Looking at 5th Essex regt war diaries jan 44 in the area west of Villa Grande, Ortona, there is a place name Ruatti. the NZ war history spells it Rualti but I am unable to find it on a map or GE. Is it possible that this is local dialect phonetics for Villa Rogatti or is it a disappeared village. Does anybody know this area. I will be visiting in october to attempt to find the battleground where my father was killed.
Althos Are you sure it was 5th Essex - and not 1/4th Essex who were in 4th Indian Div and they were alongside the NZ div when they both re-joined 8th Army at about that point west of Ortona…… might be worth checking their diary… Cheers
Owen While the 2/5th Essex were with 8th Indian fighting on the Moro et al - the 4th were not too far behind with 1/4th Essex- so it is entirely possible that he was with the 4th Indian at the time of his death - is all that I am suggesting… Cheers
I'm no expert here but there is a Villa Ruatti, Italy Area Map - http://itouchmap.com/?r=b&e=y&p=42.283333,14.383333:0:0:Villa%20Ruatti,%20Italy also weather reports for Villa Ruatti - http://www.worldweatheronline.com/Villa-Ruatti-weather/Abruzzi/IT.aspx It may not be the one you are looking for - others will know better than I TD edited to add: http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-201478&fid=3110&c=italy
Tom and Owen It's definately the 5th Essex, It's on his gravestone at Sangro and it was confirmed to me by the Essex regt museum that he was transferred to the 5th on 20 Nov 43. I have just received the war diaries for the Bn and the the frontpiece shows 5th Bn the Essex regt. I believe that the 1/5 and 2/5 were merged in 1942 to form a reserve Bn in the UK. The 8th ind Div was under the command of the new zealanders on the upper sangro and later with the Canadians at the Moro. A Canadian history source states that the Princess Patricias' handed over to the 8th Ind Div at Villa Rogatti on the 6 Dec 43 which places the 5th Essex in this area at that time. Other villages in the area (Vezzani and Marcone) are mentioned in the war diary and confirm the area but Ruatti or Rualti are nowhere to be seen. Trickydicky Your coordinates point to an area just south of villa Rogatti but there is no sign of dwellings. Thanks for that, i will explore more.
Hello Althos, This is what I’ve found on McMaster University's map archives: GSGS 4164 Italy 1:100,000 Sheet 147 Lanciano (Published 1943) Sheet 141 Chieti to the north is here. Looks to me like Villa Rualti, but it is to the south of Villa Grande, not west. Vezzani and Marcone are also shown on the map. Richard.
Richard Thank you very much, your map is fantastic & clearly highlights the problem. If you look very closely at the spelling of Ruatti (arrowed by you) and compare the letter 'a' with the 'a' in Caldari you will see that it is actually a 'g', so on your map it is rugtti or rugtli. The dwellings just north of the name are in the same position as Villa Rogatti on google earth and via michelin map and trickydicky's reference to Villa ruatti above. Looking at GE again Rogatti is at elevation 141 as on your map.
Sorry everyone, I may have jumped to conclusions. I have just had another look at Richards map and there are lots of other 'a's that couldn't possibly be 'g's. I am satisfied however that the modern spelling is Rogatti and they are one and the same place.
From the Italian Geoportale Nazionale here’s an up to date map image and it shows it as “Villa Rogatti” today. Which confirms what you say.
