Hello Callum Your wife's relative was buried near to the village of Moiano to the south West of Lake Trasimeno. The War Diary indicates that he was killed by a burst of shellfire north of Città dell Pieve whilst his battery was moving up to the front line which was between Villastrada and Vaiano. The actual incident was almost certainly along the section of road between Città della Pieve and Moiano. The CWGC website has a concentration form (attached) which shows Grid Reference 3881. Using echodelta and inserting the Grid reference preceded by wW you will see that this is the square in which Moiano is located. There was an important Field Hospital there with associated burial grounds. For more detail on burials from that part of the Trasimene Line where 4 British Infantry division was in action see my website assisiwarcemetery.weebly.com where there is also a map. In reply to Frank, despite the fact that Foiano War Cemetery is near to this part of the Trasimene Line battlefield, casualties from 4 Division who fell in the period 20-30 June are to be found either in Assisi or Bolsena War Cemeteries. (Those in Bolsena were wounded, taken to hospital in Orvieto, buried in the civil cemetery there and later transferred to the war cemetery. For example Lt D.C. Rose, Beds & Herts, who died of wounds on 7 July.) Only the men from 4 Division who were killed on or after 1 July, when the battle had moved on northwards into the area below Cortona, are found at Foiano Best wishes, Vitellino author of The Trasimene Line. June-July 1944 and Cortona 1944 both published by www.fondazioneranieri.org Perugia
Hello Frank and Vitellino (Janet). Thanks for your very helpful replies. I am amazed that this detail is intact thanks to your efforts. I've ordered your book to get me started and the website is very helpful. Am I right in thinking that the war diary for the regiment is the next place to learn more? It looks like the National Archive holds a diary for most of 1944 and 1945. Regards, Calum
Hello Calum, The Regimental War Diary will give you the best detail about the regiment itself but books about the campaigns and battles in which the regimient was involved put things into a wider context. I hope you enjoy researching the Italian Campaign. Best wishes, Vitellino
Calum. I commend Andy Newson - drew 5233 to you. He provides a brilliant service and at £0.10 a page it s great value for money. You get a CD in the post and nothing could be simpler. Regards Frank
This is amazing. Captian A.C Sharp was my uncle. I was doing a quick bit of research online and was amazed to see this mention of his death. We never knew the exact details before. I have hundreds letters from him from learning to write up to a few days before he died, and the missing in action telegram. Does anyone have any further information on him, or do you know where I could find some? Does anyone know of any organisations who may be interested in the letters? Would he be in the Assisi cemetary too? Apologies for all the questions, I'm new to this and still getting over the shock of seeing him mentioned in the war diary like that. Q.Sharp
QSharp. If you read the diary again, you will see that he was killed whilst inside a tank. It sounds from the diary that he was incinerated and therefore unrecognisable. This meant that he was unable to be buried where he was killled and therefore he is commemorated on the wonderful Cassino Memorial within the Cassino CWGC cemetery. I am a battlefield guide for Cassino and would be happy to take a photo of his name on the Memorial when I am there with a group at the end of the month. Send me a message through 'start a conversation' and can get your email address. Whilst in the tank when he was killed on 28 Jun 44, he was supporting 2 Battalion Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Regiment which means it is highly likely that he was also supporting them as a Forward Observation Officer controlling artillery at the Fourth Battle of Monte Cassino. It was good practice for supporting arms like gunners to stay with the same infantry units so that they could develop good working relationships. What was achieved at Cassino during May 44 was quite something - you only have to look again at the Terence Cuneo painting on this thread to understand that there was a fearsome battle. The painting shows the Royal Engineers building a bridge over the River Rapido on the night of 12-13 May 44. One of the reasons that this was possible was that 2 Beds & Herts, 2 Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and 1/6 Surreys had got across the river under tremendous German fire and secured a bridgehead on the far bank. Your uncle would have been on the far bank with 2 Beds & Herts providing them with supporting artillery fire. In effect, calling in fire to destroy any threat to the men of 2 Beds & Herts holding on by their fingernails. Regards Frank
Hi Fank, Many thanks for getting in touch. My email A photo would be lovely. Also interested in the tours that you do. Thanks again Quentin
Quentin. No problem. I will send it on 31 Mar 17 when I am in the CWGC cemetery. Two of the chaps in the group are gunners so I will ask them to tip their hat to Capt Sharp. Regards Frank
Hi Hi DRew, I guess from the research on the Forces site and reading this that my Grandfather Sjt W McMath 800723 would have been one of the 17 injured on the 24th June. That was the last action he saw having started the war as a regular with 22 Fd Regt with the BEF in France. After recovering from his injuries he took a commision and served with the cadets. He finally passed away in August 79 a year after I had enlisted in the QLR.
