Thanks , have posted some photographs of his time in Africa and Malta in a album , Albert Hobson . I have some more documents to upload but I need to scan them . Unfortunately I will struggle to copy his notes from Cassino as they are written in pencil and are not very easy to read , but I will try to get them on here .
Driftwood's posts has reminded me about this aerial photo from my grandfather's papers. Presumably this shows Amazon bridge? Lee
Driftwood. You were going to place your father's personal notes on this site. Is this still your intention? FdeP
Hi , The problem I have is that they are written in pencil and I am struggling to get them copied so that I can scan them to post them on here . I am hoping to get over this poblem soon .
Just tried a new scanner , paper a bit too big so the second sheets only have a few lines on . Scan to Scan 5 I believe is a report that he edited and Scan B1 to B4 are in his handwriting .
Driftwood. Wow! These are brilliant. Thanks for posting them. Most useful to my understanding of exactly what happened. I am out at the bridge on 18 Jun 11 so your info is timely. FdeP
minden 1759 . Glad they are of interest to you , they show that my father was there when the bridge was finally in place over the river . It was 67 years ago last week , and my father would have been 90 on the 9th June . I have a few photographs from his time in the Army and from some of the reunions . I will put some more on soon . Is it a private trip or a battlefield visit ?
As it's not been mentioned, there is a published history of 7 Fd Coy with a substantial section on Amazon Bridge: A History of the 7th Field Company RE 1939-1946 by Thomas M J Riordan
I have a copy of Tommy Riordan's book which my late father got off him . I am going to the Imperial War Museum on Friday to give them my father's notes from Monte Cassino . They are written in pencil and are starting to show signs of deterioration and I am sure they will be able to preserve them better than I can .
Driftwood1954 Brilliant stuff from your Dad and many thanks for your excellent posting. You are 100% correct in giving this material to the IWM but may I offer a word of advice ? The museum is well behind in their effort to "go digital" and, in my personal experience, will take years to get your Dad's papers catalogued. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/ww2-news-articles/28758-imperial-war-museum-merged-future-museums-structure-thread.html#post429388 When you do pass the papers over ask them to ensure that at least they put a title describing his work on their Database so that at least researchers are aware that this material is available for research. Best regards Ron
Hi all, I have just finished a post on Amazon Bridge UK Military Bridging – World War II (Italy) | Think Defence With thanks to Paul and driftwood for their kind permission to use their images would love to see any feedback, good or bad
Think Defence. Your note on Amazon Bridge is good. I am out at the bridge in Apr 12 with a group. Would like a contemporary photo of what is there now. The current civilian bridge replaced the Bailey bridge and is in exactly the same place. Regards FdeP
Minden I'm afraid you are mistaken in thinking the current bridge is in Amazon's location. The small civilian bridge is in roughly the place where the DCLI crossed, downstream from Amazon and upstream from Blackwater. To access Amazon you have to walk across fields on either side of the river. (You will see the aerial photo that proves this in my book 'The Battles for Monte Cassino: then and Now'.)
Think Defence, a nice article on bridging though I found the line about rivers being "closer to the sea" a little confusing - I think they all end up the same distance from the sea. ;-) I realise you meant they were bridged closer to the sea. If you find time and inclination you might put a small reference in to the 'Kingsmill' or 'Plymouth' Bailey bridge which was built upon a turretless Sherman, and driven into the river. During DIADEM it was used to bridge the Gari (not the Rapido) in the Indian sector and was the first open for traffic, although only briefly.
