dark night it did look
as I said.

 

Giving this thread a bump because recently there has been both a Film and a documentary about Pompei concerning the time when it was destroyed by Vesuvious in AD 79.

I remember first writing about seeing it erupt again here: BBC - WW2 People's War - Two Weeks in Dock in Naples and Not a Wound to Show for it!

Fascinating seeing both of these items on TV .....................

Ron

 

Agreed Ron, a good programme about a fascinating place. If anyone is around that way don’t forget Herculaneum.
http://www.italyheaven.co.uk/campania/herculaneum.html

 

Does anyone know if the eruption was large enough to be a part of what made the winter of '44-45, from what I understand, so cold?

 

Chris

Interesting thought that I had never previously considered...........

I found this little piece on GOOGLE: What’s the most recent eruption of Vesuvius and will it erupt again? | Volcano World | Oregon State University that disturbingly says Vesuvious will "erupt again"

Pretty certain that I will not be in the area when it happens !

Ron

 

WAR PICTORIAL NEWS NO 157 [Main Title]

Object description
An edition of the British official newsreel "War Pictorial News", produced by the Ministry of Information, Middle East.
Full description
I. 'NATURE AT WAR.' Panoramic footage shows the Bay of Naples with the city dwarfed by a massive cloud of ash and smoke issuing from the crater of Monte Vesuvio (Mount Vesuvius). The commentary points out that before the war a volcanic eruption of this size would have made headline news, but with the world aflame, the rumblings of a mere volcano caused little comment. Aerial footage taken near the volcanic crater show the extent of the eruption. Smoke and steam rise from slow moving lava flows. Buildings in the hamlet of Marsa collapse from the pressure of the flowing lava. Italian women carry children and what little personal possessions they could salvage as they move away from a village threatened by lava flows. United States (US) military police talk to Italian civilians in the town square of San Sebastiano which is also threatened by advancing lava flows. Nature's destructive force is also very much evident in Australia where forest fires sweep across the State of Victoria. The commentary states that the forest fires have caused more that two million pounds (Sterling) worth of damage and have killed twenty people, many thousands of sheep and cattle have also perished. Australian troops use a field telephone to coordinate fire fighting teams. Australian infantryman spray flame retardant on trees and foliage in an attempt to stop the spread of the forest fires. Australian civilians beat undergrowth with tree branches and sacking. Scores of dead sheep are shown in an enclosure. Children carrying belongings walk through a fire damaged township. A removal truck (of Geo H Green and Sons Ltd, Melbourne) loaded with personal possessions, stands outside a completely gutted house in a suburban street. Children play near burnt-out cars and amongst the rubble of fire damaged buildings.

 

Here in Italy we're all waiting for the next eruption, though a geologist friend of ours says that Vesuvio is probably dying and 1944 was likely to have been the volcano's last gasp.. However, in the nearby Phlegraean Fields there's plenty of worrying activity going on...

 

I lived in Motta San Anastasia, Provincia Catania, for three years in the '70s. We didn't have to wait for the next eruption.

 

You wouldn't have had to because Etna is an active volcano whereas Vesuvio (Vesuvius) is dormant. (End of geography lesson)

 

Yes, that was my point. Cheers.

 

THE BRITISH ARMY IN ITALY 1943